(The grocery store I work at also has a popular coffee chain stall inside. They have several tables around the stall, since we have hot foods in the deli. I work in the department next to the coffee stall, so I overhear a lot of conversations there and at the tables. A department head and a few of her friends are sitting at a table, drinking coffee and chatting. Someone from her department comes over.)

Coworker: “Hey, [Department Head], when are you back from lunch? We have some things we need you to help with.”

Department Head: “Oh, I haven’t even clocked out yet!” *laughs*

(She’s been sitting and chatting for close to an hour at that point.)

Coworker: “Okay, but we need you to help with some of the computer stuff for [process].”

Department Head: “Yeah, I’ll get over there eventually. Just go make yourself busy.”

(My coworker goes to the office. A few minutes later, the store manager comes over.)

Manager: “[Department Head]! You’re on the clock! Why are you just sitting around?!”

Department Head: “I’m taking a break, jeez!”

Manager: “If you’re gonna take a break, go clock out! You’ve spent too much time hanging out and not working!”

Department Head: “You’re just jealous I’m pretty and people like me!”

Manager: “No, I’m upset you spend more time socializing with friends than doing what I pay you for. Clock out for break or go home.”

(I found out later that she transferred to a different store because of “too much pressure” from our manager.)

(A person applies for a manager position at our theater. Although they don’t meet the requirements, our GM decides to allow them to work towards the position. Everything goes normal for the first day of training until five hours in.)

Employee: “Hey, what time do we leave tonight?”

General Manager: “Around 1:30 am.”

Employee: “Oh… I don’t do late nights.”

General Manager: “Excuse me?”

Employee: “Yeah, unless I’m making [amount over double the projected salary the employee agreed to], I don’t do late nights or early mornings.”

General Manager: “When did you think you were going to be working?”

Employee: “You know, nine to five. Business hours.”

General Manager: “We’re open usually 7:00 am until around 1:00 am. That’s our business hours.”

Employee: “Yeah… I don’t think this job is going to work for me. Is it cool if I stay until 11 so I have a decent pay for the day?”

General Manager: “Absolutely not.”

Employee: “All right… peace.” *hands over their nametag and leaves*

Other Manager: *who saw all this happen* “Did they really just ask to milk the clock while quitting?”

General Manager: “It appears so.”

(I moved to Florida two years ago. My driver’s license expires this year, but I can’t renew it in my home state, so I just decide to go ahead and get a Florida driver’s license. I go to the DMV a few days before my license expires. When you arrive at a Florida DMV, you are told to check in to an automated terminal with your phone number. I do so and find out that issues involving a driver’s license are by appointment only. I sign up for the earliest appointment, which is about a week away, and receive an email confirmation for my appointment. I know that my license will expire by that time, but it’s the soonest I can get a license, so I just ask a friend to take me the following week. I return the following week and check myself into the terminal. I wait until I realize it’s been fifteen minutes since my appointment time, and my phone number isn’t showing up on the queue on the monitors. I go to the reception desk.)

Me: “Hello. I checked in about 25 minutes ago for an appointment to get my driver’s license at 1:00 pm. It’s 15 minutes after that, and I know things probably run a little behind, but I’m not listed on the queue for appointments above, so I just want to make sure I checked in correctly.”

Receptionist: “What are the last four digits of your phone number?”

(I give her the four numbers.)

Receptionist: “I don’t have any appointments under that number. You checked in incorrectly. You just added yourself to the main walk-in queue. You have to schedule an appointment ahead of time for driver’s-license-related things.” 

Me: “I did do that. I came in last week and signed up for an appointment today at 1:00 pm.”

Receptionist: “I’m not seeing anything in the computer under your number. I need to see your confirmation email.”

Me: “Okay, fine.”

(I try to find the email on my phone, but for some reason, it won’t come up when I scroll through my inbox. I spend a good minute trying to find it to no avail.)

Me: “For some reason, I can’t find it. But I know I got one last week.”

Receptionist: “Without an email confirmation, I can’t help you.” 

Me: “Well, can you at least tell me what my wait time would be if I’m stuck waiting, since it seems like I won’t be able to get the appointment I signed up for?”

Receptionist: “You should have received a confirmation text message when you checked in today giving you your wait time.” 

Me: “I saw that the screen said I was going to get a confirmation text message, but that was 25 minutes ago and I still haven’t received anything.”

Receptionist: “Give me your full number and I’ll manually have the system message you.”

(I give the receptionist my full number and wait for a full minute without receiving a text message before showing the receptionist my messages that don’t include one from any unknown number.)

Receptionist: “Something is wrong with your phone. I do this all day and it always works for people. You’re just going to have to wait.”

Me: “Clearly something is wrong with your system, not my phone. Not only did I not get either of my confirmation texts, but your system isn’t showing the appointment I signed up for today.”

Receptionist: “I can’t help you. You’ll just have to wait.”

Me: “Can you tell me how long the wait will be?”

Receptionist: “Probably over two hours.”

Me: “From now or from when I checked in twenty-five minutes ago?”

Receptionist: “At least two hours from now. Probably longer.” 

(At this point, I’m too angry and fighting tears of frustration to continue, so I go back to sit down and just wait, since I can’t go any longer without being able to drive. I start looking through my phone after I calm down a little and start trying to find the confirmation email again, because I know I received it. After five minutes of searching various terms in my email, I find the confirmation email, hidden away in my archive folder by mistake. I march back up to the receptionist to show her the email.)

Me: “I found the confirmation email!”

Receptionist: “Well, your appointment was at 1:00 pm and it’s now 1:30 pm, so you missed your appointment and will have to wait.”

Me: “Are you serious?! You said you could help me if I found the email! I found the email and you still won’t help me.” 

Receptionist: “There’s nothing I can do.”

(Thankfully, at this point, one of her coworkers comes up behind her before I start screaming at this woman. The coworker’s cubicle is next to the receptionist, so she heard the entire exchange.)

Coworker: “I’m about to go on break, but I can take you real quick before I go. You just need to get a new driver’s license, right?”

Me: “Yes, just a new license. Thank you so much. I really appreciate your help!”

Receptionist: “You really shouldn’t take her without an appointment.”

Coworker: “Well, she would’ve had an appointment half an hour ago had she checked in correctly, so I don’t think she should have to wait another two hours for a simple mistake people commonly make here.”

(The coworker was so kind and got me through all the paperwork and vision test within ten minutes. The receptionist, on the other hand, was still very rude when she was calling out the names of the licenses printed, which included mine. She purposely misread my easy to pronounce name and snottily asked me to make sure the information was correct before mumbling something I didn’t catch under her breath and turning away to hand out the next license. I get that life may be a little hard working in a place like that, but don’t take it out on me, lady. And thank you to the kind employee that was able to help me so I didn’t have to wait around all day.)

(A customer comes to my register with a forty-pound bag of dog food and a coupon on his phone. I see that it is a manufacturer coupon for “$10 off one XL bag of dog food.” I’m suspicious, because nowhere on the bag does it say, “XL.” Other brands have bags marked as “XL” as a promotional offer, but this brand does not. The whole thing smells like fraud, but I’m not allowed to call him on it.)

Customer: “I have this, too.” *shows me his phone*

Me: “I’m sorry, sir, manufacturer coupons must be printed to be accepted.”

Customer: *waves me off* “Yeah, they usually just scan it or punch it in if it doesn’t work.”

Me: “I can’t take a digital manufacturer coupon. You’re welcome to print it out and bring it back with the receipt on your next trip and we can refund the amount at that time.”

Customer: “No. You can do it.”

Me: *still smiling politely* “No, sir, I’m afraid that’s fraud and I could lose my job.”

Customer: “Get me your manager.”

Me: “Okay.” *calls for the manager* “She’ll be here shortly.”

(The manager arrives.)

Customer: “She’s trying to tell me you don’t take manufacturer coupons.”

Manager: “Of course we do!” *holds out her hand*

Customer: “I’m not giving you my phone!”

Manager: “Oh, it’s not printed?”

Me: “I said we don’t take digital manufacturer coupons.”

Manager: “I see. You want an override, then?”

Customer: “Yes! Jesus! And train your employees better!”

Manager: *smiles and nods while overriding the coupon* “There you go!”

(The customer leaves, looking smug. As she is walking away, the manager says my name over the headset, which every employee in the store hears.)

Manager: “[My Name], we do not accept digital manufacturer coupons.”

Me: “That’s why I said no. You’re the one who said yes.”

Manager: “The coupon policy is clear. I’m not sure what you don’t understand.”

Me: “You broke policy, not me.”

(The same manager came back to me about an hour later with a printout showing fraudulent coupons that had recently been accepted at other stores. Wouldn’t you know it, the XL bag coupon was on the list! I still got a writeup for my attitude and for accepting a fraudulent coupon, despite management acknowledging that I was the one following policy. When I asked what I was supposed to do in that situation, management just kept dodging the question by repeating the official store policy. I found a new job ASAP.)

(I recently bought a new car from a dealership — and salesman — I’ve been doing business with for 13 years. The vehicle inspection expires before I can register it, and the salesman says he will set me up with the service department to get it taken care of after the school where I teach gets out. I arrive at the service department, where none of my usual people are working. I get there at 4:30.)

Me: “Hey, I was texting with [Salesman] yesterday, and the inspection on a car I bought expired before I could register the car. He said he’d get me set up with you.”

Service Guy: “I can’t do a walk-in right now; my whole crew gets off at five and they all have appointments right now.”

Me: “I understand, but [Salesman] said I can get this done today.”

Service Guy: “Ugh, I don’t know why [Salesman] would think he can do that. He should know better. While you’re here, I can make you an appointment to get this done another day.”

Me: “No, that doesn’t work; I need to register the car tomorrow and [Salesman] said he would set me up with you today. Here’s the text.”

[Salesman]’s Text: “I will let service know you will be here with the car before 5:00 tomorrow if that works for you. I’ll have [Service Manager I know] make sure you’re in their schedule.”

Service Guy: “Look, I can’t just make room in the schedule to inspect your car.”

Me: “I mean, I know [Salesman] doesn’t work Tuesdays, but I have him here saying he has me set up. Can you take a look at it or—” *mid-sentence, the service guy walks out of the office and starts talking to another service manager I don’t know* “—you can be an a** about this.”

(The service guys argue, and the one I’ve been talking to storms back in.)

Service Guy: “Okay, let me see what I can do. Last name?”

(This is the first time he’s asked me that.)

Me: “[Last Name].”

Service Guy: *sighing* “Spell it?”

(I start to spell it, and get about three letters out before he cuts me off.)

Service Guy: “Oh. First name [My Name]?”

Me: “That’s me.”

Service Guy: “Oh, well, uh… your appointment was for 4:15. But there’s a note here on the appointment–” *clicks, reads aloud* “‘Customer will leave when school lets out and could be here closer to 4:30.’”

Me: “That’s the conversation [Salesman] and I had yesterday.”

Service Guy: “Can I get your keys?”