When my wife and I were newlyweds, we got an invitation to check out a wholesale club. During the ninety-minute sales pitch, we were told about all the members they had, the monthly cost, the values of the deals, etc. — lots of nice numbers for a numbers guy like me. When the guy telling us about the program stepped away near the end of the whole thing, I had a hushed conversation with my wife. We could see the store area the whole time.

Me: “Okay. The way I figure it, to justify the monthly fees to this club, we’d have to be doing significant shopping here several days a week.”

Wife: “Yeah, I see that.”

Me: “And they say they have [number] members who would all have to be doing the same to even bother having the membership, right?”

Wife: “Um…?”

Me: “Considering their hours and all, we should have seen over eighty shoppers here since we’ve been here. How many have you noticed coming through?”

Wife: “Just two.”

Me: “Yeah, me, too. Their business is just getting people to cough up a monthly fee. I think we’re going to give this opportunity a miss.”

Of course, in retrospect, I suppose that they could have been lying about membership. But since that would be to falsely convince us that it was a good thing to spend money on, it remained a bad thing to join.

I never wanted kids, and yet, I fell in love, hard, with a widower who had three children. He was former army, straight-laced, and had a sense of humor. I find it slightly ironic that he fell in love with me with my multi-colored hair, tattoos, and free-lancing job.

We were visiting his mother and talking about our wedding.

His Mother: “I really think you should change your hair before the wedding. It’s only two weeks away and your hair is still blue and pink!”

Future Husband: “No, Mom. I like her hair exactly how it is.”

On the way home, his kids asked if they could dye their hair because they want to look more like a family when we get married. My future husband got a huge grin on his face and made the turn to the hair supply store I use.

Come our wedding day, not only was I sporting blue and pink, but one of the daughters had pink, one had purple, and the boy had bright blue hair… and my future husband’s hair had lime green.

I still smile thinking of how amazing that day was.

This story is part of our end-of-year Feel Good roundup for 2021!

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Read the Feel Good 2021 roundup!

I have worked at a well-known gas station in my small town for nearly ten years. One evening, I take a coworker home and take the back route home. At one point, there is a set of train tracks with a stop sign, and then about twenty yards away is another stop sign for the main road I need to be on. At this time, the stop sign for the train tracks cannot be seen at night because of a rubble pile, but I know it’s there and I always stop anyway.

Tonight, as I roll to a stop, I see police cars where my current street merges with the one I need to take. I think, “Oh. They have a drunk driver pulled over,” but when I pull up to the next stop sign, a female officer motions for me to stop and I realize it’s a sobriety checkpoint.

Me: “Sorry about popping my door open; my window doesn’t roll down.”

Officer: “No, that’s fine. Hey, why did you stop back at the tracks?”

Me: “Uh… there’s a stop sign there. I thought I was supposed to.”

Officer: “That is the best answer I have heard all night! Okay, so, do you have your license and insurance on you?”

Me: “Oh, sure! Just got my new insurance card today, actually!”

I unbuckle and begin to dig for my purse in the backseat of the car. I’ve barely turned in my seat when she speaks again.

Officer: “Hold on. I know you.”

Me: “You do?”

Officer: “Yeah! You’re the girl from [Gas Station] — the one who tells all those great jokes! We love you at the station! Sweetie, you head on. Drive carefully and have a nice night!”

Me: “Oh! Okay, thanks!”

I waved goodbye, got home, and walked into my bedroom… where I saw my wallet containing both my license and my new insurance card sitting on my desk.

This story is part of our Best Of August 2021 roundup!

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Read the Best Of August 2021 roundup!

I have just taken over a register for my coworker and checked out a few customers in line. Everyone who shops here knows they can use their tax exemption and a military discount together, provided we have their information in our database. However, the only information we’re capable of completing in-store is updating or registering tax exemption permits. If a customer wants to register for a military discount they must do so online themselves. The next customer drops his items on the counter and turns to talk to his friend.

Me: “And do you have a military or tax exemption, sir?”

Customer: *Turns to me* “Did you say, ‘military’?”

Me: “Yes, sir.”

Thinking he didn’t hear me through the plexiglass or my mask, I move around and lift my mask off of my lips some, still covering my face, and repeat my question.

Customer: “Yes, I am military.”

Me: “Great! Can I have your number, please?”

Customer: *Instantly offended with a frown* “I don’t give out my phone number.”

Me: “Oh, but you are military?”

Customer: “I am.” *Shows me his military ID*

Me: “The only way I can add your discount is through your phone number, sir.”

He gives me a look, thinking about it, before shaking his head and muttering the number to me. Wouldn’t you know, it’s not showing up.

Me: “Are you registered with [Workplace], sir?”

Customer: “No, I’m not. Why would you need that, anyway? I have my ID right here!”

Me: “Oh, well, you need to be in our system to get the discount.”

Customer: “I couldn’t give a d*** if I’m in your system!”

Me: “Would you like to be?”

Customer: “No!”

I give him his total, without the discount, still remaining pleasant and courteous.

Customer: *Sneers* “Is that without the discount?” 

Me: “Yes, sir, it is.”

Customer: “I’m still a veteran!”

Me: “Yes, you are, sir, and I apologize.”

Customer: “Good! Thank you for acknowledging that!”

An off-duty employee from another department waiting in line comes up to him.

Coworker: “She’s only doing what she’s been trained to do, sir. She can’t do anything with your card. If you want your discount, you can go to our website and it will instruct you how to register. You don’t need to talk to her like that.”

Customer: “Thank you for that. Nah, we’re cool. She knows I was just messing!”

He swipes his card without further fuss. When receipts are printed with military discounts, we’re trained to thank them for their service. However, even though this one doesn’t, I thank him regardless, urge him to take the survey at the bottom, and wish him a good night

Customer: “Thank you.” *To [Coworker]* “Hey, thank you, boo! You have a good night!”

When [Coworker]’s turn comes, she grumbles as she places her items on the counter.

Coworker: “I served him back in Flooring earlier and he was nothing but courteous. I don’t know where that came from but he shouldn’t have talked to you like that. I hate being called ‘boo.’”

This was a job I shouldn’t have taken, but I was desperate. It started showing red flags when I was told to come in and interview when the girl I was replacing was off so she wouldn’t know. Normally, I would just say no and move on, but the job I was currently at was absolutely toxic, so I was desperate.

This new job was with a small company that had about eight employees. After I had been there for about two months, I noticed that my paycheck was wrong. It turns out that the owner’s wife did the paychecks and she miscalculated. Thankfully, they got it fixed, but then I started seeing other problems.

They offered paid holidays, which sounds great, except for the fact that they were also closed around those holidays but wouldn’t pay you for them, so you had to use four of your five Paid Time Off days so you weren’t out so much money. And speaking of payday, they only paid us once a month, and the boss would conveniently “forget” to pay us — no direct deposit — until after five, so our check wouldn’t go in until the next day, or sometimes until Monday.

The boss’s wife would come in several times per week and tell me that I should be exceedingly grateful that they even thought of hiring me.

After I was there a year, the supervisor decided she was going to move back to Texas, and I thought that they were going to offer me her position. No. Instead, they expected me to do her job without any extra pay. I started looking for another job, right before 2020 became what 2020 did.

Then, in March of 2020, I was working seventy-plus hours a week, at least till the boss’s wife decided we shouldn’t be paid overtime. That is when I conveniently decided that I wasn’t going to work over my forty hours if they were going to pull that.

The boss’s son — who was a piece of work and treated me like I was stupid — was getting ready to take over the business but his dad wasn’t ready to let go. So, I would get told different things each time I spoke to one of them and then get yelled at for not doing what the other wanted first.

During this time, we hired a friend of the son’s to help out, and while I was trying to help train him, the boss’s son screamed at me for trying to take his position of training. The boss stood idly by and let him scream at me.

After they left for the day, I went into the bathroom and cried for forty-five minutes and decided I was getting out of this job. I also found out that day that the guy who had just been hired was making $2 more than I was an hour.

I ended up finding a much better job and I gave a short notice because they were notorious for not letting people work out their notices. They had me train the new guy for my last three days, but he kept telling me, “I already know this,” and didn’t look at so many of the training examples that I printed out and made special for him.

So, on my last day, after I tried to train him and he went back to his desk, I shredded all of that and all of the pertinent information that I had obtained during that time.

I’ve been at my current job for nine months, making almost triple what I was making there, and I just got a promotion. My former employers called me last week to see if I would be interested in coming back because the guy they hired just wasn’t working out. I took great pleasure in hanging up on them after telling them I was very happy in my current position.