I’ll admit that I don’t know a ton about cars/engines. I know enough to be able to check fluids and could probably find where everything was if I had a diagram, but asking me how anything works would lead to blank looks and lots of “uhhh”. It should also be noted that I’m female; I’m only saying this because I’m guessing that it played a part in what happened.

I take my car in for an oil change. The tech is going over all the things on my car and making suggestions about what might need to be fixed, updated, replaced, etc. Then, this happens.

Technician #1: “Okay, did you want to get a new oil filter? This one will let you go 10,000 miles before your oil change.”

I’m skeptical because the manufacturer’s recommendation on my car is only 5,000 to 7,000 miles. And there’s the fact that I’ve never heard about that kind of oil filter, but I keep going back to the fact that I don’t know a ton about cars. I figure that maybe something has changed since I bothered to really look into things and that the technician should know what he’s talking about.

Me: “Um, well, are you sure about that?”

Technician #1: “Yeah.”

The difference in cost isn’t that much, so I figure why not? They replace the filter and finish the oil change, and the technician brings me out to my car.

Technician #1: “So, the sticker only printed 5,000, miles but you’ll want to go to 10,000, so add 5,000 to what’s here before you come back.”

Me: “Right, that will get it to 10,000 miles. Thank you.”

And away I go. Things are okay, and I keep an eye on my car, still slightly skeptical, but I figure it’s fine. Honestly, I should look it up, but things happen and I kind of forget about it.

Then, about 9,000 miles later, my oil light comes on. I happen to be running errands and am near the shop, so I take my car in. The tech comes up to give me all the information.

Technician #2: “We checked all your fluid levels and most of them were fine, but your oil didn’t even register on the dipstick.”

From the way he’s looking at me and starting to talk to me, I get the feeling that he’s treating me like someone who doesn’t know what she’s doing. I start to get frustrated, but I don’t yell or anything like that.

Me: “See, that pisses me off.”

[Technician #2] hesitates for a second because I’m pretty sure he wasn’t expecting me to say anything.

Me: “I was in here back in June and was told you had a brand-new filter that would let me go 10,000 miles before I needed an oil change. I figured you guys would know what you’re talking about, although I was surprised about the mileage. But the tech assured me it was new and it would let me go 10,000 miles without the change. It’s been 9,000, and you’re telling me that it’s empty?”

Technician #2: “Well, I’ve never heard of that kind of filter, but your oil was pretty dangerously low, so it’s a good thing you brought it in.”

He continues to go over everything else. It comes time to check out and he’s going over everything.

Technician #2: “We topped off your fluids, confirmed your lights are still good, and swapped out these filters… Ah, okay, here we go. Your total is [total].”

I paid and headed out. I’d been able to see the screen while we were going over all the services, and I’m not sure if he meant for me to see it or not, but he ended up giving me around a 10% discount on all services. I’m not sure if it was just a general thing they were doing or if he did it because of the situation, but I was thankful for that. And now I’m not planning on going more than 7,000 miles without an oil change again. (I usually take my car in somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 miles just because.)

I didn’t see [Technician #1] while I was there. I’m unsure if it’s because he was no longer at the location, because I happened to be there on his day off, or what, but I really hope he got let go and didn’t potentially try to destroy someone else’s car.

As with most of us, there are nights that I just don’t have the energy to cook. My husband and I have a rotation of places where we like to eat. We have recently moved into a new house. The day we moved, I called to have pizza delivered but was told they don’t deliver to the address. I was annoyed but said fine and went to pick it up since we didn’t have the kitchen set up and unpacked. We had a couple of others hesitate to deliver as well, but usually, they caved.

One day, after having woken up late and working a fifteen-hour day, I was exhausted and didn’t want to cook. My husband had been wanting Indian food, so I called up the local Indian place that we frequent enough that they know us. I chatted with the girl that took my order and asked for delivery. I knew I’d make it home before the delivery driver made it. As soon as I gave her the new address, she informed me that they couldn’t deliver. So, I said fine. I’d pick it up. The restaurant wasn’t too far out of my way, and the thought of their naan and some butter chicken was all that got me through the day.

When I got to the restaurant, I walked in and chatted with the hostess as my order was finished. It wasn’t particularly busy, but I figured they must be short-staffed, so I said something about not being able to deliver. She looked at me funny and said they could have delivered, so I explained that I was told they couldn’t. She got confused until I told her we had moved, and when I updated the address, the server said no to the delivery. She apologized and went to update the address. Then, the truth came out.

The previous owners of the house would call and order food from there and always disputed the charges with their bank or credit cards the next day or two after. So, the business got tired of losing money and refused to deliver to them any longer.

Apparently, they did this all around town and had gotten our address blacklisted from delivery. I swear, some people are scum! Guess I will have to go into our favorites and show that we live at this address so we can have delivery again.

I’m working customer service in a grocery store when a man approaches me.

Customer: “I just spent $300 on groceries, because someone poured bleach on my last batch of food in the trunk of my car while putting it in there for me!”

He stood there for three minutes telling me to hit the cash button and let him leave. He followed me when I left to get a manager so he could complain about how I wouldn’t accommodate him and was “clearly lying” because I estimated his total rather than reciting it exactly.

He gathered three managers in short order and then left with the whole cart, looking smug.

I still don’t believe him, but management is so afraid of complaints.

A few weeks ago, my car was totaled by a drunk driver. I am borrowing my mom’s car while I wait for the insurance payout to replace it. I notice that the oil needs to be changed, so I take it to a shop from which I have a coupon for a $17 oil change.

The mechanic is inside a department store. I go through the main entrance to get on the list and show the clerk the coupon.

Clerk: “What type of car and color is it?”

I give a description.

Clerk: “What year?”

Me: “I’m sorry, I don’t know. It’s my mom’s car; I’m just using it for a bit. I can go check and see if that information is in the car.”

Clerk: “No, that’s all right. We will figure it out. You can look around the store, and we will call you when it’s ready.”

About fifteen minutes later, I am paged to the auto department.

Me: “Hi. I was just called. I believe my car is ready.”

Clerk: “No, not yet. I just wanted to inform you that, during the inspection, we discovered that there was [issue I don’t remember] with the car. We are going to have that fixed for you, so with the oil change and repairs, your total is $700, and it will take about four hours.”

Me: “No, just the oil change, but I will let my mom know and I’m sure she will get it to her mechanic soon.”

Clerk: “This needs to be fixed, or it could continue to wear down and destroy the motor. You need to have it done.”

Me: “Like I said, it’s not my car, and I do not have $700. Plus, I need to be at work in two hours, so I can’t wait that long. Is it something that will cause issues within the next week?”

Clerk: “No, but we already started the repairs.”

Me: “Well, I did not agree to anything but the oil change. It sounds like a problem I did not cause, and I am only going to pay for the oil change.”

Clerk: “You need to pay us to fix it.”

Me: “No.”

Clerk: “But it—”

Me: “NO.”

The clerk lets out a frustrated growl and storms out to the back. She comes back about five minutes later. While I am waiting, I place a few items I had intended to buy on the counter.

Clerk: “They are putting the old parts back on, but [part] was damaged when we took it off, so you’ll need to pay for the replacement. Your total is $200.”

Me: “No, I am only paying for the oil change. You caused damage doing work I never agreed to. You need to repair it since it was your error, and I would like to speak to the manager.”

Clerk: “He is unavailable, but fine. We will just lose money on the parts. It will be $38 for the oil change.”

Me: “No, I have this coupon for a $17 oil change.”

Clerk: “That coupon is only for the oil change; the disposal fee, extra oil, and air filter are priced separately.”

Me: “Isn’t that all included in an oil change?”

Clerk: “Most places lump it all together, but we charge for everything separately. You would know that if you bothered to read our sign.”

She gestures behind her to a partially obscured sign with strange, nearly illegible lettering.

Me: “Fine. Whatever.”

Clerk: “Would you like me to ring up these other items, as well?”

Me: “No, thank you.”

I pay for the oil change and leave the items on the counter. About two minutes later, the mechanic comes in with my keys and tells me the car is ready. I head out the door.

Clerk: “You forgot your items here.”

Me: “No, the oil change cost more than it was supposed to. I no longer want them. Have fun putting them back.”

Clerk: “You need to take them back to the correct departments.”

Me “No.”

Then, I walked out and never returned to that store again.

My mom took the car to her regular mechanic two weeks later, and they charged her $200 for everything that needed to be done.

My office has a “donation” table in the break room where people can put any food they want to give away to the office. It has a sign that reads, “Donation Table: Any food left here is up for grabs.”

One day, I was in the break room, preparing my lunch. A fairly new hire walked in and pulled one of the lunch boxes out of the fridge before going over and putting it on the donation table. She then stood there, staring at it for a few seconds, before picking it up again. It was only when she picked it up that I recognized the distinctive bag of one of the guys that sits in my cubicle pod, with a cartoon character sewn into the side of it.

Me: “Hey, I think that’s [Coworker]’s. You’ve gotten it mixed up.”

New Hire: *Looking baffled* “But it was on the table.”

Me: *Now also somewhat baffled* “What? I… No, look at the side. That’s [Coworker]’s bag.”

New Hire: “But it was on the table.”

She then points at the sign, and it starts to dawn on me what she is implying.

Me: “You put it on the table. You don’t get to take other people’s food just because you put it on the donation table.”

New Hire: “But the table’s for donations. It was on the table.”

At that point, I’d circled around over to her, and I realized this was going nowhere. I reached out and pulled the lunch box out of her hands. She didn’t resist, just standing there, looking baffled, and I walked over and stuck the bag back in the fridge. When I turned back around, she was walking out.

I retrieved my meal from the microwave, and then I walked around the corner to Human Resources to let them know what had happened. They were as baffled at [New Hire]’s “logic” as I was, and apparently, there had been a couple of lunch thefts reported in the past couple of days. When I followed up with our HR representative a couple of days later, she let me know that they’d asked the new hire about it, and she’d actually confirmed that she had taken the lunches because “they were on the table”.

Somehow, she kept her job for another month, but then she ended up being let go. I’m not sure if it was for things like this or if this sort of muddled behavior was just indicative of her work elsewhere.