I work as a host at a fine-dining restaurant in a four-star hotel. This leads a lot of guests to make reservations for our dining area, along with private rooms that we have for business meals. I get a call from a woman asking about her reservation.

Me: “Hello, thank you for calling [Restaurant]. My name is [My Name]. How may I help you?”

Caller: “Hi, I’d like to check on a reservation I made in August for private room #3.”

Me: “Sure! What is the name the reservation is under and what day in August?”

Caller: “It’s [Caller], and I forgot what day it is, so I want you to tell me.”

Me: “Okay, do you have an idea of what week it is, or maybe towards the beginning or end of the month, or even if you made it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner?”

Caller: “No, I need you to tell me what day and time it is!”

I’m starting to think about how terribly long this will take in order to check all thirty-one days in August looking for her name.

Me: “I could also make a reservation for any day in August that you would like instead of one that may not still be convenient for you.”

Caller: *Starting to get agitated* “No! It’s one reservation! You should be able to find this.”

Me: “Okay, ma’am, it will take a moment for me to find your reservation.”

Caller: “Why?! It’s one f****** reservation! Someone as simple as you should even be able to find it in seconds!”

Unfortunately, we have to stay on the phone for guests and if they become too difficult, then we get a manager. I have dealt with worse.

Me: “Sorry, ma’am, I have to look through all thirty-one days of August for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for your reservation. This will take a few minutes, but I should be able to find it for you.”

Caller: “What the h*** is wrong with you?! It’s one reservation! I can’t believe this; I should be off the phone already with my reservation information!”

The woman continues to rant, curse, and yell at me over the phone for the next few minutes while I look through reservations. I can’t find her name anywhere.

Me: “Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find your reservation. However, I’m more than happy to make one for you for any day you would like!”

Caller: “No! I know I made a reservation; you should be able to find it. I don’t want to make another reservation!”

Me: “Okay, ma’am, I can’t help you with anything else if you don’t want to make a reservation, but I can forward you to my manager if you would like!”

Caller: “Don’t you dare forward me to someone else. This is your job, so you should do it! Now tell me when I made this reservation!”

Thankfully, my manager walks by and I happily hand the phone to him with a warning about the woman. In my opinion, I wouldn’t want a person this rude and crude in my restaurant, but he has a very different opinion. While my manager is talking on the phone with the crazy woman, I can still hear her screaming, cursing, and yelling the exact same things to him that she said to me. Throughout this all, my manager keeps surprisingly calm and is able to persuade her to make a reservation before the call ends.

Manager: “You know, after all these years, I didn’t think my bachelor’s degree in acting would amount to much, but it was really helpful today. She was f****** crazy, but it’s nice to know I still got it!”

My parents, fiancé, and I are touring wedding venues. We show up for an appointment that we made with a woman named Michelle. We were not given a last name when we made the appointment.

We approach the front desk and there is a woman standing there.

Woman: “Hi, can I help you?”

Me: “Yes, hi, we have an appointment with Michelle to view the wedding venue!”

Woman: “Okay! Let me give her a call!”

The woman picks up the phone and dials. It rings for a bit but no one picks up. The woman hangs up the phone and pauses with a very confused look on her face. Then, she suddenly looks up at us.

Woman: “Oh! I’m Michelle!”

The rest of the tour went pretty smoothly and we ended up booking the venue, but it definitely was a strange first impression!

I am working at a grocery store. My manager is known for being irate and having outbursts in front of customers at the drop of a hat, which is not helped by the fact that she’s going through a bitter divorce with her husband, a regular at our store. This takes place the day after she loses custody of her daughter, as she walks over to the time clock.

Me: “Hey there, [Manager].”

Manager: “Don’t. Talk. To me.”

Me: “Bad day?”

Manager: “YOU’RE FIRED!”

Several customers stare at her.

Me: *Pause* “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.”

She was fired two days later, not for yelling at me in front of customers, but rather for forcing one of my coworkers to push carts in a thunderstorm — a MAJOR safety violation in Pennsylvania. She had that coworker fired, as well, when he refused, but the store owner reinstated both of us right after he fired the manager because she had violated protocol in both cases. She was later sent to prison for assaulting her husband over the lost custody battle. It’s been two years, and she’s just been released on parole. Not that it matters too much since she’s now banned from our store, and her husband has a restraining order against her.

I am working the checkouts to help get the line down and this is the day when everyone has decided to panic-buy toilet paper. I happen to see my mom come in, heading my way. I know that she is here for toilet paper; we genuinely are out. I don’t acknowledge that I know her at all, and while still checking out my customer, I tell my mother:

Me: “No, get out and go to [Local Office Supply Store].”

My mom leaves, confused, and the customer looks at me, also confused.

Me: “Sorry, that’s my mom. She’s here for toilet paper like everyone else because we’re out.”

Customer: “But why send her to that store?”

Me: “It’s office supplies. They have toilet paper there. I’m just hoping nobody remembers that so there’s plenty left for her to get some.”

The customer stops and stares at me for a second.

Customer: “You. You are smart and will probably get through this thing.”

When I got home that day after work, I was pleased to see that I was correct and there was still plenty of toilet paper left for us to get some. The weird thing is that it wasn’t even the first time a customer told me that. I apparently have a weird talent for knowing stores that people forget about that hold the items people want most in these weird times.

At my work, all the employees wear headsets so that we can all quickly communicate with each other. I’m ringing out a customer, asking her the usual “How are you?”, “Did you find everything all right?”, and “Was anyone assisting you?”

My manager then asks me a question through the headset, and I answer.

Customer: “Excuse me?”

Me: “Oh, sorry. I was just talking to my manager.”

I gesture to my headset.

Customer: “Oh! Well, as long as you’re not talking to yourself!”

Me: “Nah. I’m crazy, but not that crazy. They just let me out of the hospital yesterday.”

And here’s where I feel like I messed up. Was that an inappropriate joke? Does she know I was joking? I can tell my concern is written across my face.

Customer: “It’s okay, sweetie, you’re doing great.”

I laughed and relaxed a little, but I still wasn’t sure if she took me seriously.