When I lost my part-time job due to COVID, a good friend (let’s call her “Kate”) helped me get hired at the after-school learning center her dad owns. She did warn me, though, that her dad was unapologetically racist. I’ll call her dad “Owner”.

Anyway, [Owner] and [Manager] loved me as an employee. At the 2020 Christmas party, hosted at [Owner]’s house, I got offered the role of assistant manager. We chatted for a while after, and [Owner] and I briefly bonded over our dislike of corrupt establishment politicians. (I just prefer progressives, but I didn’t disclose that part).

I think he came out of that conversation with the incorrect assumption that I shared his politics (and social views), and his racist tendencies immediately got less subtle.

In January, [Manager] hired a new employee to fill in for the role I left. The new guy was a very-dark-skinned Indian man around my and Kate’s age (twenty-four at the time).

On this guy’s first day, [Owner] was visiting (he has another job so he only comes in on Mondays). Right before students start arriving, [Owner] pulls me aside and asks me to “keep an eye on [New Employee].”

I don’t remember the exact wording that followed, but basically… without saying anything directly, [Owner] implies that he suspected [New Employee] would steal something. Despite not saying the actual words, his intentions were clear, and it was the most overt racism he’d displayed so far.

So… I’ve kept an eye on [New Employee] ever since, watching him to make sure he succeeds. I made sure he had all the support he needed. I shielded him from [Owner]’s racism as much as I could. I invited him to grab drinks after work a few times, and we ended up becoming really good friends.

And last month, when I told [Owner] I had to leave at the end of this year, I knew no one else was interested in my position as [Assistant Director], so I got most of the staff to endorse him as my replacement. I’m now training him to take over for me.

But my favorite part in all of this is that at last year’s Christmas party.

I introduced [New Employee] to Kate. They clicked like no other couple I’ve ever seen and have now been dating for almost a year. [New Employee] proposed to Kate at Thanksgiving, and she said yes, and I know they’re definitely going to be trying for kids.

The week that [Owner] found out that they’re engaged, he didn’t come in on the Monday like he usually did, so I don’t know how he’s taking it.

Anyway, can’t wait for this year’s Christmas party!

I work at a botanical garden. Every winter we get variations of the same complaint:

Visitor: “I drove all this way, and there’s nothing to see! It’s all snow!”

It got to the point where management would allow us to come up with creative answers since “winter is a thing” wasn’t cutting it.

Us: “Oh, really? The Force Field Heat Dome must be malfunctioning again. Come back in a couple of hours, and it should be nice and tropical again.”

Us: “We usually turn winter off around 9 AM, but we’re running behind today.”

Us: “We’ll have a word with Mother Nature. She’s been impossible lately.”

Us: “The plants filed a union grievance and refused to bloom until April.”

Us: “Sorry, the climate requires administrator privileges that we don’t have.”

One of our newer coworkers, who used to work in a hotel, witnessed a few of these responses all happen in one day and said:

Coworker: “Ah! I wish I could have said things like this to the guest who complained that the wind was keeping him awake… during a hurricane.”

Nice to know it’s not just the gardens that suffer like this!

Our hotel had a new employee. I kinda felt bad for her since she was young and still trying to wrap her head around life from the idle conversations we had when I was working a shift with her. She told me a lot about some of her stories and family. She was fine at doing her job and had no major problems with using the system. But then she started to call off work multiple times in a month.

I noticed she had been getting fewer hours on the schedule, and the person covering for her started to get her hours. The next shift I worked with her, she started to complain about how her hours were getting cut. Again, I felt bad, but it’s really her fault to begin with.

That feeling of pity quickly disappeared after my next week of work.

I was doing the night shift (and also my Friday before two days off). It’s 7 AM. No one is here to relieve me. Maybe she’s late. 7:15 AM. Still no one here. Okay, let me call her. Her number isn’t in the Rolodex. I call a manager to help out. They said help is coming soon. At 8 AM, a supervisor is there and relieves me.

Not okay.

Yup, let’s just not show up, not call, and screw the night auditor from getting sleep.

She kept calling off until she had no more hours at all.

Back in the mid-1990s, I had hired a guy for a senior systems administration role. It was made quite clear in the posted job description, the interview process, and on his first day that this role would be required to be on call a few nights per month on a rotating basis with the other admins. The salary reflected that as well; this was a six-figure position… in the nineties!

He was issued a company laptop and a cell phone for his on-call work that could be done from home. 

As part of the onboarding process, our lead admin wanted this guy to shadow him on his on-call evening so that he could see how processes differed in the off-hours. It was his second day on the job.

That evening, I happened to be working a bit late, and the helpdesk called me.

Helpdesk: “Hi, we have an issue that needs to be escalated to the system admin team. Have we got the right number for the new guy? It’s just ringing and going to a default voicemail mailbox.”

Me: “I’ll call the lead admin to get him working on the issue, and I’ll contact the new guy myself.”

I call and get the same thing, just the voicemail. I try multiple times.

I fish out his employment docs that are all still sitting on my desk and find his home phone number. I call and get about three words out of my mouth when he responds:

New Hire: “Why the f*** are you calling me at home?!” *Click.*

A bit in disbelief, I look back at the paperwork and verify, yes, this IS his phone number, and try it again, thinking maybe he’d mistaken me for someone else. I received a similar bit of vitriol and a hang-up. I contact the lead admin.

Me: “Just calling to inform you that you won’t be having the new guy join you tonight… or any other.”

Lead Admin: “Why?”

I explain.

Lead Admin: *Deep sigh.* “Fine. Kill all of his system access and his door card. I’ll make sure we have HR waiting for him at reception first thing in the morning…”

I work in a fancy coffee place in the middle of a rich suburban neighborhood with multi-million-dollar homes and celebrity customers. 

Most of the rich clientele are fine, but I’ve noticed that when some of them are bad, they’re the worst. 

A new barista is working the register, and they came across as quiet and timid during training, so I’m keeping an eye on them in case I need to step in.

Customer: “I’ll get the mango cooler, no ice.”

Since this is a pre-mixed drink, the new barista can pour it right there for the customer. I see her perfectly measure it out and give her half a cup of drink. Without the ice, the drink only goes halfway up the cup, so this is correct.

Customer: “Uh? Helloooo? I wanted it filled all the way up.”

Barista: “Without ice, that is filled all the way up. Unless… you wanted two drinks for the price of one? I’m new here; I don’t know of such a sale.”

Customer: *Turning beet red, but not backing down.* “It’s not a sale, it’s common courtesy! Your drinks are already a rip-off, so—”

Barista: “I’m sorry, who made you come here? I’d hate to think you’re being forced to come here when the prices are out of your reach! Would you like me to call someone? Are you in trouble?”

Customer: “F*** you b****!” *Turns heel and storms out.*

Barista: *Calling out to the customer.* “Ma’am, don’t you want your lukewarm “iced” drink?!”

Yeah, I think the new girl is gonna be juuuuust fine.