My boyfriend and I — both male — are tourists in Northern Ireland. We have a few hours to pass, so we walk into a large cathedral to look around. We are both very interested in history, and religious buildings of all forms are great preservers of local history, so they are some of our favorite places to visit when we travel.

While we’re walking around the cathedral, a priest approaches.

Priest: “Hello, and welcome to [Cathedral]! Do you have any questions about this magnificent building or the area around us?”

We end up spending several minutes chatting to him, and he happily answers all of our questions about the cathedral itself and the city we’re in. Finally, we have only one more question to ask.

Me: “Is it okay to take photographs of some of the displays and artwork around the building?”

Priest: “Yes, it is okay, although I must advise you not to use flash, as it could damage some of the older artworks.”

Me: “That’s fine. We go to a lot of museums, so we’re used to no flash.”

Priest: “Of course, women may flash in here… but surely, two handsome young gentlemen such as yourselves know all about that, as well!”

With that comment, my boyfriend and I — again, both male — were both stunned into silence. Before either of us could respond, the priest chuckled to himself, wished us a blessed day, and wandered off to introduce himself to the next visitors. My boyfriend and I wandered around for another ten minutes or so, taking pictures — without flash, of course — and then headed to the nearest pub to try and wash the awkward memory away.

It is late December. My boss is upstairs working on a stock-take, and my two part-time colleagues and I are in the shop dealing with customers. Late in the afternoon, a woman comes in looking for light fittings.

Me: “Madam, it turns out the fittings you want are one of the most common ones we stock, so we have plenty in at the moment.”

Customer: “I need five of them.”

I rush upstairs to grab them and then bring them over to the till.

Me: “That will be [price].”

Customer: “What? No! That’s too much! Give me a discount!”

Me: “I have already discounted them.”

Customer: “Then give me a bigger discount!”

Me: “Sorry, madam, but I cannot give you any more of a discount. I’m not allowed to.”

Customer: “Then go and ask your boss for permission!”

I go upstairs — reluctantly, as I know what my boss will say — and ask him about the possibility of giving her a further discount on the light fittings.

Manager: “No, the profit margin on the fittings are so tight that we can’t go any lower than the price you’ve already quoted.”

I return to the shop and apologetically tell her that I won’t be able to give her a further discount. She takes this really badly, launching into a verbal attack on me, complaining about how awful my customer service is.

Customer: “It’s Christmas! You should show some festive spirit! I’m always in the shop so I should at least deserve a discount!”

I find this last one strange because I’ve been working there since May and have never met her before now.

She pays for the light fittings, still complaining and being genuinely unpleasant. I stand there trying hard not to cry and just wanting her to get out of the shop. I hand her the receipt and she snatches it and glares at me.

Customer: “Oh, and by the way, it’s Christmas! A f****** smile wouldn’t go amiss!”

She stormed out, and I stood behind the counter, fuming.

I work in a hospital as an IT technician. My colleague told me this story. A few years before I started working there, the Estates department declared a cap on “unnecessary expenditure” within their department. This basically meant they wouldn’t do any work that they considered to be “nonessential.”

Around the same time, the Chief Executive of the Health Trust to which the hospital belonged declared that “all departments must do their utmost to reduce waiting lists” and that “resources would be made available to facilitate this.”

My colleague was contacted by the leader of a small nursing team who had determined that waiting lists in her department could be reduced by the addition of three new staff members. She had recruited the staff and now just needed three new PCs and monitors. My colleague ordered the PCs, got them set up, and then visited her department to see where the new machines could go. He realised that, while there was ample desk space for the new employees, there weren’t enough power sockets and network points in the office to connect the computers.

My colleague put in a request to Estates Services to get three new network points and six new power sockets installed in the office. That afternoon, one of the Estates people rejected the request as “unnecessary expenditure.” Furious, my colleague phoned the head of the Estates department.

Estates Head: *Arrogantly* “Power sockets and network points are not classed as essential maintenance, and would thus incur unnecessary expenditure.”

Colleague: *Calmly* “Okay, fine. But when [Chief Executive] asks [Nursing Team Leader] why she hasn’t done enough to reduce her department’s waiting lists, I’ll make sure she tells him that it’s because your department won’t do their jobs!”

The following day, my colleague got a call from a delighted [Nursing Team Leader], who informed him that Estates Services had just been in and installed six new power sockets and three new network points.

When I am a student, I take a summer job working as a temporary admin person in a local hospital. The first week or so involves just sitting in a file room sorting through old files, but then I am taken off this job and put on the outpatients’ reception, as the regular receptionist is going on holiday.

A couple of days into my stint as receptionist, one of the medical secretaries comes to see me. 

Secretary: “[Gastroenterologist] is off sick today with gastroenteritis and his clinic has therefore been cancelled. I’ve phoned all his patients and told them, but one or two slipped through the net due to their contact details being out of date. If any patients do turn up for [Gastroenterologists]’s clinic, please explain that the doctor was off sick, apologise for the inconvenience, reassure them that they will be given a replacement appointment when the doctor returns to work, and then try to update their contact details.”

The first couple of patients who arrive for this clinic are really understanding. They accept my apology, acknowledge that “these things happen,” and happily allowed me to take their up-to-date contact details. Then, I have THIS patient.

She is an older lady, probably in her early to mid-seventies, and she turns up with her daughter. She hands me her letter, and when I see she’s arrived for the gastroenterology clinic, I begin my usual spiel.

Me: “Ah, I’m very sorry, but we’ve actually had to cancel the clinic today. The doctor has phoned in sick, so he’ll not be back to work for a couple of days at least.”

Daughter: “Oh, dear!”

Her mother looks crestfallen. I apologise again for the inconvenience, reassure her that we’ll be giving her a replacement appointment as soon as the doctor is back to work, and explain that the reason we didn’t tell her about the cancellation was that we were unable to get hold of her. She gives me her up-to-date address and telephone number, which I put in her file, and then she starts complaining about being badly treated.

Woman: “I don’t understand how you people can do this to me! I’m an elderly lady! I can’t just travel up and down to the hospital for appointments!”

Me: *Staying calm* “Yes, I really do understand. To be honest, if I was in your position, I’d be upset, too, but unfortunately, there isn’t anything else we can do.”

The daughter still looks completely calm.

Daughter: “We’re getting another appointment though, right?”

I reassure her that her mother WILL be getting another appointment because it isn’t her fault the clinic was cancelled and it is up to us to make sure she gets the treatment she needs. The daughter seems satisfied, so she thanks me for being so understanding and turns to her mother.

Daughter: “Let’s go, Mum.”

The elderly lady turns to walk away and then changes her mind and stops. She turns to face me again.

Woman: “So [Gastroenterologist] is off sick today, is he?”

Me: “Yes, unfortunately, he is.”

She looks around and then leans in close to me and screams.

Woman: “WELL, HE F****** DESERVES IT!”

And she stormed out!

I worked in the reception for another two weeks and then was moved on to other duties. I really enjoyed working in the hospital, and years later, I still vividly remember this elderly lady leaning forward to scream, “WELL, HE F****** DESERVES IT!” all because her clinic was cancelled due to illness.

I have a colleague who was selected for jury service. He reckons the case will be interesting, as it relates to quite a high-profile incident that was in all the local papers. On his first day of the trial, he is in court most of the day, coming into work in the late afternoon for a few hours. My other colleague is full of questions, but of course, he won’t answer them because he isn’t supposed to discuss the case. Throughout the week, he falls into the same routine: court in the morning and work in the afternoon. On Thursday, the penultimate day of the trial, he comes in.

Colleague: “The verdict will be tomorrow, and then I’ll be free to discuss everything and answer all your questions.”

On Friday, our colleague arrives at work a lot earlier than anticipated.

Colleague: “Well, that was unexpected!”

It turned out that on Thursday afternoon, before dismissing the court for the day, the judge had reminded the jury that Friday would be their big day, and that until then it would be PARTICULARLY important not to discuss the case with anyone — not colleagues, not friends, not even other jurors.

One of the other jurors had been shopping in town that evening, saw the defendant, and in spite of being told not to discuss the case, decided to discuss the case with him, in full view of everyone in the shop! Word got back to the judge, who, on Friday morning, went ballistic. He declared a mistrial, held both the defendant and juror in contempt, and explained that now there would have to be a new trial with a new jury.

My colleague couldn’t believe how stupid and careless the juror had been, and was gobsmacked by how much time and effort had now gone to waste, all because the defendant and juror decided to have a chat in a shop.

The defendant was tried again six months later. The juror who’d breached protocol had charges brought against him. My colleague never got to see the new trial as he was no longer eligible for jury service.