I work in a retirement center as a server; we work the dining room in sections. My section is particularly busy, and on top of that, I have to spend five minutes I don’t have cleaning up syrup that spilled in the fridge. I’m running around but doing the best I can to get everyone’s order out as fast as possible. I approach a table that’s been waiting for coffee for a little while but also ordered an apple juice, which I have.

Me: “And here’s your apple juice.”

Resident #1: “Thank you, honey.”

Resident #2: “Aren’t you going to get her coffee?”

Me: “I’ll have it out as soon as I can.”

I give them both a smile and run back into the kitchen. I want to note that this isn’t said in a snippy tone, I still have other orders to work on from people that came in first, and I will work on the coffee just as soon as I take out some plates of food. When I do bring the coffee over though, I find she already has coffee; I assume one of my coworkers did it to help me out.

Me: “Oh! You already have coffee.”

I start to walk across the room to put away the coffee pot when the other resident says something I can’t quite hear but I know it’s directed at me.

Me: “What?”

Resident #2: “I said, I got it for her because of your attitude.”

I get really upset. Because I talk loud, I’m often mistaken for being angry, and it’s kind of a sore spot for me. Not to mention I’m tired from working a double the day before and am doing one today, so I end up taking a break, pretty much just so I can cry. I later find out that a lot of the other ladies around her got very upset and told her not to speak to me like that, including the resident who wanted the coffee to begin with. She also calls me over to apologize for the other resident’s behavior herself later on in the meal.

Resident #1: “Dear, I’m so sorry that she did that. That’s why I sit with her. You know, I’m trying to mold her into a proper lady, so she’s not such an a**hole. Don’t let what she said bother you; you’re doing a great job and you work so hard. What you need to do next time she’s giving you a hard time is put on your big girl shoes and tell her, ‘F*** you, old lady.’”

I was stunned, and while I would never say anything like that, it was nice to know that the other residents appreciate the fact I’m there all the time and really try my hardest the whole time.

We are in a lockdown with the recent health crisis. Supermarkets have a limit on how many people can enter, which is enforced by security at the doorway. Naturally, this means there are lines to access the supermarket. 

I’m immunocompromised, with a condition that means my immune system attacks and fights my organs, so I have to take specific medication that suppresses my immune responses. This puts me in the “vulnerable” bracket to lots of things, not just the new crisis. I’m basically 80% liquid sanitiser and soap at this stage. 

I’ve not been able to organise home delivery for groceries — all the slots were full — and it’s been hard to get anyone to collect groceries for me. But luckily, our store has an option for a “click and collect,” where I qualified to place an online order and pick it up at a special counter at the store. I go in a mask, gloves, and all. 

Part of going for the click and collect, however, involves strolling past the large lines of people waiting to collect my order at the counter. While I have the immune system response of a weak tea bag, I’m in my twenties and look fairly healthy. This, of course, attracts a lot of foul-mouthed comments from people I walk past with my groceries, ranging from “faker,” to “selfish, taking the slots from those who need it,” as well as “hoarder,” for having a full cart and being a single person — it was a normal shop. 

Please, guys, don’t judge everyone. You don’t know if they are themselves vulnerable or collecting for someone else who is.

I am working in the copy section of a retail store. The new girl who worked yesterday messed up a large order which I am working on correcting with the customer. We have a self-serve fax machine. I notice a woman has moved from the machine over to my register.

Me: “Hello. If you don’t want to wait for me to finish, you can go ring up at customer service.”

I point toward the main registers.

She hesitates before walking away to ring up her fax. I continue working with my customer and he eventually goes to walk around the store while I print and finish his order. One of my goofier coworkers walks up.

Coworker: “Geez, [My Name]! You know, there are baby turtles in my pond that are faster than you!”

Me: *Confused* “What?”

Coworker: “You mean you didn’t hear that lady? She was screaming for like fifteen minutes about how slow you are.”

Me: “The lady with the fax? All I did was tell her to ring up over there.”

Coworker: “Yeah, well, apparently, she has a pond and you are slower than her baby turtles.”

My manager eventually came to have a serious talk with me about the complaint. From then on, my coworkers would joke at me about it. What I never understood was how exactly I was slow. Turtle-lady, wherever you are, I wish you could explain it to me.

Related:
Taxing Faxing, Part 28
Taxing Faxing, Part 27
Taxing Faxing, Part 26
Taxing Faxing, Part 25
Taxing Faxing, Part 24

I am a supervisor at a large supercenter that sells groceries and general merchandise. A new cashier calls me over to her register to help her. She has a woman who is trying to use a check but doesn’t have proper identification. The register will randomly ask to key in the ID number before the check can be processed. There is no way around it.

Me: “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but without showing us your ID, we cannot process your check.”

Customer: “Why? I come here all the time and I never have to show an ID!”

Me: “The registers will randomly ask for an identification number. It is a type of security feature. Unfortunately, there is no way around it. I’m sorry about that.”

Customer: *Getting slightly aggravated* “Well, I don’t have my ID because I lost my wallet in here a while back and you guys haven’t found it yet! So, what are you going to do for me?”

I’m slightly taken aback because she is acting like it is our responsibility to find her wallet in a huge store that gets literally hundreds of customers a day.

Me: *Calmly* “Well, there isn’t anything I can do. Do you have another form of payment?”

Customer: “No. This is my grandmother’s check. She’s waiting in the car. She’s an older lady and that’s why I’m doing her shopping.”

Me: “Well, if it isn’t your check, I need your grandmother here to process it. And I’ll need her ID.”

Customer: “Fine! I’ll go get her!”

She never did come back with her grandmother.

It’s the beginning of the health crisis in 2020. The employees are wearing masks and there are signs posted everywhere to please pay by card instead of cash. In this pharmacy, there is only one line, but there are multiple employees, so usually, you don’t have to worry about a line, but today it’s packed.

My customer is a sweet old lady. Everything about her medication is fine, so we proceed to paying. Her total is something like 17.56€. The lovely old lady starts digging in her purse, of course paying cash, like always. She looks at every single coin, puts it back, takes out another one, and so on. After a few long minutes, she finally manages to find 17.55€ and has the last missing cent in her hand.

This is the moment she looks up from her purse, sees the sign, and says, “Oh, you like it better if I pay by card, don’t you?” Before I can tell her that it’s fine, she puts all the money back in her purse and begins searching for her card. I hand her the card reader and the real struggle begins. In the fourth attempt, she inserts the card the right way round, yay! Who guessed: she doesn’t know her PIN!

Eventually, after about ten minutes, she pays with a 20€ note. I am so glad I am wearing a mask today.