Coworker: “What time is the ten o’clock meeting?”

I blink for a moment.

Me: “It’s at 11:40.”

Coworker: “What?! But they said they wouldn’t have a meeting over lunch! I’ll be so hungry.”

Me: “Yeah, it sucks. You should tell your boss to order catering if it’s gonna go over lunch.”

Coworker: “Yeah, I should! Thanks!”

Me: “My pleasure.”

They go and come back

Coworker: “I spoke to my manager, and it’s okay; they pushed it to ten.”

Me: “Hallelujah!”

We have a new hostess who likes to ask stupid questions as a way of trying to sound smart. She questions the chef and kitchen staff about the menu and ingredients to try to catch them out. One time she argued that our Pinot Noir bottles were mislabeled because they were white wines, even though this was explained when they were delivered that though uncommon, this is possible, and we ordered some!

One of our chefs got tired of her, so when she was challenging some menu changes, he decided he had had enough.

Hostess: “I see you added clam chowder to the menu. What kind of clams were used?”

Chef: “Bearded clams from the island of Lesbos.”

Hostess: *Nodding along* “Ah, yes, very good.”

She then proceeded to tell tables that for the first forty minutes we were open until another server overheard her and corrected her. Luckily, our customers thought it was hilarious, although the chef was told not to do that again!

I start hearing some talking on the drive-thru speaker. It’s faint at first, so I can’t hear what they are saying. I peek outside to see if there’s a car at the order box. Nope. I check all the headsets to see if one is on and “open”. Another nope. It’s quiet again, so I think nothing of it and go on about my work.

About ten minutes later, a male voice comes booming through the speaker, using very coarse language and making sexual comments. He’s loud enough to be heard in the dining room, where our Sunday after-church crowd is lunching.

Me: *To the now-silent dining room* “I apologize for the language! I’m going to take care of this as quickly as possible!”

Me: *Into the headset* “Sir! Please stop cursing; this is a family-friendly establishment! Now is there something I can help you with?”

This is met with laughter and more profanity. Looking out the window, I see them, parked in a pickup truck, CB radio in hand. They’ve somehow used it to get into our drive-thru intercom!

Me: “Sir, please leave or the police will be called.”

More laughter, more obscenities. I called the police.

A patrol car arrived and parked directly next to their truck. (I’d given the police a description and plate number in case they left before the police arrived.) The men handed over their IDs, and the officer got back in his car and moved it in front of their truck to block them in while he ran the IDs. He got out, and the driver got out. The officer patted him down and has him empty his pockets.

Another cruiser arrived as the first officer handcuffed the driver and put him in his car! The second officer approached the passenger and did the same! While [Officer #2] stayed outside with the cars, [Officer #1] came inside to inform me that both men were being arrested on unrelated warrants and would also be facing charges of disturbing the peace!

I’ve worked in an office-type job for a few years now. I mostly handle assistant admin tasks, although I sometimes also work on “field jobs”.

My supervisor, and partner, ended up retiring a bit early due to health reasons, and they hired a new person to fill that vacancy. The new guy did pretty well. They had a decent understanding of the field, and whatever they didn’t know outright, they picked up fairly quickly when instructed. Their only issue was personal space.

I am color-blind. No, I don’t see everything as grey, but I have difficulties separating certain colors from each other. It’s the one thing I bring up during those “tell an interesting fact about yourself” talks, and so the new hire knew this. However, it was still very personal, and it made me feel vulnerable.

A week or so after the new hire started, I stepped out of the office for a quick personal call. When I came back, I realized something was wrong with my computer. Obviously, I could see that something was going on, but I had major trouble reading what was on the screen.

At this point, my new coworker started laughing. It turned out that they had thought to “prank” me for forgetting to lock out my computer. How? By changing the colours of my interface to something I couldn’t recognize — not just changing the wallpaper or something, but by literally pointing out my disability and making me unable to do my job.

I couldn’t handle it. I started crying and basically had a panic attack. The next I remember, I was in a manager’s office, probably after trying to explain what happened. I don’t remember much else besides that they told me to go home and call them once I felt better.

When I got back, the new hire was nowhere to be seen. We might not have the ADA, but we have some officials that take care of people with disabilities.

It is around Christmas in the year 2000. An older lady approaches me.

Old Lady: “I was told I need to buy a DVD rewinder.”

Me: “By who?”

Old Lady: “My grandson.”

Me: “I see.”

Old Lady: “I just bought a DVD player, trying to keep up with the times, but he told me it doesn’t rewind the DVDs, which is a bit disappointing. Can you help?”

Me: “Ma’am, I think he’s playing a prank on you.”

I explain how DVDs work.

Old Lady: “Oh, that little punk! I’m going to tell him I can’t get him a Christmas present this year as I spent all my money on that DVD rewinder!”

Me: *Laughing* “I think that’s an excellent plan, ma’am.”