Back around 2007, I got laid off. It was not easy finding a job, but I did find one working as a sales associate for a small family-owned furniture store for $10 an hour plus commission. It didn’t sound bad. I was told my hours would be alternating Sundays on and off, Mondays off, and Tuesdays through Saturdays would be eight- to twelve-hour days. Training would take two weeks, and I’d be paid for it. I was told for training I would need to bring a notebook and a pen to take notes. 

I was hired with three others. The training was basically watching videos and going around the sales floor learning about the furniture and different materials and woods. 

I got my first paycheck and discovered that $25 had been deducted as a “training fee”. I talked to a lady who’d been training with me.

Me: “Do you have this ‘training fee’ on your paycheck, too?”

Coworker #1: “Yes, I do!”

Me: “Were you ever told about any training fees?”

Coworker #1: “Nope.”

I decided that since I needed a job and didn’t want to lose this one, I would just keep quiet.

When I got my next paycheck, I had the $25 training fee deducted from it again. On the last day of training, the new hires were all presented with business cards. When I got my last check from training, I noticed I had another $25 training fee deducted from my check as well as $25 deducted from my check for the business cards.

We were never told anything about any training fees or being charged for business cards. I should’ve questioned it, but I needed the job too badly.

Our manager told us that since we would be off on Mondays, we would need to schedule any doctor’s appointments or anything else for Mondays as we would not be able to take off when we were scheduled to work.

I had been there for about two months. My son’s school was going on a field trip, and parents were invited to go along. The field trip was on Monday, so I decided I wanted to go with him and went ahead and paid for the cost associated with the field trip.

However, the Saturday before the field trip, my manager told me and the other three new hires that he had a special trip he wanted to take us on. He said that it would be a tour of a manufacturing facility where they make the furniture. The trip was scheduled for that Monday — the same Monday as my son’s field trip.

My manager went over the itinerary and details of the trip.

• We would all meet at the store at eight o’clock and we would drive in our own vehicles to the manufacturing plant — a two-hour drive.
• He told us to get gas the night before because we would not be stopping anywhere; we would be driving straight to the plant.
• We would not be taking any lunch breaks, and we could not bring any food with us.
• We would be at the plant for at least six to eight hours.
• Once we were done, we would all drive straight back to our store and meet there around eight o’clock at night. Once we were all accounted for, we were all free to go home.
• We were not getting paid for this day, and we had to buy our own gas. We would not be reimbursed.

Me: “Hey, [Manager], my son has a field trip on Monday, and I planned to go. I’ve already paid for it.”

Manager: “No. This trip is mandatory.”

I talked to another sales associate who had been with the company a little longer, and he told me that most people quit right after this trip. He said they did this — scheduling these trips on our days off — at least two or three times a year. He also informed me that the company would deduct $25 from our paychecks as a “training fee” for this trip to this manufacturing plant.

Me: “Will I be in trouble if I don’t go?”

Coworker #2: “They won’t like it. But what can you do?”

I decided not to go on this mandatory trip, and I took my son on his field trip that we had already paid for. 

The manager did say something to me about it, and I told him that I had already paid for the trip, so I had to go. 

When I got my next paycheck, I saw a $25 training deduction on it. I went to talk to the payroll lady.

Me: “What is this deduction for?”

Payroll Lady: “It’s for the trip you all took to the manufacturing plant.”

Me: “I didn’t go.”

Payroll Lady: “I know, but we have to charge you the fee regardless of whether you went or not.”

I was mad, and I decided right then to walk out and never look back. The good news is that I got another job two weeks later, and that furniture store went out of business about two years later.

This was many years ago, in the early days when MP3 players were available and still a new and exciting thing. My older sister had a part-time job while in high school and had saved up money to buy one, and as her birthday was approaching, my parents agreed to help make up the difference as her birthday present.

My whole family tagged along to buy it. It was a very exciting thing, and as jealous as I was of my sister for getting an MP3 player, she said I could have her old Walkman, and I was very grateful.

We went to an electronics store, and we were greeted by an older lady who worked there.

Now, I have nothing against older people working with electronics, but I could see from my parents’ faces that they didn’t want to be served by her when she started talking about how technology is moving too fast… And she worked in an electronics store and was meant to sell these things.

My sister started asking about the types of players available and pointed out some she had seen in the catalogue which were in her price range.

Sister: “I saw this one, which is in our price range and can hold 150 songs!”

The sales lady rolled her eyes and looked fed up.

Sales Lady: “Oh, that’s no good! You don’t need 150 songs! All you actually need is five or six songs, and you can just swap them around every now and then!”

I think she probably had a heart attack when Spotify was released.

I worked in customer service over the phone for a popular TV company. I went several rounds with one customer who was upset about his bill.

Customer: “I shouldn’t have been charged at all! I haven’t used my TV in nine months because I haven’t had any power!”

Me: “Sir, you should’ve called us to tell us to stop service. Since you didn’t do that, I can only get your service turned off now. I can’t reimburse you for nine months of non-use.”

Customer: “You can see that I haven’t used it! You’ve charged me illegally!”

Actually, we can’t see whether customers are using our service or not. I kept trying to reason with this guy, and he kept arguing. After forty-five minutes, I finally said:

Me: “Sir! We are not the government. We do not track your every move. Would you like to cancel or not?”

He chose to cancel.

It’s an early Sunday morning, and I decide to go take a short stroll while it is still cool out. The path I take goes right by a tiny playground, and as I near the playground, I notice some broken glass on the ground along the path. It’s a tiny bit removed from the actual playground, but still, I figure it’s best to not leave glass anywhere close to where kids might be playing. Having nothing more planned than to enjoy the weather, I figure I might as well spend my time cleaning the mess up.

I’ve filled my hand up with glass pieces and have just gotten up to walk to the trash can at the playground to dispose of it when a woman I didn’t realize was behind me speaks up. She has two kids in tow.

Woman: “You missed some pieces.”

Me: “Oh, I know. I was going to come back for the last bit.”

Woman: “Well, hurry up so my kids can play.”

Me: “They could still play at the playground. It’s not like they’re going to run out onto the path here. Plus, it turns out this is all safety glass, so they probably wouldn’t hurt themselves even if they were over here.”

Woman: “Just hurry up and clean your mess up so my kids can play already!”

Me: “This isn’t my mess; I just saw it and figured I’d be nice and clean it up.”

Woman: “Stop making excuses. What were you thinking, drinking alcohol in front of a playground, anyway?!”

Me: “I wasn’t! It’s not my mess. And I don’t know what that glass was, but it wasn’t a bottle; it’s too thick and there wasn’t enough to be a bottle.”

Older Girl: “Mom, can we go play?”

Woman: “Not until that guy gets back to cleaning up his mess.”

Me: “It’s. Not. My. Mess! I was trying to be nice, but frankly, you aren’t making me want to help with the way you’re acting.”

Woman: “I have the right to demand that you pick up your own mess.”

Me: “Which this isn’t! And even if it were, you can still ask nicely.” *To the girls* “Hey, kids, what are you supposed to say if you want to ask someone to do something for you?”

Younger Girl: “Please?”

Me: “So, if your mom wants me to clean up someone’s mess, what should she say?”

Woman: “Stop talking to my girls! I didn’t say you could.”

Me: “Okay, I’m done with this. I’m finishing my walk. Goodbye.”

Woman: “Get back here! My kids can’t play until you clean this up!”

Older Girl: “I’ll pick it up, Mom.”

Woman: “No! You will cut yourself!”

Me: *While starting to walk away* “It’s safety glass, so she probably wouldn’t, but you could always pick it up yourself.”

Woman: “No way are any of us cleaning up for you!”

Me: “Guess we’ll just have to hope someone else decides to clean the rest, then.”

The older girl runs toward me.

Older Girl: “Wait! Please, will you finish cleaning so we can play? Please?”

Now closer, she drops her voice some, presumably so her mom can’t hear her.

Older Girl: “Sorry about Mom. I know you were just helping, but she won’t let us play if someone doesn’t pick it up. Please?”

She gives me puppy-dog eyes, and she sincerely sounds like she thinks her mother would march them all home rather than pick up the last few shards or just walk around it to the actual playground. I don’t know whether the kid is overreacting to her mom’s comments or if she knows her mother enough to realize that’s a reasonable expectation. Either way, though, she is being very polite. and I would hate to discourage politeness in kids; given their role model, they could use all the reinforcement they could get on proper manners.

Me: “Okay. Since someone asked nicely, I’ll make you a deal: I’ll finish picking up the last bit like I was planning, but only if your mom promises to take you both to the playground to play right now and doesn’t say anything else rude to me.”

Woman: “What do you—”

Older Girl: *Sounding exasperated* “Mom! He promised! Let’s just go play. Please?”

The girl grabs her mom’s hand and half-drags her and her younger sister to the playground.

Older Girl: “Thank you for cleaning!”

Since the woman did keep her mouth shut after that, despite her looking like her head might explode from the exertion, I decided to finish what I started — for the sake of her kids and anyone else who came to the playground, not the woman.

Once I was done, the girl gave me a second thank-you and even encouraged her shyer younger sister to give me one, too, as I was leaving. Perhaps there is hope for the next generation of that family, at least.

I was selling cell phones in the mid-2000s. An older gentleman — the old farmer-looking type — came up to the counter scowling and THREW the phone on the counter.

Customer: “Doesn’t work!”

Me: “Well, all right, let’s see what’s going on. Can you tell me what it’s not doing that it should be?”

Customer: “DOESN’T. WORK.”

Me: “All right, then…”

I flipped the phone open and proceeded to hit the power button.

Customer: *Bellowing* “HOW’D YOU DO THAT?!”

Me: “Pressed the power button, right here?”

I turned the phone to show the power button/end conversation button the old flip phones had. He grabbed the phone from me, looked it over, scowled some more at me, and essentially stormed off with the same attitude and energy he’d charged up with.