I was working in the self-scan area at my store. There are eight units I watch over, so I pace a lot. I saw this little kid — no older than ten — grab some candy from the shelf. I didn’t think anything about it until he saw me walking that way because, as I said, I was pacing back and forth from machine to machine.

He turned tail and ran in the other direction, out of the self-scan area, and around to behind a wall that separates the self-scan from the main walkway of the store. I walked back that way, and when I looked around there to see why he had high-tailed it, I saw that he no longer had two candies in his hands; he only had one. And when he walked past me, I saw him fiddling with something in his coat pocket, and since I was so much taller than he was, I was able to see that it was the other candy.

I followed him to his mother.

Me: “Ma’am, I just saw your son steal candy.”

She gave him this look. Oh, boy, this was not his first time doing something like this. He pulled the candy out of his pocket and tried to hand it to her. She made him put both back. Then, she gave me a bag of chips she was going to buy him and told him to go sit on a bench nearby until she was done.

About fourteen years ago, when [Security Company] provided security for [British Grocery Chain], I also worked for [Security Company] but was based at the airport. One morning after a twelve-hour night shift, I decided to go into a [British Grocery Chain] store I pass on the way home and get a sandwich.

I had my work uniform on, but I was wearing a grey jacket on top so people would know I wasn’t on duty. I went into the store, picked up a basket, and headed to the sandwich counter. I was browsing the selection and I heard someone say, “Excuse me,” but, not expecting anyone to be talking to me, I carried on looking for my desired sandwich.

Then, suddenly, the basket was slapped out of my hand and there was this snarling man’s face less than an inch from mine.

Man: “I’M NOT PAYING YOU TO SHOP! GET TO THE FRONT OF THE STORE RIGHT NOW!”

I was tired and very confused and could only muster the reply:

Me: “What?”

Man: “I TOLD YOU, GET TO FRONT DOORS! We’ve been open for customers for the last thirty minutes and you’ve not been at your position once, and now I find you buying snacks!”

That’s when the penny dropped.

Me: “I know the store’s open to customers; I am one. I work for the same company that provides your security, but I am not your guard.”

With those words ringing in the man’s ears, all the colour in his face drained away as he realised what he had just done to a customer. Suddenly, he became completely apologetic.

Man: “If there’s anything I can do for you, I’ll gladly help!”

Me: “I would like help carrying my basket around the store; I am tired from a long night shift.”

Man: “I’ll get someone to help you immediately.”

Me: “I don’t want someone else to carry my basket; I want you to carry it.”

I originally only intended to buy a sandwich, but to teach this guy a lesson, I spent thirty minutes in the store and went down every aisle.

I work in a hotel. My phone alerted me that I was under a Tornado Warning, and I confirmed online that there was a tornado on the ground somewhere near me right as the tornado sirens began to go off. Guests were getting the same alerts on their cell phones.

I was the only person on duty and had to open different storm shelter areas and shepherd people from different buildings into them. During this process, two different guests showed up to try and check in — with a raging storm and tornado sirens blaring in the distance.

Guest #1: “Excuse me! I need to check in!”

Me: “I’m sorry, sir, but we are under a Tornado Warning, and I cannot check anyone in until I get the all-clear. I need you to join everyone else in the storm shelter for now.”

Guest #1: “This is bulls***!”

He walked out and sped out of the parking lot. He came back over an hour later.

Guest #1: “No one at [Fast Food Place] would help me, either! They were all hiding in their walk-in freezer and I had to wait!”

The other guest who tried to check in was also very upset when I told them I couldn’t check them in and urged them to head to the shelter.

Luckily, the tornado touched down outside of town, and I don’t believe anyone was hurt, but today, I read that there are between fifty and seventy people thought to have been killed by tornados from the same storm in Kentucky, and it made me mad all over again.

I work for a rather large manufacturing plant in Ohio. While it’s a fairly clean environment, it does still have areas that don’t see much traffic and accumulate dust. I’m responsible for the computer hardware on-site and troubleshooting any related issues.

I got called on-site to this location outside of normal hours due to an issue impacting production. The end user had just the day before treated me like crap because I was not allowed to provide her with a free additional laptop charger simply because she did not want to transport hers back and forth between work and home. She ended up being the one to take me out to the floor and show me the machine with the issue.

Upon arrival, the keyboard was very dusty. No problem; I wasn’t really worried about it. [End User] decided it was too dusty and immediately grabbed the “canned air” on the same table as the keyboard and started to spray it without reading the label.

It turned out that the can had WD-40 (a lubricant) in it.

I was flabbergasted and did not really know how to respond. [End User] acted really confused and asked me what had happened.

Me: “I think you just sprayed the keyboard with lubricant.”

This was not the first run-in I had with [End User] and previous employees in my position had similar experiences. It was fun to see her do something so completely stupid. I’m not even sure she realized how stupid it was, to be honest.

This all started about a month ago at my workplace where I’ve been for the past twelve years.

On that fateful day, I had forgotten my key fob to buzz through the security gate, so I asked the guard — [Guard #1], who I’ve known and chatted to for several years — to let me through. As he was getting up, the moody older guard next to him — [Guard #2] — stopped him and rudely told me to sign in.

Me: “I’ve been working here for over a decade, and I’m known to [Guard #1], so he can vouch for me.”

Guard #2: “It doesn’t matter; it’s a health and safety thing in case there is a fire.”

That’s not true; this is a shared building and each company is responsible for accounting for their staff. I know because I helped set up this plan with the building’s owner.

I explained this to him, but he wasn’t having it and directed me to the sign-in book. Funnily enough, the book had a printed sheet stating that it was for guests only and had a line saying permanent staff should get a sticker to ID themselves. I asked about the sticker.

Guard #2: “This is the new process. You have to sign in and out each time you enter or exit the building without your fob.”

Me: “Are you sure?”

Guard #2: “One hundred percent.”

Fair enough! The UK health and safety body says that, ideally, you should take a five- to ten-minute break each hour away from your computer screen. Not wanting to get a repetitive strain injury or anything, I took it upon myself to take even more regular breaks, especially when [Guard #2] was on shift.

For my breaks, I would go on short walks outside, and wouldn’t you know it? I am getting very forgetful in my old age and kept forgetting to bring in my fob.

Each time I came to sign in, [Guard #2] would need to get up, open his door, and undo his keys to buzz me in. Quite often, I would forget something in my car just as he was about to let me in, and he’d need to make his round trip back to the little office. My record was thirteen little breaks over the day.

After about two weeks of this, I managed to have a catch-up with [Guard #1]. He explained that he had checked and there was definitely not a need for me to sign in each time, and even better, [Guard #2] was constantly moaning to the other security guys about the “idiot” who keeps forgetting his fob.