I was working at a mall-based bookstore as an assistant manager. About a year and a half into my time there, my manager decided to quit. We all could see it coming, and there were no hard feelings. We wished her well and anticipated her replacement, who was coming to us from another store in the chain.

He was easy enough to get along with but seemed a little aloof. Regardless, he seemed to know his stuff, and we continued along with no disruptions.

At this point, Amazon was a long way off, and the larger chain bookstores weren’t as prevalent, so we maintained a pretty brisk business all year round, and it got hectic over the holidays.

As we got closer to the holidays, our manager started coming in later each day, changing the schedule last minute, and just not keeping up with any of the standards of the store. I tried my best to pick up the slack, but there were certain things that had to be done by him. And he was still aloof and just didn’t want to explain what was going on, even when I confronted him about how this is affecting everyone.

Then, one December day, he just didn’t show up.

Nobody could reach him at all. I called our district manager to advise him, and he wasn’t able to find the manager, either. So, we muddled through the holidays as best as we could. Other assistant managers came over to help with closing and opening, I put in extra hours, and we managed to get through it.

After everything had calmed down, I did find out from some of the manager’s old coworkers what had happened to him. His changing of the schedule and coming in late were all part of him trying to live a lifestyle on the down-low. And the day he didn’t show up was right after he came out to his wife as gay and she kicked him out.

Not that there’s a great time to come out for anyone, but that sure was the worst time for our store.

I stop at my local membership warehouse store to get gasoline. The gas prices have been high lately, but this store usually has gas anywhere from twenty to thirty cents cheaper per gallon than most gas stations. As such, it’s always busy.

Unfortunately, the layout for the pumps at this store isn’t great. There is room for maybe five vehicles to line up behind the ones at the pumps. Beyond that, the vehicles start blocking one of the entrances to the parking lot for the store. Because of this, the store has enlisted employees to help guide the drivers to move their vehicles a bit closer and provide room for people just entering.

I’ve just pulled up to the pump, gotten out of my car, swiped my membership card, and am ready to tap my credit card for payment. At this point, I can see someone in the corner of my eye kind of hovering close by. Since I still need to type in my PIN for payment, I get wary of people standing too close to me when I pay. I turn to see one of the store’s employees looking at me expectantly. I think he must have a question or something important to tell me.

Me: “Yes?”

Employee: “Are you going to tap for payment?”

I’m thinking maybe there’s something wrong with the pump. I look back to the pump and don’t see a sign or any other indication that I couldn’t pay by tapping, so I look back at the employee.

Me: “I was going to. Why?”

Employee: “We’re encouraging everyone to tap to pay when possible.”

Me: “Okay?”

Employee: “You see, all the cars are lined up waiting, and if everyone taps to pay, it saves up to forty-five seconds on each transaction. It’s a much faster way to pay.”

Me: “Yeah, I know. I would have been done by now.”

I turned back to pay, blocking his view while I typed in my PIN. I didn’t bother to see if he was giving that spiel to anyone else, but he definitely wasted my time. Even if I was swiping, I could have gotten done faster.

I work at a chain pet store that does not sell live feeder mice, but we do sell pet mice. Two men in their early twenties come in and spend plenty of time in the reptile section. They collect a snake hide from the shelf and then find another employee to catch them two mice “as pets.”

Thankfully, I get to her first.

Me: “Don’t they have snake merchandise in their hands?”

Coworker: “Uh, yeah.”

Me: “And no mice merchandise.”

Coworker: *Pauses* “Right.”

I go up to them.

Me: “Aren’t you the guys who called earlier today to ask if we sell live feeder mice?”

One blinks.

Customer: “Uh, yeah, but I was just wondering, so…”

Me: “So, you know for pet mice you need a cage, right?”

They left, sans mice. Some people just really want to fight the system.

I am the supervisor at a fast food restaurant and my coworker has just gone on break, leaving me on the counter by myself. A man possibly in his late twenties comes and orders an ice cream treat. He hands me $10, and after I ring him up, he asks for extra topping, which costs extra. Before I can counter, he gets angry.

Customer: “Where’s the rest of my change?”

Me: “I’m sorry?”

Customer: “I gave you a $20, so you owe me change.”

Me: “You actually gave me a $10.”

Customer: “No, I gave you a $20. It was a beat-up $20 bill.”

I open the drawer and see that the $20 on the top is brand new. I point this out to the customer.

Customer: “Well, I guess you put the $20 under the rest of the bills.”

Me: *Sarcastically* “Yes, I lifted up this whole stack of $20s and put yours under there. Why would I do that?”

Customer: “I don’t know, but you did it!”

He then pulls out a huge wad of $100s.

Customer: “Look at all these bills. Why would I rip you off over $10? I don’t need that money!”

Me: “I don’t know.”

We bicker for a few more minutes, at which point the entire food court of the mall is looking over. I go to the back of the store to call my manager and ask him what to do, and he says to take the customer’s information, and if the drawer is wrong, they’ll let him pick it up the next day. The customer sees me on the phone and begins yelling louder.

Customer: “Who are you calling back there? You were on the phone with someone!”

Me: “I was calling my manager to see if I could help you, but I guess you don’t want that.”

Customer: *Threateningly* “What time do you get off?”

Me: “Why does it matter to you?” 

He ends up giving up and lets me make his ice cream treat. I hand it to him.

Customer: “Doesn’t look like extra candy to me.”

Me: “That costs fifty cents extra.”

He growls and walks away.

Me: “Have a nice day, sir!”

I later heard words of encouragement from the rest of the food court, among them being, “You could have taken him!” And yes, the drawer was correct the next day.

It is the fourth of July. I’m stopping to pick up some donuts and I notice a sign on the door stating they are closing at 2:00 pm for the holiday. It is about 10:00 am when I hear this exchange.

Customer: *To the clerk* “You guys get an easy day today, huh?”

Clerk: “Um, sort of.”

Customer: “Well, the sign says you close at 2.”

Clerk: “Yeah, but I’ve been here since 5.”

Customer: “Oh.”

Seriously, man. Do you really think a donut shop is nine-to-five?

This story is part of our Fourth-Of-July-themed roundup!

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