(I work in a surf-shop. I’m very bored as I have been assigned fitting room duty and it is a slow day. A middle-aged man approaches me with little girl flip-flops.)
Man: “Can I try these in the change room.”
(Before I can reply he bursts out laughing.)
Man: “I’m sorry you should’ve seen your face!”
Me: “What?”
Man: “You looked bored so I thought I’d come over here and do that.”
Me: “Oh… thank you!”
(His thoughtfulness made me smile the rest of the day.)
(It’s summer. My husband and I are planning a trip to the lake, so we run to this big box store to find some sun-block/sunscreen lotion. Strangely, after wandering around almost the entire store (excluding areas like the electronics department) and examining numerous endcaps and summer displays, we can’t find any. I finally flagged down an associate for help.)
Me: “Hi, excuse me. Can you tell us where the sun-block is?”
Employee: “Uh… would Nyquil be okay?”
This story is part of the Sunscreen roundup! This is the last story in the roundup, but we have plenty of others you might enjoy!
18 Sweat-Inducing Stories About Heatwaves And Those Who Can’t Handle Them (And A Few Who Can)
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(It is during my first couple of months at my job. I am doing a product demo in the health & beauty section of a box store, before they had upgraded it to a super store, so it isn’t that big. A Canadian couple look around, confused, and ask me for help.)
Man: “Excuse me, where in here is [Department Store]?”
Me: *thinking I have misread him* “Pardon?”
Man: “Can you tell me where the [Department Store] is located in here?”
Me: “Uh… sir, there’s no [Department Store] here.”
Woman: “But, why not?”
Me: “This isn’t a mall. [Box Store] is a store all on it’s own. You’ll want the mall that’s up the highway.”
(I try to give them directions.)
Man: *walks off, speaking to his wife* “But this store is so big! How was I to know?”
(Our store sells firearms. Among my duties, I am part of the Risk Management (safety) and Loss Prevention teams. If a manager is not around or an unusual situation arises, coworkers often run to me. One runs up, breathlessly.)
Coworker: “You need to come up front right now. There is a guy with a rifle!”
Me: “I will go, but you need to go get a store manager. Now.”
Coworker: “They are all in a meeting. They only left [Department Manager] in charge.”
Me: “Go to the meeting room. Open the door. Tell them it is a code red to the front.”
(We don’t have a code for this but red will bring them running. Keep in mind, there is a large sign on the door, and it is well known, that if you need to bring a firearm in for a return, a manager must hold the firearm while it is in the store unless you have a license. I find the guy who looks really ticked off and go up to him.)
Me: “Hello, sir! If you have a license, you are welcome to bring your side-arms in the store; however, rifles must be carried by a manager while in the store. You may step back outside, or I can hold it for you. A manager is already on the way to help you.”
(The man ignores me. He is looking at some end cap. I repeat myself and he starts to walk further in the store. I block his way.)
Customer: “Get the f*** out of my way!”
(He is now carrying the rifle in one hand and waving it around. He is NOT carrying it like a normal, sane person would.)
Me: “Sir, I would be happy to assist you. Please point the gun at the floor. Look around. People are scared. We just want to be safe. Do you want ammunition for the gun?”
(The customer starts screaming profanities. Everyone up front is staring in shock. No one is getting checked out. I am signaling for everyone to clear out as this guy is not right. I keep babbling and dancing in front of him for what seems like an eternity but is really only a minute or two until our very capable store manager and assistant store manager came running up. They immediately see the situation and hear him screaming.)
Assistant Store Manager: “Get everyone out of here. Now.”
(He and the store manager started to talk to the man who managed to scream even louder and come up with new profanities. I started to get everyone at the front end away towards the entrance doors. Of course, we had those in the middle of checking out that did not want to leave their stuff. I was not very nice to those. I was just herding the last stragglers when someone in front of me screamed. I turn and look back to see the two managers had tackled the man to the floor. It was a pretty good fight but the one manager was not small and the other was wiry. They literally sat on him until the police came. Turned out the guy just wanted a scope for his rifle. He had bought one and it didn’t fit so he wanted to bring the rifle in to make sure it fit right, which is not an unusual request at our store. He was not a felon but he was on probation for, you guessed it, assault, so he violated his parole and got sent back to jail. He also tried to sue us for the bruises he got from the managers!)
(The cashier is a young, handsome guy, who seems a little unsure of what he’s doing. In front of me in line is a clearly underage boy, maybe 14 or 15, with a kitchen knife in a sealed packet. I assume that this kid has been recruited by the police to see what the store does in the event that someone underage attempts to buy a weapon.)
Cashier: *looking at the boy, and then at me*
Boy: *looking at Cashier as if he’s thinking “Don’t do it”*
Cashier: *looking back at me*
Cashier: *looking at the boy* “That’ll be 15.99.”
Boy: *looking as if he’s hugely disappointed* “Okay.” *hands over change*
(As the boy leaves.)
Cashier: “Wait… you’re not with him?”
Me: “No…”
Cashier: “F***…”
(Because I knew what would happen, I stayed to help the cashier when the police came in about ten minutes later. He didn’t get into too much trouble because I helped to defend him. In the future, though, he should ask if the child is with their parent…)
