My mom and I are shopping at [Membership Warehouse Store]. I need a new backpack, and Mom is willing to make it an early Christmas present for me, seeing as I never have any clue what I want besides money for food and such. (Poor college girl presents, yay!)

We pick out a good backpack and shop around a little more, getting a few other things. We then head up to the cash register. For those that don’t know about [Membership Warehouse Store], in order to buy their stuff, you have to have a card. There are multiple tiers of membership, and they can be Personal, Business, Corporate, etc. It’s also not uncommon to have a parent come in with kids. The oldest kid may push a cart for family purchases on the parent’s Personal account, while the parent pushes a cart to be purchased on the Business card. As long as the name is the same on both cards (i.e., not using someone else’s account), the company has never had problems with this.

We get up to the cashier, and Mom wants to put my backpack on a separate bill. She has two membership cards: one shared between her and Dad for the everyday family stuff and one that’s just hers for fun stuff, Christmas gifts, etc. They’re the same tier, but both have her name.

The cashier doesn’t want to let us do that. This immediately puts my mom on high alert, because this is something she always does.

Mom: “I always do this. Why can’t I do this now?”

Cashier: “You can’t let other people use your card, ma’am. “

Mom: “I’m not. I’m buying it for her; she’s not buying it.”

Cashier: “We can do a subtotal…”

Mom: “Both accounts I’m using are mine. I’m even using the same debit card. I’m not using her money; I’m using mine.”

Cashier: “Well, I heard you asking if that backpack was okay.”

Mom: “She’s my daughter. I can’t get a Christmas present for my daughter on my account?”

Cashier: *Snotty tone* “Well, I don’t know that she’s your daughter.”

Mom: “It shouldn’t matter. Both accounts have my name and my photo on them, and I’m paying with my own debit card. We’re not breaking any rules.”

The cashier then speaks in a tone that suggests she’s now just being spiteful.

Cashier: “Well, you still can’t do that. You can get a subtotal and pay for it on one account, or you can show me her—” *pointing rudely at me with a jabbing finger* “—membership card.”

I was just getting annoyed with the cashier because really, it wasn’t any of her business. Either the cashier should have backed off when Mom explained or she should’ve gotten her manager.

Instead, the cashier kept pushing, saying she needed to put it on a subtotal, which was not what Mom wanted. Mom finally demanded to see a manager and explained what was going on while the cashier was still arguing and getting catty.

The manager looked really confused at why there was even an issue as my mom explained. She showed him both membership cards and her debit card. He gave them all a cursory look, confirmed that all three had the exact same name on them, and then gave the cashier an exasperated look. He stepped in, rang our purchases as my mom asked, handed over the receipts, and apologized for the trouble.

I received a video chat call from a phone number I didn’t know. I rejected the call, only to have it pop up again. After the third call, I texted the number.

Me: “Who is this?”

A fourth call came and I rejected it again. Two more followed, making six calls in three minutes. 

Me: “Stop calling me.”

Finally, they stopped. Then, a few minutes later, I got a text reply.

Random Number: “My kid had my phone. He was just playing around. You didn’t have to be so f****** rude. God bless, but I hope you don’t have kids.”

I was going to reply by saying I wasn’t rude, but I figured someone like that wasn’t going to change their mind.

I work in a pharmacy that ships out two deliveries (to nursing homes) per day. We call these the first run and the second run. While the first run is being packed up, a couple of people stay in the main pharmacy to answer the phones. Today, it’s [Coworker] and me.

Me: “Pharmacy, how can I help you?”

Caller: “I’m so happy I got you! Thank you so much for being the one who answered! My name is [Caller], and it’s been such a long day. I have no patience for [Coworker]. I love her, but she just talks so slowly and it takes too long. Anyway, I’m glad I got you!”

I’m not sure how to respond because I don’t feel the need to share [Coworker]’s reasons for working at the speed she does, but I’m not going to bad mouth her, either. I wait patiently for the caller to finish saying how the whole conversation takes longer when she gets [Coworker], oblivious to the irony.

Eventually, she gets to the point.

Caller: “So, my name is [Caller] and I’m a nurse at [Facility]. One of my patients has an inhaler that’s not working, and we need it stat.”

I take the patient’s information and check when we sent the inhaler.

Me: “Well, I’m not sure why the inhaler isn’t working, but the patient has refills and is due for a refill anyway. I can put that through for tonight.”

Caller: “I’m going to need it for the first run.”

At this point, it’s 5:30. The cutoff for the first run is 4:00. Anything we get afterward is for the second run. However, it’s a rescue inhaler and we’re not super slammed, so I tell her I can try to push it through for her.

Caller: “So, that will be on the first run?”

Me: “I will try to get it on the first run, but it might end up on the second run.”

Caller: “Wait, so can we get it on the first run?”

Me: “I’ll do my best.”

Caller: “Thank you so much, and what was your name?”

While I was born and raised in the United States, and my accent is very American, my name is not English. It tends to throw people off.

Me: “[My Name].”

Caller: “I’m sorry, what was that?”

Me: “It’s [My Name].”

The pharmacist has been following my side of the conversation, and at this point, she speaks up. The caller can’t hear her.

Pharmacist: “Just hang up so we can take care of it already!”

Caller: “Could you spell that for me?”

Me: “Sure.”

I spell my name out, the caller hangs up, and I run the refill. 

Pharmacist: *Shaking her head* “Bless you, [My Name]. All I can say is bless you.”

Now I’m left with one question. If [Caller] was so happy that I answered the phone, who did she think I was if she didn’t remember my name?

Client: “When I Google ‘Open Sundays’, our company website doesn’t even come up.”

Me: “Why would it?”

Client: “Uh, because we’re open Sundays. Obviously.”

Me: “There are a lot of places that are open on Sunday, though.”

Client: “But I wasn’t looking for those other sites; I was looking for ours. Are you even paying attention?!”

A customer came into the store where I work with two ironing boards.

Customer: “My husband and I bought this ironing board yesterday, and I want to exchange it for this other one.”

Me: “As this second board is much more expensive than the one you bought, we can’t do an even exchange; you will have to pay the difference.”

She immediately started yelling at me.

Woman: “I’ve never had to pay extra for anything! You’re ripping me off!”

Me: “Per company policy, I can only do that or give you the same model for the same price.”

She argued with me for what seemed like forever, saying our store had never made her pay the difference. She basically screamed for us to go and get the manager. While we waited for my manager, the woman’s husband tried to level with her and explain why we couldn’t just take the one they had and exchange it for a different product.

Woman: *To me* “You’re a moron, and I will get what I want in the end!”

My manager came over, told her the exact same thing I had, and offered them a return so they could get their money back. The woman relented, agreed to get her money back, and then went to buy the more expensive ironing board. So, she basically did what I had told her to do in the first place.