(I volunteer with a rescue that operates inside a certain pet store. I wear odd clothes that look nothing like the store’s uniform. However, it can be very hard to find associates so I help out customers if they ask and if I can.)

Woman: “Where is the special diet food for dogs?”

Me: “Right along this wall.”

Woman: *picks up bag* “Do you have this in a smaller size?”

Me: “Let’s see…” *looks at the tags on the shelves* “It does look like they carry it but they are out.”

Woman: *getting impatient* “Well, go check in the back!”

Me: “Oh, I’m afraid I don’t work here, but I can try to flag down an associate.”

Woman: “What do you mean? Then why were you helping me?”

Me: *shrugs* “The rescue isn’t busy and you asked for help.”

Woman: “Well, don’t look at me! I thought you worked here!”

(Needless to say, I did not flag down an associate for her.)

(I am trying to say “thank you” more in addition to telling my customers “have a nice day.” I am a white woman, and the only customer in the store is a middle aged white man. He seems to know exactly what he wants and is at the register shortly.)

Man: “Thank you.”

Me: “Thank YOU. Have a nice day!”

Man: *as he leaves* “And Donald Trump thanks you, too.”

(I wasn’t wearing – and certainly hadn’t said – anything the slightest bit political. Apparently being white in the South automatically makes me a Republican.)

(We sell high end antiques, specializing in furniture. A woman comes in and is very interested in a table we have. However she wants her husband’s approval prior to making such a large purchase. Later that afternoon, the husband comes in.)

Husband: “My wife wants me to look at a table.”

Me: “Ah, yes, right over here. Let me tell you about this piece…”

(I tell him what I know about the history of the piece while he walks around it, then he nods. It seems like an easy sale.)

Husband: “If it’s what she wants, we will take it. Is there any way we can have it delivered tomorrow?”

Me: “Of course. Let me get some information from you for the delivery.”

(While I’m ringing him up and getting his delivery information, the backroom employees start padding the table to be moved. The husband notices this and gets angry.)

Husband: “Oh, don’t tell me you’re going to try to give me the display.”

Me: “The… display?”

Husband: “The table that you have out! You’re trying to pass off the one that’s been out on the floor.”

Me: “Sir, it’s a custom made item that 150 years old. It’s the only one of its kind in the world.”

Husband: “What? I don’t want something used! You know what? Cancel the sale!”

(He huffs out while I’m still standing confused. An hour later, I get a phone call from his wife.)

Wife: “I’d like to arrange buying that table and apologize for my husband. Sometimes, he is a profound idiot.”

(My mom takes me and my sister to get more copies of the key to our new house and she lets us pick out our own keys. We’re browsing, both trying make a decision. My sister likes bright colors while I prefer darker colors and her skin is noticeably lighter than mine.)

Me: “I think I like this one.” *motions towards a white key with rainbow sparkles*

Sister: “No, that’s the one I wanted. Here, this one is more your style.” *points at a black key with glittery silver stars*

Me: “Well, I do kinda like that one, but why can’t I have the other one?”

Sister: “Because this one is dark and simple like you, and that one is white and pretty like me!”

(She literally shouts this and I start laughing while our mother looks mortified. A couple minutes pass by…)

Sister: “WAIT! THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!”

(It’s about an hour until close, so it’s just me and the manager on duty when a customer enters the store. We both recognize him as a regular who’s tried to scam us multiple times by adjusting prices on items. He knows we know him and he knows we’ve foiled his scam several times. He approaches the registers with a large vase that I had opened and placed on the floor literally a couple hours before.)

Me: “Will this be all for you tonight?”

Regular: “Yeah, I found this hidden away in the clearance. Isn’t it great?”

Me: “Oh?”

(The vase had been placed well away from the clearance bays, and it’s been an extraordinarily slow night customer-wise.)

Regular: “It’s such a great price, too.”

Me: “Huh, that’s lucky. I’ve never seen a vase this size go for so little.”

(The markdown tagged attached to the vase shows it was marked down from $12.95 to $6.98 and when I search the SKU in our database, the item that comes up is a small sugar bowl that’s been sitting in our dining clearance — on the other side of the store from where clearance vases would be — for months. At this point my manager comes over.)

Manager: “Someone must’ve been playing a joke, because this isn’t the right price tag. The SKU on the markdown sticker and the vase don’t match. The vase is regular price at $99.95.”

Regular: “I should get it for the sticker price though, if it was wrong. The person doing the markdowns must’ve made a mistake.”

Manager: “My associate and I are the only ones on the floor tonight, and she put this out at the start of our shift. It definitely wasn’t on clearance then.”

Regular: “I should still get it for the price on the sticker.”

Manager: “I’m not giving you a $100 vase for $7. You can choose to pay full price for it or not buy it.”

Regular: “But it’s not my fault the tag was wrong!”

Manager: “I’m not giving the vase to you for $7.”

(He storms out in a huff, and since he’s notorious for coming into our various locations and fixing prices, she calls our other locations in town to warn them.)

Manager: *to me* “You know, I know he can’t know who will be working when, but this is the fourth time he’s come in and tried it only to get foiled by the same two people.”