(I am a college student, and classes start in two weeks. I decide to pop into the bookstore to pick up my required textbooks. When I get there all of the aisles are blocked off, so I go to the counter.)

Me: “Hi! I wanted to get textbooks, but it’s blocked off.”

Employee: “Yeah.”

Me: “When can I buy books?”

Employee: “It depends.”

Me: *pause* “On?”

Employee: “How many people are in front of you.”

(I look around the store. It’s just the two of us, another employee, and a customer looking at notebooks.)

Me: “Is there someone in front of me?”

Employee: “I mean how many orders are in front of you. It also depends on the courses you’re taking and the books you need. It really just depends.”

Me: “Oh, I have the list right here.”

Employee: “…”

Me: “So, I can’t buy books today? Or like… order them?”

Employee: “No.”

(Bewildered, I walk over to the student services center to ask someone there.)

Me: “So, I was just in the book store trying to buy my textbooks, and I guess you can’t buy them yet? Do you know when they open?”

Employee #2: “Their hours are—”

Me: “Oh, I’m sorry, I mean when they start selling books. She just told me it depends.”

Employee #2: “Yeah, it really just depends.”

(I ordered my books online. I’m still not sure what the correct process is for getting books.)

(I own a small business that I myself operate solely. I have a debit machine through a company that shuts down with very little notice, leaving me scrambling to find a new one. The day I learn of the shutdown, I get a call from another processor company.)

Man: “Hi there! We are calling all customers of [Previous Company] to offer a great deal during this stressful time. Do you have a few minutes?”

Me: “Oh, that’s so convenient! I do, but I will tell you the features I need and we can go from there; that way we don’t waste each other’s time. I need a machine that is portable either by Bluetooth or 3G, supports a tip option, and has an app or ability to be connected to a catalogue system rather than manually writing an invoice and punching in the total.”

Man: “We definitely have that!” *rambles on about one machine*

Me: “What’s the cost per month, and are there sign-up fees?”

Man: “It is $9.95 per month, plus 1.1% for credit purchases and ten cents flat for debit purchases. There is usually a sign-up fee, but for customers of [Previous Company] we are waiving it for all new setups.”

Me: “Thank you. I’ll keep it in mind!”

(Two weeks go by, and I’m running out of time for a new machine. Every other company is either too expensive — $150+ per month — or doesn’t answer their phone. I get a call back from the same man.)

Man: “Have you found a provider, or would you like to go ahead?”

Me: “I guess we will go ahead with it, thank you!”

(Cue two weeks of frustrating emails back and forth about the paperwork they need. They ask for one form, I send it, then they say, “Whoops, we need this one, instead.” “Do you have anything that says this?” “Can you print this and drive twenty minutes to your bank to write three numbers on it and then send it back?” Finally I receive my machine. There is no tip option and no catalogue, even though he assured me multiple times both on the phone and on email that it had them! I call back.)

Me: “You told me many times it supported a tip option and had a built-in catalogue on the app! It doesn’t!”

Man: “No, ma’am, I didn’t say that. None of our machines offer that.”

Me: “Then I’d like to send it back. I was lied to, and I don’t want a machine that doesn’t work for me.”

Man: “I will see if you can cancel your contract early.”

Me: “I did not sign a contract. It’s monthly.”

Man: “My mistake. There is a cancellation fee of $399 to buy out the machine.”

Me: “I haven’t used the machine yet. I’m not paying anything. I signed nothing.”

Man: “Let me call you back; I have to talk with my manager.”

(Two weeks go by with no call back. I leave multiple voicemails and send multiple emails. Nothing. I’m doing some shopping for my business one day and my business debit card gets declined. I know there was plenty of money in there for my supplies, so I stop at the bank and see that there is $9.12 left! A charge for $399, another for $224, and another for $1,165 have come out, all bearing the name of that debit machine provider. Frantically, I call my bank and ask for the charges to be reversed as they are fraudulent, but there is a two- to three-business-day wait and it is a Friday night. I call the machine provider.)

Woman: “The sales rep you were dealing with isn’t in the office at the moment, but I’ve looked over your account and those charges are legitimate. You cancelled your contract, and the charges are $399 for the machine, $224 for the application and paperwork, and $1,165 for early termination.”

Me: “I. Signed. Nothing! You can’t just steal people’s money like that! Refund the charges now! I’m a small-time business with just me, myself, and I, and you’ve left my bank account empty! I have to pay rent for my office! I have orders to pay for!”

Woman: “He just came back in. One moment.”

Man: “Hi, [My Name], we processed your cancellation as you requested, so you’re good to go.”

Me: “No, I told you I wasn’t paying that. I didn’t sign a contract.”

Man: “Yes, you did. That electronic document I sent to you that you electronically signed is your contract.”

Me: “You mean the one that says I agree to pay the percentage and 10 cents per transaction, and that my fees for the start-up were waived as part of the deal for [Previous Company]’s shut down?”

Man: “On page two. That is the contract. You signed a two-year contract and agreed to pay the cancellation fees of [amount] per month if cancelled early.”

Me: “There was only one page.”

Man: “No, there were two. You’re telling me you sign things without reading them?”

Me: “No, a**hole, there’s only one page. I’m staring at the email right now.”

Man: “You must be blind. You’re trying to scam us. Learn to read! I’m forwarding it to you now!”

Me: “Got it. Still only one page!”

Man: “No, there are— Wait… F***, I forgot to send the other one.” *click*

(I still haven’t been refunded. This isn’t a scam company, either; they’re a multi-billion-dollar company that serves more than 50% of businesses in my town!)

(I work in a call center for a large financial institution that funds credit cards. It is a long weekend holiday for Memorial Day. So, while most companies are closed on Monday, we are open 24/7 for customer service. I have a card holder call in. After introductions and gaining access to his account, I realize it is also his due date for a payment, which has not been received on the account yet.)

Me: “How may I help you today?”

Customer: “Yeah… I know today is my due date, but I spent all my money on a BBQ for this weekend. I can’t afford a payment until Friday, or it’ll overdraft my account. I need gas money for the week. Is there anything you can do?”

Me: “No, I’m sorry. If the minimum payment hasn’t been received, a late fee will be assessed to your account.”

Customer: “I’ve been a long-standing customer. I’m never late; there is nothing you can do, seriously? You can’t waive that late fee?”

Me: “Well, I’d be more than happy to look into the late fee for you to see if we are able to waive it, but the account isn’t past due yet. There isn’t a late fee available for me to waive right now. If you would like to give us a call back tomorrow, or when you are next available, we can certainly take a look once the late fee is on the account.”

Customer: “So, you’re not going to waive the late fee? I’m calling in good faith here. I’m never late. This is how you treat your customers? Is there a supervisor?”

Me: “I can certainly bring a supervisor on the line, but they have the same capabilities I do with waiving fees. Again, the account isn’t considered late yet, so there isn’t a late fee available for us to waive. And even then, sir, the account was late the past two months. We already waived those late fees for you. You openly mentioned you spent money on a BBQ which is why you could not make a minimum payment for today. Might I suggest maybe changing your due date to a different date in the month, or setting up additional account alerts to notify you when the account is due?”

Customer: “Are you s***ting me?! What’s your name and ID? Bring a supervisor on the line.”

(The supervisor told him the exact same thing I did. You are responsible for making payments on time from BORROWED money.)

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My parents’ front door was damaged, and now lets out a loud screech when you open it, and has to be slammed shut to close it. Dad is retired, and my mom asks him to fix it. He keeps procrastinating, and this makes my mom upset. The door is on the opposite side of their bed and he wakes her up when he comes and goes after she’s gone to bed. She tries to fix it herself or to hire someone, but this results in fights as Dad thinks it should only be his responsibility. He tells her to just wear earplugs and deal with the noise in the meantime.

It’s been broken and a point of contention for over a year when the water main at my house needs to be repaired. My parents let my family stay with them for a week while it’s repaired.

The first night we are there, I have to do a midnight store run for a forgotten toiletry. I come back in, slamming the door, and hear my dad grumbling about it, waking him up.  

The next morning, I leave for work at five am. My husband gets the kids up and breakfasted, then leaves to take the youngest two to school at seven. A half hour later, my sister comes by to pick up my oldest child for school. Then, my husband comes back to finish getting ready for work. After he leaves again, my mom leaves for work. With each one, a slam of the door.

I return home from work that night to find my dad grumbling and repairing the door. Apparently, he didn’t get a wink of sleep that night, and couldn’t imagine dealing with a whole week of it!

(I work for a major US-based international company and am on a long-term assignment in Canada. As part of the benefits package, my wife and I receive VERY thorough physical exams every two years. Our first one goes fine. Two years later, a rep from the corporate medical department sends an email informing me of the upcoming exam. We exchange perhaps four messages each way, including forms my wife and I fill out and return. The corporate rep acknowledges receipt and tells me she’ll let me know when the checkups are scheduled. About three weeks later my local supervisor sticks his head into my office:)

Supervisor: “Did you just cost me a lot of money?”

Me: “Not intentionally. What’s up?”

Supervisor: “Check your email.”

(There is a message from the medical rep saying that we missed our physical appointments this morning and telling us how important it was that we act responsibly. She also says the cost will be billed to my local work group, and she has helpfully CC-ed my US-based manager, as well as my day-to-day boss. I utter a four-letter Anglo-Saxonism, mad at myself for missing the email. Curious as to when it came in, I do a search on the rep’s name in my inbox, and then my spam and junk mail folders. I find the ones I recall, but nothing after them, and finally convince myself I’ve never received anything else. I stew for a while, and then compose a “Reply All” to the message, and CC the rep’s supervisor. After appending all the notes I’ve received, I compose a brief note outlining the dates of the emails she’s sent me, noting that none of them contain information about the actual appointment. I point out the difficulty of getting to an appointment “if I am not informed of it” and say that any charges should be borne by their team, not mine. Five minutes later, my local boss comes by again.)

Supervisor: “I’m not supposed to say this, but that was epic!” *gives me a thumbs up*

Me: “Your secret is safe with me.”

(The rep never responded to my note, but five days later I got info about the rescheduled appointment, which we made, AND my team did not have to foot the bill for the missed sessions.)