(I work in a frame store and a customer calls us.)
Customer: “Hi there, I’d like to find a frame for a movie poster I just bought.”
Me: “Sure! What’s the size?”
Customer: “Oh you know… poster-sized.”
Me: “Sir, I need to know the specific dimensions of the poster. Like, some standard poster sizes are 27 by 40, or 24 by 36.”
Customer: “Yea! That’s it! 27 by 36!”
Me: *sighs* “Hold, please…”
(I work at a convenience store that also has a kitchen and is famous for pizza. We sell pizza by the slice in a food warmer on pizza cards marked with what kind of pizza it is. My coworker has just put fresh pizza in the warmer.)
Customer: “Excuse me, what does ‘beef’ stand for?”
Coworker: “Um… hamburger?”
Customer: “Why are you trying to make me look stupid, you little c***?! I’m sure I’m much smarter than you; at least I’m not stuck working in this s***ty town at a gas station! I’m sure you had your first kid when you were 14! I want to speak to your manager!”
(I am the manager on duty and have been listening the whole time. My coworker looks at me and I walk over.)
Me: “Hi, how may I help you?”
Customer: “Your good for nothing employee is trying to make me look stupid!”
Me: “She has only said one word since you walked up to her and started verbally abusing her. And you don’t need help looking stupid. You’re doing a fantastic job doing that on your own.”
Customer: “You’re not going to punish her?”
Me: “For what? Answering your original question?”
Customer: “Well, I demand free food!”
Me: “Not with the way you’re treating my employees. You can pay for your pizza up there.”
(The customer then stormed off to the register and continued on about how we were trying to make her look stupid while the cashier struggled to keep a straight face.)
(I work at a rather well-known small retail store. I am very open about my sexuality and don’t tend to let other people’s opinions affect me. I am on register; it being a rather slow day I only have one customer in line.)
Customer: “That’s just sick, isn’t it?”
(She is motioning to a newspaper showing a homosexual couple that was the first to marry in our town.)
Me: “Excuse me?”
Customer: “Letting gays just marry and act normal… It’s sick that this is what society as fallen to.”
(At this point I am annoyed but decide to just ignore the comment and continue to ring up her items.)
Customer: “IT’S SICK, ISN’T IT?!”
(She is now yelling her eyes wide as she just stares at me.)
Me: “No, I disagree with you and so would my girlfriend.”
(The customer looks at me shocked before turning to my manager who is near by listening to everything.)
Customer: “Sir, can you ring me out? I don’t want this devil-worshiper touching anymore of my items.”
(I am now about in tears as I just stand there amazed by her ignorance.)
Manager: “No… I’m busy, but let me see if my boyfriend is free.”
(He started looking around before calling some random guy’s name into our otherwise empty store. The customer left without her things, mumbling stuff about Hell. My manager is a straight married man with kids… The world needs more people like him!)
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(I am a cisgendered woman running some errands. I have purchased some new underwear, pads, and chocolate. The cashier, also a woman, looks at my purchases, and looks at me.)
Cashier: “Honey, I feel you.”
(Way back when video stores were actually a thing, I went in looking for a specific movie. This interaction made me weep for our education system.)
Clerk: “How can I help you?” *in tone that implies he’d rather not*
Me: “Yes, I’m looking for a movie called The Devil’s Arithmetic? It stars Kirsten Dunst and Brittany Murphy?”
Clerk: “The Devil’s WHAT?”
Me: “The Devil’s Arithmetic?”
Clerk: *incredibly sarcastic tone* “The Devil’s Uh-thuh-thuh-thuh?”
Me: “Um. No. A-rith-me-tic. You know, like, math?”
Clerk: “Whatever. We don’t have anything like that.”
