(I work in concessions at a movie theater. I’m serving a customer at the beginning of the week on a slow day. She’s interested in some popcorn, but the prices are too high for her to consider buying some. It’s slow, and I’m feeling generous, so I give her some popcorn in a small bag at no cost. Touched by this gesture, she offers to pay me for the popcorn. The money is tempting, but I refuse, since I wanted to do something nice for her. I don’t necessarily want to be paid for trying to be nice. She won’t take no for an answer, though, so I get an idea.)

Me: “Pay it forward; do something nice for someone else.”

(She agrees and leaves the cinema. A few days later, I’m working concessions again when a teenage girl comes to order food, and she has her grandma with her. Turns out it’s the same lady from before! She recognizes me, although I don’t remember her. She turns to her grandchild, and says:)

Customer: “I have to tell you a story. This lady right here gave me some popcorn for free, and refused to take any money for it. Instead, she told me to pay it forward. I went and cried in my car afterward, and I’ve been telling my friends for a couple of days. I just wanted to say thank you for that.”

(I am overcome. I honestly didn’t think it would make all that much of a difference.)

Me: “Thank you, ma’am. I’m actually leaving for an internship in a few days, so I’m glad you told me this, and that I got a chance to hear how much it meant to you.”

Customer: “Oh, you’re leaving for an internship? In that case, take this, and have a good time!”

(She placed something in my hand, and I looked down to see a $20 bill! I opened my mouth to protest, but she was already gone. Wherever you are, thank you, ma’am!)

(I’m with a friend and we’re buying tickets to see Deadpool at the movies. I just turned 18 yesterday, and my friend is 18, so we’re old enough to watch the movie. When it’s my turn, the guy in the ticket booth asks to see my ID. I give him my Norwegian passport and that’s when the trouble begins.)

Employee: “I need to see a state-issued ID.”

Me: “That is a state-issued ID.”

Employee: “No, this isn’t from the US. I need state-issued ID.”

Me: “That’s what it is, though. It was issued from the state.”

(This goes back and forth until a manager comes out.)

Manager: “What’s the problem here?”

Employee: “She’s given me a foreign passport, but I need a state-issued ID.”

Manager: “A passport is a state-issued ID. Give her the ticket.”

(The employee still refused to sell me a ticket, so the manager did it while apologizing.)

(I’m manning an area on my own when two customers around 17 to 20 years old approach my till with a bag of self-serve pick and mix, which we charge for by weight.)

Customer #1: “How much will this cost?”

Me: *weighing it* “Just over £5.”

Customer #1: “Oh… Would I be able to take some out? I only have £2.”

Me: “Sure.”

(I grab an extra pick and mix bag for what he doesn’t want so I can waste it off, but his friend scoffs.)

Customer #2: “Don’t be an idiot. She can take £2 for it.”

Me: “No, I can’t.”

Customer #2: “Yes, you can.”

Me: “No, I really can’t.”

Customer #2: “It’s only a few quid. It’s no big deal.”

Me: “If he doesn’t have the money for it, he can’t have it.”

([Customer #1] is thankfully ignoring his friend, has removed some sweets to the spare bag, and hands me the original to weigh again. It’s just under £3.50, and he gladly takes it back to take out some more sweets.)

Customer #2: “Oh, come on. You can let him have that. It’s barely anything.”

Me: “If he doesn’t have the money, he doesn’t get the sweets.”

Customer #2: “This is ridiculous! It’s barely anything! You can just let him have it!”

Me: “No, I really can’t.”

([Customer #1] hands me the bag again and this time it’s £2.12.)

Customer #2: “Finally!”

Me: “Just a couple more.” *taking a peek in the bag* “Maybe if you take out one of the [sweet]s. Those are a little heavy.”

Customer #2: “IT’S TWELVE FREAKING PENCE!”

Customer #1: “That I don’t have. Dude, chill.”

(This time when I weigh it, it’s between £1.90 and £2, and I start to put it into the till with [Customer #2] glaring at me intensely.)

Customer #2: *blurts out* “You’re really pretty.”

(I have been running this area on my own for two hours. I’m sweaty because it’s really hot, there’s a patch of water on my shirt from where I was cleaning something before they came up, and my hair has small flecks of popcorn in it. At best I am dishevelled; at worst I am a mess.)

Me: “I can’t give him a discount.”

Customer #2: “What?! Jeez! It’s a compliment!”

Me: “Sir, I know how I look. I can’t give your friend a discount.”

Customer #2: “WELL, YOUR SWEETS ARE OVERPRICED!” *stomps off*

Customer #1: *having paid* “Don’t mind him. He’s just mad because his mum confiscated his wallet after he got fired from his job. I only have £2 because I had to buy his ticket.”

(I wonder why he got fired.)

(My husband and I have taken our three-year-old son to see “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” He has been to movies before and is always quiet and completely enthralled by the movie. When Spider-Man first appears, he points to the screen.)

Son: *loudly* “Batman!”

(There’s scattered giggling from adults and older children. I shush him and speak in a whisper.)

Me: “No, not Batman. Remember? Mama told you that we’re seeing Spider-Man.”

Son: *also whispering* “Spi-yer-Man?”

Me: “Yes, Spider-Man. But we have to be quiet.”

Son: *whispers loudly and points again* “Spider-Man!”

(For the rest of the movie, he is silent as he eats his popcorn and sips his drink. But then, Miles Morales shows up in his black and red Spidey suit and:)

Son: *loudly and excitedly as he points* “IT BATMAN!”

(It seemed like the entire theater broke into a giggling fit at my son’s enthusiastic mistake.)

(It’s a slow day. The only customer is at the box office while I wait at concessions.)

Customer: “Where can I get a bottle of water?”

Coworker: *gesturing to me* “You can buy water at the concession stand right over there.”

(The customer walks up to my stand, grabs a bottle of water from the cooler, and walks towards the theater, ignoring me.)

Me: “Uh, sir?”

Customer: “What?”

Me: “Did you want to purchase that water you just grabbed? I can help you right over at this register.”

Customer: “Oh, the girl over there said I could take one.”

Me: “Sir, I’m going to need you to pay for the water.”

Customer: “But the girl said I could take one.”

Me: “The bottles of water are not free, sir.”

Customer: “But the girl said I could take one!”

Coworker: “Sir, I said you could buy one.”

Customer: “YOU NEVER SAID I HAD TO PAY FOR IT!”

(He slams the bottle back into the cooler and practically stomps his way into the theater.)

Coworker: “Wouldn’t the word ‘buy’ have the implication he needed to pay for it?”

Me: “And people wonder why I’ve lost faith in humanity…”