I agreed to bartend for a special event: a fiftieth wedding anniversary. It was a dinner, an open bar, and dancing with a DJ. We agreed to $250 per bartender for five or six hours of work, including prep and cleanup.

At the venue, there was a tip jar already on the bar top, which we decided to use. From experience, even at open bar events, guests like to leave tips for their bartender(s). Throughout the night, guests frequently left gratuities, often indicating they were for crafting their cocktails.

When the party began to wind down, the other bartender and I began breaking the bar down and cleaning up. We even helped clear tables and put away chairs.

At one point, we were both in the kitchen cleaning our supplies, and we left the bar unattended for maybe five minutes. When we came out to count our tips, we discovered that the jar was missing!

I went to ask the party coordinator about the missing jar and met her coming out of the supply room.

Coordinator: “Oh, I just counted the tips! I’ve divided them three ways between the two of you and the DJ.”

I was given $70; the other bartender got $60. We talked to the DJ the next day and he said he received $90 “in a wad of fives”.

I texted the coordinator telling her it was extremely inappropriate to take, count, or distribute bar tips without the consent of the bartenders. At first, she was apologetic and thanked us for all the extra help we gave. She gave us $80 via a mobile app to “make it up”. I said thanks and figured it was over.

Then, she began to text me telling me it was “their tip jar they provided and, therefore, the tips were theirs to do what they wanted with”. She called me petty and greedy, and she said she and her partner had talked to multiple bartenders who had defended their actions. 

I just blocked the coordinator and her partner, after having them send me essay-length texts explaining how unhappy they were with my attitude and that they “didn’t have to tip us in the first place”.

At my employer, we charge a small fee for our service, and we provide clients with UP TO half an hour consult for free before they’re charged standard fees.

A client calls us.

Client: “I only got seventeen minutes of free consult last time I was there! I need you to help me with [issue], and I want you to use those thirteen leftover free minutes!”

I’m following up on an online posting for a job. The client offered $20 (I assumed an hour) to manage his tech support team. However…

Client: “Okay, so that’s $400 per month and a bonus for performance.”

Me: “What? I couldn’t even afford my cable and electricity bills on that.”

Client: “Oh, so, you’re one of those foreigners that think we should all just pay at American pay rates. No way. If you were American, maybe, but—”

Me: “I live and was born and raised in Texas. You’re in Illinois, right?”

Client: “Oh, never mind. I only hire Filipinos.”

Me: “I’m actually Filipino, too.”

Client: “I meant poor Filipinos.”

I work in an ice cream shop.

Customer: “I’d like a double-scoop ice cream but with each scoop in its own cup.”

Me: “Okay, but that will be rung up as two single-scoop orders, which is [total]. If you just get a double-scoop in its own cup, it’ll be [lower total].”

He got very upset. He didn’t understand the concept that things EVERYWHERE are priced so that it’s cheaper to get one item of a larger size than it is to get multiple smaller items that add up to the same amount.

After I tried to explain it to him for a while, he stormed out.

I was shopping at a large retailer when I saw a sign that said, “$5 [Store] gift card when you purchase three qualifying items,” under one of the items I was looking to buy. At $2 per item, I figured I could get all three items, pay $6 and get my $5 gift card so I would only pay $1 for all of it at the end.

I checked out with a cashier and noticed after we were done that the gift card never came up, so I went to customer service. The girl was clearly on her phone under the counter. I cleared my throat and she put it away. 

Customer Service: “Yeah?”

Me: “Hi, these items were supposed to qualify for a $5 gift card, but it didn’t come up. Is it digital or something?”

Customer Service: “No, you need to buy three to get the deal.”

Me: “I did.”

I showed her the receipt and my bag, but she barely glanced at any of it.

Customer Service: “I guess you got the wrong ones, then.”

Me: “I don’t think so. The sign was right beside this product, and it’s on your app and your website.”

Customer Service: *Shrugging* “It’s a $5 gift card. Is $5 a big deal?”

Me: “Okay, then. I’m returning this.”

I started putting all my bags up on the counter — a total sale of about $300 in groceries and other purchases. The girl quickly called a manager over.

Manager: “How can I help?”

I explained the situation.

Me: “…and, you know, I specifically bought so many to get the deal, and if it were my fault, I would have apologized and gone on my way. But your associate just kind of shrugged me off, and I’m not wrong about it, so I’m returning everything and I’ll just go somewhere else.”

Manager: “Oh, self-checkout?”

Me: “No.”

Manager: “Hmm. Well, I don’t know what happened there, and I am sorry, but I can fix this. I can give you a $5 gift card right now.”

Me: “Thank you. I’m sorry to be a jerk, but that’s what the sign says, you know?”

Manager: “Yeah, I get it. I totally understand, and I’m really sorry.”

The manager gave me the gift card and I put all my purchases back in my cart. The associate glared at me the whole time. I hope he had a talk with her, but I’ll never know.