(My wife and I are ordering at a restaurant with our best friends, another married couple. We are all in our late 20s. Everyone else at the table orders a beer with their meal, but I order a cola with mine. Although I do drink beer, I am very thirsty from a grueling day doing physical work, and beer tends to just make me more thirsty. The waitress seems to think this is hilarious, and laughs at me at every interaction.)

Waitress: *after I order the cola* “Oh, you’re sure? No beer for you? Just a cola?”

Waitress: *when bringing over the drinks* “[Beer #1] for you, the [Beer #2] was for you, here’s your [Beer #3]. And, of course, I didn’t forget your cola!” *laughs* “Just the cola for you?”

Waitress: *when noticing I need a refill* “Oh, I’ll get you another cola. Or are you sure you don’t want to get a real drink?” *laughs*

Waitress: *when checking on the table* “Everything tasting all right, so far? Anyone need another drink? Or a refill for you? It’s just the cola, right?” *laughs* “Just the cola?”

(To be clear, it was a mocking, condescending tone used every time she referred to me or the drink. I must have had about five refills, and she brought it up every time. It was if I was just not “man enough” to drink alcohol, like the rest of the table. Did it never occur to her that some people may be a DD, or recovering from an addiction, or just genuinely wanted to drink a cola, instead?)

(I work in a copy shop.)

Customer: “I’m here to pick up my order.”

Me: “Okay, what’s the name it’s under?”

Customer: *gives their first name*

Me: “Sorry, what’s the last name?”

Customer: “I didn’t give my last name.”

Me: “Okay.” *looks in the filing cabinet and finds no order filed under her first name* “Sorry, it doesn’t look like it’s under that name. Is there a business name it might be under?”

Customer: “No.”

Me: “Okay. What’s your last name?”

Customer: “I didn’t give you my last name! It would only be under [First Name]!”

Me: “Okay, but unfortunately, it’s not under that name, and we almost always take a last name or a business name and file the orders that way. What’s your last name anyway? I’ll see if it’s filed under that name.”

Customer: “There’s no point in giving you my last name because I never told it to you when I came in!”

Me: “Can you just tell me your last name, anyway? Because it’s not under your first name and there’s no other way to find it.”

Customer: “No! It’s under [First Name]!”

(I have to go through EVERY single order form in EVERY single file folder in alphabetical order to try and find an order form with her first name on it. I finally find it near the end. I can’t remember but I think it starts with a T or something, because it was filed under her last name!)

Me: “Here it is. It was filed under your last name.”

(And the funny thing, after seeing her order form and last name, I remembered her immediately. I definitely asked for her last name when I booked the order in, and she told me how to spell it.)

(My mom is buying us tickets to see a recent superhero blockbuster.)

Mom: “Four tickets for [Movie].”

Cashier: *peers over Mom’s shoulder* “Just you?”

Mom: “No. My family is coming; I just got here early.”

Cashier: “You can’t hold their spot in line. You need to wait until they come.”

(Before my mom can argue more, a supervisor, who has been seated at the next register down, actually slaps their hand against their face before getting up and nudging the worker aside.)

Supervisor: “That was four tickets for [Movie]? Your total is [price].”

(He got Mom the tickets, and then slid the small window cover shut before turning to talk to the cashier. My mom moved to the side and got to wait while the cashier sat down sulkily and occasionally glared over at her while selling more tickets.)

(My grandmother is doing a crossword. She asks me for help.)

Grammy: *reading the hint* “‘Jewish scriptures’.”

Me: “How many letters?”

Grammy: “Five.”

Me: “Torah?”

Grammy: “Oh, Torah! I had ‘Koran’.”

This story is part of our Crossword Puzzles roundup!

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(I work at a retail chain as a cashier. A woman buys a few things and we have a pleasant transaction. A few minutes later, she gets back in line to buy a bottle of water. They’re 99¢, but after tax, they’re $1.12. As I’m finishing up with the customer ahead of her, she asks me how much the water costs.)

Me: “After tax, it’ll be $1.10.”

(Canada doesn’t use pennies, so $1.12 rounds down to $1.10.)

Customer: “Oh, I don’t want to break this toonie…”

(Meaning she doesn’t want to get back 90¢ worth of change, which would consist of at least five coins instead of a tidy loonie.)

Me: *thinking that means she’s decided against buying it* “Oh, okay. Sorry about that!”

Customer: “No, I’m still getting it. Just give it to me for a dollar.”

Me: *taken aback by her presumption* “I can’t.”

Customer: *suddenly angry* “Fine! My God, only ten cents’ difference!”

(My present customer is almost finished by now; the PIN pad is just processing her payment. The woman buying the water bottle apparently doesn’t realize it’s not her turn yet, and gets angry that I’m not scanning her water bottle.)

Customer: “Well, go ahead!”

Me: *gesturing towards the customer ahead of her* “I’m still on this transaction.”

Customer: “Ugh!”

(She was very grumpy for the rest of the transaction. I know it’s frustrating to have to deal with a bunch of change instead of a single coin, but please don’t be rude to people over it!)