For no apparent reason whatsoever, it is inexplicably the busiest day ever. There are crowds of people all throughout the store and long wait times to reach the checkouts. As usual, I’m looking after the self-serve machines. The line for the self-serves is by far the longest I’ve ever seen it, and I’ve been there a long time. I’m doing my best to keep things moving, but it’s pretty hectic.

A customer approaches me through the self-serve exit. She talks in a pleasant, conversational tone for this entire exchange, even the bits that aren’t pleasant nor conversational.

We currently have a promotion going on where spending money earns you special points which you can trade in for a glass container.

Customer: “Excuse me. I think I’ve earned enough points for one of your glass containers.”

Me: “May I see your receipt?”

She shows me her receipt, which indicates that she does indeed have enough points for a container.

Me: “The containers are just at the end of aisle one over there. If you want to grab one and line up, I can show you how to put it through. You just need the container and your rewards card.”

Even though they are free, the containers still need to be scanned through a register and then paid for with points, which are saved on customers’ rewards cards.

Customer: “Would you be able to go and get one and do it for me? I don’t want to have to line up in that line.”

Me: “Ah, not really sorry. It’s really busy here, as you can see. And I’m not really allowed to leave my post unattended. You can always come back next time and get it. It might be a bit quieter then. As long as you have your rewards card, you can get it any time.”

Customer: “I’m just worried you’ll have run out.”

Me: “I shouldn’t think that will happen. They’ve kept the containers pretty well stocked. I don’t think they’ve allowed them to run out since the promotion began.”

Customer: “Okay. What’s your name by the way?”

I point to my name tag.

Me: “[My Name].”

Customer: “Thank you, [My Name]. I’m going to report you for refusing to help a customer. This is bad customer service.”

Me: “If you feel you have to, go ahead. As I said, I unfortunately can’t leave the self-serve. You can try talking to them at the service desk. Maybe they can spare someone up there to go and help you.”

Customer: “No, it’s okay. I’ll just report you. Bye.”

Me: “Okay, have a good day.”

While I feel her threats were pretty empty, I almost hope she does complain about me. “A member of staff refused to abandon their post and their customers on a very busy day to do my shopping for me, and then they wouldn’t let me cut in line past all the other customers who’d been waiting for ages to get a register.” I’m sure that complaint would be taken very seriously.

I answer the main phone line for a municipality. We collect the caller’s information and then dispatch our workers out to fix issues as necessary. We take traffic light issues very seriously and immediately contact staff to have them fixed as it is a safety hazard. We have hundreds of crosswalk buttons across the city, and while they do regular maintenance, there is no way they could check each button every day, so we rely on callers to inform us of problems.

Caller: *Screaming into the phone* “YOU NEED TO FIX THE CROSSWALK LIGHTS ON [STREET]! I WAS ALMOST HIT BY A CAR!”

Me: “Okay, I am sorry to hear that. Can I ask what intersection those lights are at?”

Caller: “Are you f****** listening? I said I was almost hit by a car! You need to fix the lights!”

Me: “Yes. I need to know where they are on [Street] in order to have them fixed.”

Caller: “They are at [Intersection]! You need to fix them right now! That’s a f****** safety hazard! I was almost killed! I have a daughter! If I was hit by a car, you would have a bigger problem! You need to do something!”

I keep trying to get a word in while she is screaming over me.

Me: “Okay, I am going to let the crew know right now and have them fix it.”

Caller: “You have to fix it now! You can’t just ‘let them know’! You have to do something!”

Me: *Trying to interject again* “Okay, this is the first I am hearing of it so I will let them know right now.”

Caller: “Are you f****** kidding me? You can’t just use the excuse that this is the first you are hearing of it! You have to fix it! I was almost hit by a car! I have a daughter! I could have been killed!”

Me: *Trying to speak over her screaming* “Okay, I am going to dispatch them now.” *Disconnects the call*

I called the crew right away and they said they would be there shortly to fix the button. She ended up emailing to say I was rude and didn’t care about her issue and didn’t fix it immediately. I am not sure how she thought we would know it was broken if no one had to told us, or how she thought I would dispatch a crew while she was screaming at me on the phone.

My husband, two-year-old daughter, and I are at a popular furniture store. Before we go up the escalator to enter the main part of the store, I take my daughter to use the restroom. The restrooms happen to be near where the drop-off childcare area is, which is closed due to the health crisis. The elevators are located there, as well, including where the carts are.

An employee watches us walking toward that area and steps in front of me, blocking me from the restrooms.

Employee: “The child’s area is closed.”

Me: “Yes, I know. I’m actually just taking my daughter to the restroom.”

I try to walk around them and they step in front of me again.

Employee: “Ma’am, I told you, the child’s area is closed! You can’t take your daughter there.”

Me: “I’m just trying to take my daughter to the restroom before we join my husband upstairs.”

They huff at me but stand aside to let us through. My husband has already gone upstairs via the elevators with a cart. When my daughter and I finish, my daughter wants to go up the escalator, which involves walking past the employee again. They block us again.

Employee: “The carts are over there and you can take the elevator.”

Me: “My husband is already upstairs with a cart. We’d like to take the escalator.”

Employee: “But the carts are over there! You have to get a cart.”

Me: “My husband already grabbed a cart and is waiting for us upstairs. Please stop blocking us.”

Employee: “FINE! Do whatever you want, then. Don’t blame me because you don’t listen.”

Me: “Pretty sure I’m not the one that’s not listening.”

I work in a small chain family restaurant that serves a lot of home-style cooked food. Lately, there’s only a hostess on weekend morning shifts — my manager desperately needs to hire multiple front-end staff but just “hasn’t gotten around to it” — so it gets pretty hectic having to serve and hostess when it gets busy at night. I usually end up serving my section and hostessing for both me and the other waitress.

Tonight, Friday, the busiest night of the week, my boss had just me and the youngest server —she’s seventeen and she’s actually really amazing at her job — manning the restaurant. We work great together, but both of us being and looking very young makes rude and entitled people not want to listen to us. As soon as I started my shift at 3:00 pm, I covered the whole floor — twelve tables at full capacity — for an hour until the other server arrived, and then we split the floor. The first hour was quite busy, but it just got busier and busier after she arrived until we had to start up a waitlist.

I noticed a new customer at the front as I was bringing out a table’s food. As soon as I walked up to him and was in the middle of saying hello, he looked straight ahead at the one dirty table in the joint.

Customer: “I’ll take that booth; go clean it.”

Me: “I’m sorry but we are full and actually have a waiting list going. There’s one person ahead of you and it should be around ten or fifteen minutes for a table.”

Customer: “Just give me that table. I’m in a hurry; I have places to be.”

Me: “That table is actually for that lady behind you and it’s our only available one, but I can add you to the list and the next available table will be yours.”

Customer: *Points to closed tables* “What about those empty tables? Don’t want to sit me there or what?”

Me: “Those are actually closed for social distancing.”

Customer: “Aren’t there tables around the corner in the back there?”

Me: “They’re all full, as well; everything is occupied. Would you like to be added to the list or not?”

I’m getting impatient as I have about a dozen other tasks that would be much more useful than this conversation.

Customer: “Show me the list.”

Me: “There’s one person ahead of you.”

Customer: “Show me the list.”

Me: “There is only one person ahead of you.”

Customer: *Getting increasingly angrier* “Show me the list!”

Me: “That lady is the only person ahead of you; the next table will be yours.”

Customer: “GIVE ME THE LIST! I WANT TO SEE HOW LONG THE WAIT IS MYSELF!”

The guy literally tries to SNATCH the paper right out of my hands. I’m kind of shocked.

Me: “I am not going to show you the list. It has people’s private numbers on it.”

Customer: “What’s your name?”

I tell him.

Customer: “Well, I’m [Customer] and you’re in trouble. I don’t mean to be short, but people’s time is important, and you are wasting it.” *Turns to walk out*

Me: “I know it is, and so are you.”

I doubt he heard the last part but really hope he did!

Our concession stand has a little display with our popcorn sizes under the register. Two women walk up to me.

Woman #1: “A medium popcorn, please.”

Me: “Sure thing!”

I prepare a medium popcorn and set it on the counter, and her face immediately turns sour.

Woman #1: “That popcorn does not match the one in your display! What, are you trying to rip me off?!”

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, I don’t understand.”

Woman #1: *Tapping the front of the display* “That medium popcorn is not the same size as the medium popcorn in the display! The one in the display is bigger!“

Me: “Ma’am, I can assure you they are the exact same size.”

Woman #1: “They are not!”

Woman #2: “So now you’re calling my friend a liar?”

Woman #1: “I don’t appreciate being deceived! The one in the display is bigger and you know it!”

Figuring it might de-escalate the situation, I simply bend over, open the display, grab the medium bag, and set it down next to the woman’s popcorn, proving they are the exact same size. In fact, the bags are identical in every way — size, shape, design, etc. The customer is speechless.

Woman #1: “I… Uh… It’s not the same size and you know it!”

She turns and stomps away.

Woman #2: “Wow, way to make my friend look like an a**! I’ll be talking to your corporate office!”

She similarly turned and stomped away. Never heard from corporate, so I guess it was an empty threat.