(One of my friends has recently gotten a job at a fast food restaurant that I have worked at for almost a year. I am in the kitchen and she is in the drive-thru but I am helping her with any questions she might have.)

Friend: “Hello, what can I get you today?”

Angry-Sounding Man: “I want the number three meal, large size.”

Friend: “All right, and what to drink with that, sir?”

Angry-Sounding Man: “I don’t want a drink.”

(It takes my friend a moment to say anything and I can tell she’s confused. I remind her that she can’t ring up a meal without a drink.)

Friend: “I’m sorry, sir, but you can’t get a meal without a drink.”

Angry-Sounding Man: *sounding even angrier* “I don’t want a drink and you can’t make me get one! I want the meal without the drink and I’m gonna get it.”

Friend: “I’m sorry, sir, if you don’t want the drink I’ll have to ring it up separately.”

(The man said that was okay but then got to her window and asked her to change it to the meal without the drink. I guess he didn’t realize it was the same person… although she was the only one taking orders and the only one wearing a headset.)

Back in 1988, I sold my small music store to a larger music store and was offered a job there. I decided to take it.

On my first day, an older lady — a piano teacher — with zero personality came up to me and handed me a note. It was a list of piano books she wanted. As there was no one in the music book section to assist — they were either away or helping other customers — I took the note and started looking for the books, even though it wasn’t part of my job or specialty.

I guess I was taking longer than expected and she came up to me and started b****ing that I was taking too long. I explained politely that it was my first day and I wasn’t familiar with the layout of the books. She huffed and said something like, “You’re just being stupid. The books are in the same places they always are.” Again, I said it was my first day and had no experience in the books, as musical instruments like guitars, drums, etc., were my specialty. That didn’t satisfy her and she continued to b**** at me while I tried to fill her order. 

She was so incredibly annoyed with me that she let out a big groan and almost yelled, “Someone get this stupid boy out of here and get me someone to get my order!” I was totally embarrassed, not knowing any of my coworkers and not knowing the store. Eventually, one of the girls came and helped her (and me). 

After a couple of weeks, I got my bearings and my confidence. I was standing at the front counter and the same old cranky sourpuss proceeded to walk up and hand me a note. I looked at it and said, “What’s this?”

“My book order.” 

I replied, “Yeah? And…?”

She looked at me sternly and said, “AND?! THESE ARE THE BOOKS I WANT!”

I handed it back and said, “When you go shopping, do you go up to the cashier in [Grocery Store] and hand her your grocery list? Go get ’em yourself.”

The girls in the music department turned and stared at me. My boss gave me a “What the h*** are you doing?” look. 

I told him, “You don’t need rude customers like this in here.” He actually laughed and from that point forward, the girls in the music book department would help people find books, but no one ever took another list from anyone else. Sometimes you have to bring that rock‘n’roll attitude to the classical music section.

(I am in a decent-sized secondhand store run by three separate church organizations. The people working there work for no pay, so it is mainly senior citizens. My brother and I are there to pick up a shelf after work. I overhear a nasty old lady walk up to one of the workers who is hunched over when he walks — some kind of back problem I assume — is soft-spoken, and was very polite when we talked to him earlier.)

Lady: “How much for this curtain hanger? It has no price tag.”

Worker: “15 kroner.”

Lady: “How can it be that much? I bought one before from here just like this one for just 10 kroner; why is it so expensive?”

(Off she goes with the hanger and I assume she’s changed her mind, so I keep on focusing on taking apart the shelf so I can bring it back home. Lo and behold, back she comes, this time with a manager.)

Lady: “Him. He promised me it was 15 kroner.”

Manager: “I don’t know why he would say it’s 15 kroner when it’s actually priced 30. But if he promised you 15 kroner, then you can have it for 15 and he will be retrained in regards to pricing.”

(I wish I had spoken out about her alleged claim of the low price she’d made at the start but I was so focused on getting the shelf and going home so I just kept quiet. It was pretty clear to me that she was trying to scam a lower price when she didn’t lead with the lowest price of ten kroner.)

(An “entitled” woman — rich looking with a fur coat — on our flight gets to the baggage claim with the rest of us. The baggage belt takes a while to start. When it does, only about seven bags come out and then the belt just stops for some reason. It stays “off” for about two minutes. The “entitled woman” actually walks up to the door flaps, moves them aside a bit, and yells into the back loud enough for all of us to hear:)

Entitled Woman: *very condescending tone* “HELLO! Can we get some more bags out here?!”

(We all looked at each other. Unfortunately, within about five seconds of her little rant, the buzzer buzzed and the belt started again with the remaining bags coming out. We wished the belt hadn’t coincidentally started because it appeared she thought she “had the power” to make things happen by yelling at the employees. We ALL had to wait, but apparently, she was more important than the rest of us.)

(I have been my mother’s caregiver for about eleven years. We have no car right now.)

Me: “Mom, please let me fix you something to eat. I’ve offered you everything we have in the house.”

Mom: “No. I don’t want any of that stuff.”

Me: “All of it is stuff you have eaten before. I’m not offering you anything you don’t like.”

Mom: “But I don’t want it. I want something different.”

Me: “I know that, normally, I would just go get you something, but you know we don’t have a car right now.”

Mom: “I am going to call your sister and tell her to bring me something to eat.”

Me: “Mom! You know that she doesn’t drive! Why would you want to bother her when you could just let me fix you something? Mom, please be reasonable. Just let me fix you something.”

Mom: “She has friends who drive. They won’t mind bringing me something I want.”

(Mom called my sister, told her she was hungry, and asked her to bring her something good. Not long after, my sister showed up. She stalked in and handed Mom a plate of food. She did not look at me or even speak to me to find out why Mom had called her. Then, she stalked back out. Shortly thereafter, there was a post on Facebook about someone who was so lazy that she would not even fix her mother something to eat. I was very hurt by the assumption that was made and publicly broadcast.)