I was looking to buy a dress for a wedding. After searching all of the shops on the high street, I finally found one that I liked. It was red and floor-length and fairly inexpensive. I picked it up. I bought it. I left.

End of story. Not quite.

About half an hour later, I was meeting a friend and I pulled the dress out of the bag to show her. She quickly spotted a massive scuff mark on the skirt, between one of the pleats, that I hadn’t seen.

I went back to the shop immediately and tried to get an exchange.

I handed over my receipt and showed them the scuff mark and asked if I could swap it. Suddenly, the woman called the manager over and they started whispering. They disappeared into the back with the dress and another sales assistant came over to explain that I couldn’t return the dress because I’d clearly worn it and that I should be ashamed for trying to return a dress with the tags after wearing it to an event.

I stood there, shocked and silent, as this woman railed on me for doing something I didn’t do.

I’ll never forget the look on her face when I asked her to check the time stamp on the receipt, which showed that I had only bought the dress half an hour before.

I decided to get a refund instead of an exchange and I bought another dress elsewhere.

(I am eight weeks pregnant when I get very sick as a result of my pregnancy. I have to spend a week in hospital. By UK law, women are protected against discrimination if they have to have time off for anything relating to their pregnancy. Because of this, I have to tell my bosses REALLY early about the pregnancy to ensure I am covered legally as my boss is a bit weird. We have a back-to-work meeting, and everyone else congratulates me on my pregnancy.)

Me: “Thanks, guys!”

Boss: “[My Name]! I just worked it out. You got pregnant eight weeks ago, right? Wasn’t that your boyfriend’s birthday? We all know what gift he got!” *nudge nudge wink wink*

(Everyone just sat in silence awkwardly until we moved on with the meeting.)

(My partner works in a specialised area of IT as an engineer. His job involves going from site to site with many different clients. My partner does not like wearing suits because he is an engineer; his boss lets him get away with wearing a plain shirt — not tucked in — and dark jeans. One day, he is called to a fancy office in central London. The receptionist asks him to sit down and wait for his contact at the company to show him to the server room. A few minutes later a woman in a suit marches over to him.)

Woman: “You’re late!”

Partner: “Excuse me?”

Woman: “You’re late for your interview with Mr. [Hiring Person]! We don’t hire people that can’t even be on time!”

Partner: “Okay.”

(My partner just sits back down in reception and patiently continues waiting for his contact at the company.)

Woman: “YOU CAN’T STAY HERE!”

Partner: “Did you ask for my name?”

Woman: “Excuse me?!”

Partner: “My name is [Partner] and I work for [IT Company]. I am waiting for Mr. [Client]. I am not here for an interview, but even if I was, it is never acceptable to shout at another person that way. Especially in a professional environment.”

(The receptionist called my partner through and he managed to get to work on fixing the problem. My partner mentioned the shouting woman to his contact, who happened to be the CEO. The woman was still on probation, which means that you can be let go with not much warning. When he went back the next month, she was gone.)

(I’m back at work after a day off. I’ve opened the store and my colleague comes in an hour later.)

Coworker: “[Customer] called for you yesterday.”

Me: “Oh, okay. I spoke to her on the phone earlier this morning.”

Coworker: “Yeah, she was quite agitated and insisted that she had to talk to you immediately as it was urgent. When I told her you weren’t at work, she asked for your personal number so that she could call you at home.”

Me: “Wait, what?”

Coworker: “I refused to give it to her, saying that I couldn’t give out personal information. Eventually, I managed to get her to tell me that she wanted to pay off the balance on her order. I said that I could process the payment for her, but she refused my help and asked for you to call her today.”

Me: “She didn’t mention any of that to me! I even emailed her to say that I wouldn’t be in yesterday, but that I’d be back today. I don’t know why she didn’t just speak to you. It’s not like I could have helped her on my day off. I don’t have access to the order system at home and I don’t have a PDQ machine, either! Does she think I just carry a portable PDQ machine with me at all times?”

Coworker: “I guess so!”

(Our shop is a small craft shop. We sell fabrics and other craft items but not upholstery and curtain items. I work there six days a week so I don’t tend to frequent other craft shops on the seventh. A customer calls.)

Me: “Good afternoon. How can I help?”

Customer: “Do you sell curtain brackets?”

Me: “No, I’m afraid not; we don’t sell curtain accessories.”

Customer: “So, you don’t have brackets?”

Me: “No, I’m afraid not.”

Customer: “Where do you normally send people who need curtain things?”

Me: “I’m afraid we’re not a catalogue of shops; we don’t really—”

Customer: “You must have a list of contacts for people you can’t help.”

Me: “Well, there’s a shop in [Nearby Town] who may do them, but you may want to Google curtain shops in the local area to be sure.”

Customer: “Oh.” *hangs up*

(Seriously, shops are not local directories for you, and small business owners don’t have time to be making lists of other craft shops to send you to. Google is a thing; do your own research.)