I live on the same property as my landlord; he rents out his old house and lives in his much nicer one. Both are situated on a farm, and he has a small herd of gorgeous Belted Galloway cows.

One afternoon, I am just finishing up work when he calls me to say that a calf has escaped, and he is closing the gates while he looks for them. Since his farm is just off of a busy road, I offer to head out and check around the neighborhood. The edge of the cow pasture is right next to the backyard of a row of houses on the next street over, so that’s where I head first.

Granted, driving slowly down a no-outlet road while gawking at everyone’s backyard can seem suspicious, but I figure if anyone approaches me about it I’ll happily explain the situation, and they can also keep an eye out for this poor calf. I go down the road and scan the left row of houses, and then I turn around and am about to scan the right side when a resident comes out of their house and flags me down.

Resident: “What are you doing?”

His tone isn’t friendly at all. He sounds grumpy and irritated as if he is seconds away from calling the police on me for… driving slowly.

Me: “Oh, one of my landlord’s cows escaped. I was just checking here while he’s checking the other side of the property. Have you seen—”

Resident: “He was already down here three times, and he sent his drone over my house. The cow. Isn’t. Here.”

I am hardly confrontational, so I just reply:

Me: “Oh, okay. I didn’t know he had already looked here. Thanks!”

He is already walking back to his house the second I open my mouth — presumably to complain to whoever will listen about how annoying it is that someone would so thoroughly look for a lost animal.

I drive around a few more places before heading back to my landlord’s house to see if he has any updates. I tell him I went down the road next door and tell him about my encounter with the grumpy guy.

Landlord: “Oh, that guy. He’s so miserable! He saw my drone flying over and called me to complain about it, even after I told him why I was using it.”

Me: “Sheesh. He just made me feel like I was doing something wrong. I’ve been on that road lots of times, and everyone seems so friendly, except for him.”

Landlord: “He’s the worst. Every time I talk to him, he’s either complaining about me or complaining to me. I can barely stand it.”

Me: “Oh, do you have to deal with him a lot?”

Landlord: “At least once a year during the holidays. He’s my cousin.”

We did find the calf, almost six hours later!

I own a detached single-family home with about half an acre of land between my house and my neighbor’s house. I have been catching, fixing, and sometimes adopting out, sometimes releasing the stray cats in the area. At the time of this story, there are four feral cats who have decided I am okay to be around but they are NOT friendly. I actually converted an old shed to give them shelter when they want it.

My neighbor has a dog — a Yorkie — who knows no commands and is never on a leash. I have tried several times to get my neighbor to get control of her, but he doesn’t see the problem with her chasing the cats across my yard because she’s “just having fun.” On numerous occasions, I have removed the dog from the cat shed because she is small enough to follow them in through the cat door.

I am on my porch reading a book when my neighbor comes over, his dog under his arm.

Neighbor: “I will f****** sue the f****** s*** out of you!”

Me: “Can I help you?”

Neighbor: “Your f****** cats made my dog sick! We had to go to the emergency vet! She was vomiting and s***ting everywhere!”

Me: “I didn’t feed her.”

Neighbor: “Dogs can’t eat cat food, you f****** idiot!”

Me: “Take responsibility for your dog, [Neighbor].”

Neighbor: “I am not playing. Put those cats down or I will.”

Me: “Hey, just so you know, you are on camera.”

I point to the flood light with the camera attached just over our heads.

Me: “If I see your dog roaming my property again, I’m calling the dog warden.”

Neighbor: “You can get f***ed.”

He flips off the camera and starts to walk away.

Neighbor: “I hope your cats all get rabies and die!”

A few days later, I heard the dog barking its head off outside. I went out and saw that [Neighbor] had installed a dog run on the opposite side of his house and put the dog outside without food, water, or shelter. I called the dog warden to ask what the regulations were and, sure enough, he was in violation. Coupled with all the video of the dog on my property and the owner threatening the cats, the dog was seized and [Neighbor] was fined. I added extra cameras to my property just in case he decided to retaliate. So far, nothing, but he seems just deranged enough to do something, so I’m still waiting.

Related:
Some People Don’t Deserve Dogs

Our department had a free sample table that we were forced to have constantly manned. It was boring work, and we could have been doing a lot more with our time, but management was firm. Often, that meant two of us would be scheduled a day with one person to work the floor and unload the truck while the other was stuck at the table.

[Coworker #1] and I came to an arrangement that even though one of us was specifically scheduled for the table, we would switch off every hour and coordinate breaks. [Coworker #2] refused to work the table even if she was scheduled, and when it came time for the sample person to take a break, it meant that the other person had to cover. [Coworker #2] would insist on taking her break first. It was only supposed to be fifteen minutes, but she would be gone for nearly an hour so we would be stuck at the table, unable to leave, hungry, without coverage. She would also come back in reeking of weed.

I was already annoyed at her, and one day, something happened. I went into our stock room to get some scissors out of our table and I noticed something in the drawer. I picked it up and opened it to see a waxy substance that smelled like weed. (It ended up being a dab.) Instantly, I knew this was [Coworker #2]’s.

The problem was that if I turned it in by myself, [Coworker #1] might also have suspicions cast on her, so I knew it would be better if we turned it in together.

Me: “Hey, [Coworker #1], there’s something in the sample table, and I don’t know what it is. Is it yours?”

Coworker #1: “I don’t think so, but let me go see. I might have stuck something in there and forgotten about it.”

We went back together. She saw the object and opened it up and smelled it. Instantly, her eyes got wide.

Coworker #1: “Oh, my God, do you know what this is? Did you smell it?”

Me: *Lying* “No, I don’t have the greatest sense of smell. What is it?”

Coworker #1: “This is weed. Holy s***. We need to tell a manager.”

We quickly paged for a manager and explained what we had found. And just like I’d suspected, the first question my manager asked was: “Who has access to your table?”

We both quickly pointed out [Coworker #2]. The weed was confiscated and given to the police. However, because we both reported it together, we were off the hook.

[Coworker #2] came in later that night in a panic, went into the stockroom — not allowed when off the clock — and realized her drugs were missing. So, our suspicions were correct after all.

Management ended up keeping a close eye on her, and she was later fired and arrested for stealing from the store.

I work in a hotel. A couple of weeks ago, most of the power was out on our side of the state and likely wouldn’t be restored for four days, so people were freaking out and flocking to hotels. [Energy Company] workers were coming in from other states just to help get power restored, so we had a ton of them.

I was alone with a lobby full of people, selling rooms by the second. I had three “hold” buttons on my phone, meaning I could put three people on hold at any one time. All night, I regularly had three people on hold and more still calling in. I started having to ask people to call back in fifteen minutes.

And since people can be impatient, it was a total s***show. This was one of the two most annoying and entitled calls of the night. The other is in this story.

I put this woman on hold at least six times — and not even because she was waiting twenty minutes to get a response. No, instead, it was because every time I put her on hold, she immediately hung up and called back. I explained to her that I was the only one there and would get to her if she stayed on the line. She said okay. I put her on hold. And lo and behold, she’d hang up and call again. And again. All of this took place in the same ten minutes. I could’ve finished what I was doing and gotten back to her in five minutes if she’d just stayed on the line and waited, but common sense is a flower that doesn’t grow in everyone’s garden.

I picked up the phone and asked to put her on hold. Again.

Caller: “No, I was already on hold and you never got back to me.”

Me: “Okay, well, like I said, I’m the only one here, and I have a lobby full of people and two others on hold, as well.”

Caller: “I want to speak to your manager! Transfer me to them right now.”

Me: “Ma’am, do you understand what ‘the only one here’ means? I’m. The. Only. One. Here.”

Caller: “Well then, you’re going to solve my problem right now! I’m not waiting, and you will not put me on hold again.”

Me: “Okay.” *Click*

I seriously hung up on her! And she didn’t call back again. Hey, I didn’t put her on hold!

It was probably the funniest thing I did that week, to be honest. The woman at the front of the line for the desk got a kick out of it, too.

Guest: “Oh, I like you; you’re my kind of gal!”

Related:
There’s Little Power In Entitlement
A Most Inhospitable Hospitality Interaction

My town has a small local business that is a witchy shop selling crystals, tarot cards, teas, etc. They are having an event for new products, and I go as I’m planning to pick up a gift for my sister.

While there, I spot a beautiful piece in a case that has a note asking for assistance if you would like to look at one.

I ask the owner for help, and I inform her of the one I would like to purchase. As she’s taking it out, she says this:

Owner: “Oooh, good choice. And you’re lucky; this one hasn’t been licked yet.”

Upon seeing my absolutely confused expression, she explains.

Owner: “You can tell if Halite is genuine by licking it because it’s literally just table salt. We’ve caught people licking some of them, which is why they’re now in a case. But like I said, don’t worry; this one is safe.”