(I work at a jewelry store, and we sell all sorts of stones. This couple has been in the store for well over an hour, and I have approached them a few times to see if they need any help. Finally, they do, and the interaction seems to be normal for the most part.)

Customer: “Do you have any jewelry of this specific stone?”

Me: “Certainly! Let me pull a few pieces out of the case. These are fairly inexpensive, so they should fall right into your budget!”

(I go over to the case and take out a series of pendants for the customer to select from. The customer picks one up, rubs it, then sticks it up her nostril to smell it.)

Customer: “It feels good; will this be available in a few weeks?”

Me: “Potentially. It depends on the people who come in.”

Customer: “All right.”

(The customer put the pendant in my hand and walked out. I promptly took the piece off display and sanitized it.)

Coworker: “When’s Good Friday in Canada?”

Me: “April 14.”

Coworker: “No, but in Canada.”

Me: “What?”

Coworker: “They have a different Thanksgiving than us, so they probably have a different Good Friday.”

Me: “Are you high?”

Coworker: “Why, is it obvious?”

(My fiancé and I have decided, two weeks prior to our wedding, to finally go to the jewelry store and pick out wedding bands. As we both dislike most jewelry, we have decided on getting plain, white gold bands to match my single-stone, white gold, 1.5-carat Moissanite ring. We decide to check out a jeweler in the department store I work at, meaning I would get an employee discount. We’d gone to another jeweler for the Moissanite, because the one at the department store doesn’t have Moissanite rings, and I am very specific about not having a diamond.)

Me: “My fiancé and I are looking for wedding bands. We want simple—”

Clerk: *grabs my hand* “Oh, what a gorgeous diamond! I have several wedding bands that will match!”

(She drops my hand and goes to a nearby jewelry case. Within 45 seconds, she brings out a gigantic onyx and diamond monstrosity for him, and a silver, three-stone, two-carat engagement ring for me.)

Clerk: “This is only $3,560! A steal at that price!”

Me: “What I was trying to say is that we would like plain, white gold wedding bands. No stones; I’d prefer my Moissanite to stand out on its own.”

Fiancé: “Yeah, those aren’t even an option based on the stones alone. And that looks like an engagement ring. Also, she works at [Department Store], so we were wondering about the employee discount?”

Clerk: “Yeah, it’s an engagement ring. It’ll work; I promise. I mean, you could always get rid of that single stone; it’s too small.”

(She briefly explains the discount. Over the next half-hour or so, she shows us about ten different options at decreasing price points that are not anywhere near what we wanted, promising each time that we’ll like her selection and that she’ll get us what we want. I clarify several times that we would really like to see plain rings. At one point, I notice a full case of plain rings right behind her, on the back wall of the store. I ask her about the case, and she ignores me. I am getting increasingly irate, and in response to her showing me a $599 engagement ring and wedding band set and sneering at me with disgust as she does so, I finally snap:)

Me: “As I have stated, several times, I would love to see any of your plain. White. Gold. Rings. Don’t bother showing me another one. I’m sure that [Competitor], the place I bought my Moissanite from — with my fiancé — would be able to give us what we want.”

(She ignores me, of course, so she produces yet another diamond encrusted piece of “f*** this.” A $200 wedding band, at this point. She glares at me. I turn and walk out without another word.)

Fiancé: “You have done a fantastic job at ignoring everything we’ve stated. Goodbye.”

(Less than five minutes later, we arrive at the competitor.)

Me: “Hi! We were looking for wedding bands.”

Jeweler: “Of course! I have an entire case right here. What were you looking for? We have silver, white gold, gold, 14k, 10k, with stones…”

Fiancé: “Ah, just plain, and white gold to match her ring.”

(After a brief exchange of information to bring up my account:)

Jeweler: “Oh, what a beautiful Moissanite!”

Me: “Thank you! I get asked, ‘Is it real?’ all the time, and I’m like, ‘Yes, it does exist!’”

Jeweler: *laughs* “Very good choice, I must say. Your ring is a 14k, but I recommend a 10-carat for you, sir.”

Fiancé: “Excellent, thanks!”

(We selected our rings, and our transaction was processed within 15 minutes of our arrival in the store. We got a better deal with them than anything I was being offered at the other place, so I was quite happy. As we were walking past their shop-front, I saw the woman in her shop. She glared at me with her arms crossed. I smiled and waved at her with the hand that was holding my new ring.)

(I work in a jewelry store. We received a phone call from a customer a few days ago and my manager told me to expect them in. The silver ID bracelet that they bought had broken, and he told them to come in so we could replace it for them. The couple comes in with their baby in tow.)

Female Customer: *in a huffy voice* “Yeah, hi, is [Manager] here?”

Me: “It’s his day off today, but I’m the assistant manager. How can I help?”

Female Customer: “[Manager] told us to come in because our silver bracelet broke.”

Me: *as polite as possible* “Oh, that’s right! He told me to expect you. Can I have a look at it, please?

(After a quick glance, the bracelet doesn’t have any broken links I expected to see. Instead, the ring holding the clasp onto the bracelet has come apart.)

Me: “Oh, this is really easy to fix! We don’t need to replace it; I can just put on a new clasp.”

Female Customer: “But it will come apart again!”

Me: “I can put a stronger clasp on there for you at no extra charge; however, if you want the ring soldered shut, we would need to send it to our jeweler and charge you $30 for his work, as none of us are able to solder it shut here.”

Female Customer: “What do you mean, it’ll cost $30? It should always be sold soldered shut!”

Me: “Unfortunately, none of our bracelets or chains come with the ring soldered shut, as it’s a safety precaution. If it gets caught, the ring will open up and you won’t get cut by the piece of jewellery. Customers can choose to have the rings soldered at their own cost.”

Male Customer: “Well, okay. We’ll have the stronger clasp put on there, but we’re not paying $30 for soldering.”

Female Customer: “No, I want it to be soldered! I don’t want it to come off again!”

(Cue argument for a few minutes while I try to keep the baby entertained.)

Female Customer: “Okay, fine. Put the better clasp on there.”

(I fix the clasp very easily and show it to them to inspect. The mum asks me to put it on their son, which I do so happily. Both parents have to hold him down, as he keeps struggling, and it takes several attempts before I can do the bracelet up. The instant they let go, he puts part of the bracelet in his mouth and PULLS. I suspect that this is probably why the bracelet became loose to begin with, but I keep this to myself. He does this several times, and each time his mum swats his hand away to stop him from doing it. After it’s done, she starts making conversation again…)

Female Customer: “Back in our country, they always sell chains soldered shut. It’s so different here.”

Me: “Oh, that’s interesting. Thank you for telling me. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Female Customer: “See? Look!”

(She pulls on her own chain around her neck and, lo and behold, the ring holding the clasp comes undone and the chain falls into her hands. She has the biggest shocked look on her face as she realises that her own jewelry is made the same way.)

Me: *big grin on my face* “Oh, that’s okay! I can fix that for you!”

Female Customer: *very sheepishly* “Oh… Yes, please.”

(After I fixed her chain, the customers left the store very quickly and thanked me profusely for all of my help, saying I did a great job. I’ve retold this story to my coworkers who have a laugh of the instant karma that happened that day.)

(A coworker and I are looking at the schedule.)

Coworker: “[My Name], your last name is unusual. Where’s it from?”

Me: “Germany, but—”

Coworker: “Oh, so your family were Nazis, huh? Going to lock me up for being gay? You guys suck!”

Me: “I don’t know if my family were Nazis; let me ask my ancestors. Oh, wait! I can’t, because they were killed in camps. What I was trying to say is that my last name is German, but we come from Poland. My family are Ashkenazi Jews. Hmm, Jews, huh? Still think my family were Nazis? You need to watch what you say!”

Coworker: “I am so sorry!” *quickly walks away*

(I didn’t think it warranted being reported to HR, but I told the supervisor who had a talk with her.)