I own a photo lab and studio; we do exactly zero medical services here. I get a call.

Me: “[Studio], how can I help you?”

Caller: “Do you take [Insurance]?”

Me: *Pauses* “We’re a photo lab and studio. I think you called the wrong number.”

Caller: “I know who I called; do you take my insurance?!”

Me: “We aren’t a medical facility. I do photos.”

Caller: “I know what you do. That’s why I called you. Do you take my insurance?!”

Me: “You want a doctor’s office; we’re not in the medical field. You called the wrong number. I can’t help you.”

Caller: “I know who I called and what you do! Now answer my question. Do you take [Insurance]?!“

Me: “No, we don’t.”

Caller: “Why not?!“

Me: “Because we’re not a doctor’s office.”

Caller: “You’re useless!” *Slams the phone down*

I wish I could charge insurance companies for my services; I could raise my rates then!

I have a long history of female issues and being precancerous. It has led to the need for a hysterectomy. I get all scheduled for surgery, and a few weeks prior, the doctor’s office calls me and informs me that my insurance will not cover my procedure until I “try” a medication that I have never heard of OR birth control… which I am supposed to take for three months.

This instantly amuses and irritates me. I am a forty-year-old female with three biological children. The youngest is almost fifteen. When I had her, I had a tubal ligation. For those that don’t speak medical… I got fixed. Therefore, I have been unable to have children for all of fifteen years now and I definitely don’t plan on having any more.

I reluctantly agree to the birth control, only because I have taken it once upon a time. My fiancé goes to pick up my birth control and, lo and behold, he is told that insurance will not authorize payment for it.

Let me get this straight: my insurance refuses to allow me to have a surgery that is medically necessary and is documented as such by more than one doctor. The insurance is making me take this medication in order to approve my surgery. But they are refusing to cover it. Did I get that right?

My insurance has gone downhill for the last few years but this takes the cake. When we get married in December, I will be leaving my insurance for my fiancé’s. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever witnessed. I know one day I’ll look back and laugh, but right now I’m still too angry to do so.

I was working at one of those stores that literally sells everything. I was running the returns desk that night. A man came up wanting to return an item. Nothing unusual there. He wanted to return a plastic cutting board. Again, not that unusual. It was why he wanted to return it that gave me pause. He wanted to return the cutting board because it had cut marks in it after he had used it plenty.

I was caught by surprise and there was a moment where I just stared at him. He stated that the plastic should not have had cut marks after he cut and chopped things on it. I did the return.

Has anyone before this guy ever thought that a plastic cutting board wouldn’t have cut marks in it after use?

It’s three days before I go on a nine-day vacation, including a four-day trip to Disneyland for my birthday and my youngest sibling’s graduation. Since my mom told me about this early, I asked for the time off back at the start of June when we changed our time clock system. It is now the last week of July.

The department manager is in the head office working on the next week’s schedule to be issued today. The department phone rings and is answered by [Coworker #1].

Coworker #1: “Hey, [Department Manager] is on the phone asking for you.”

Coworker #2: *Joking* “Oh, sorry, you can’t go on vacation.”

I laugh and walk over and pick up the phone.

Me: “Yes?”

Department Manager: “Hey, next week, [Other Store] needs a closer—”

Me: “Next week when I’m on vacation?”

Department Manager: “You’re on what? I don’t have you on vacation.”

Me: *Pauses* “I asked for it like two months ago.”

Department Manager: “I don’t have it in writing.”

Me: “Well, no, because I put it into the new system.”

Department Manager: “You needed to put it in writing.”

Me: “You guys decided that two weeks after I asked and [Store Assistant Manager] assured me it was in the system and I didn’t have to submit it again.”

Department Manager: “I make your schedule, not him. I knew nothing about this.”

Me: *Thinking* “Okay, pretty sure everyone else does.” *Out loud* “Well, we have an issue then, because I can’t cancel, and I asked well in advance and was told by the second highest manager in the store that it was done.”

After a little more back and forth, he agrees to put it in because the system screwed me. I walk back up to the front of the department and point to [Coworker #2].

Me: “It’s not funny when you’re right.”

Coworker #2: “WHAT?!

Me: “He had no idea I was going on vacation.”

Literally Every Coworker Who Heard Me: “HE WHAT?! HOW?!”

This is still infinitely better than my former store and manager, and when I talked to him later, my manager agreed that Disneyland from Monday to Thursday was a non-negotiable trip.

Customers often keep a credit card on file with us. When they do, all they have to do is reference the last four digits of the card they want us to charge. As a security measure, we reps don’t actually see the card numbers on our end at all. We literally type four digits into a blank field. If it’s saved to their account, it’ll fill the field with asterisks; if not, we get a “No matches” message.

Caller: “Can you charge the card I have on file for my latest invoice?”

Me: “Certainly. What are the last four digits of the card?”

Caller: “The one on file.”

Me: “I’m sorry, but for security reasons, I’m not able to view the number to enter payment. I need you to give me the last four digits of the card.”

Caller: “And how am I supposed to know which card you have on file?”

Because it’s your financial information?

Me: “If you have multiple you want to try, we can certainly do that.”

The caller gives me eight different cards to try; none of them are on file. After the first two turn up “No matches,” I offer to take the whole credit card number for payment, which she very rudely declines. After the eighth “No matches” message:

Me: “As I said earlier, I’m happy to take the whole number of whichever of those cards you would like to use for payment.”

Caller: “That doesn’t seem very secure, does it?”

I think she means giving her card information over the phone.

Me: “Our calls are recorded, but we mark calls with credit card numbers for deletion by the end—”

Caller: “No, I meant that you can’t see my information to tell me which card I have on file. That’s not secure at all!”

Me: “I’m sorry? How so?”

Caller: “How am I supposed to know what information of mine you have and you don’t? How can I tell you to get rid of it if you can’t see it? You should have a list right in front of you so you can read right off to me what you know about me!”

Me: *Giving up* “I’m sorry about that, ma’am, and I will pass that feedback along. But for the invoice, would you like to give me the full card number now to pay for it?”

Caller: “I’ll email it to you!” *Hangs up*

And I thought she was worried about security?