I have just rung up this older couple.
Me: “That will be $27.51, please.”
The lady hands me a ten. I wait for a second.
Me: “Ma’am, you only gave me a ten. The total is $27.51.”
She gives me this incredulous look.
Customer: “You want more?!“
She then started grumbling and looking through her purse, eventually pulling out a twenty. We finished the transaction, and they went on their merry way. I just stood there wishing I’d had a witness.
An angry customer comes up to my counter.
Customer: “I want a refund! This tasted like s***!”
Me: “Sir, this is incense.”
At my first office job after working retail throughout uni, I’m assigned to work under a manager who, in her own words, is inexperienced. Unfortunately, within the first month, I need to take a day off for some medical appointments.
Me: “Hey, boss, can I take Friday off? I have—”
Manager: *Holds up a hand* “Stop.”
“Oh, s***,” I think.
Manager: “Do you have anything due on Friday?”
Me: “No.”
Manager: “Are you on top of all your work and not running late for anything?”
Me: “Yeah.”
Manager: “Do you have enough flex or personal time built up to cover a full day?”
Me: “Yeah.”
Manager: “Is this going to be reoccurring?”
Me: “I mean, probably not.”
Manager: “Then I don’t need to know why.”
Me: “…seriously?”
Manager: “Deadly. Thank you for letting me know. Since it’s Monday, you’ve given me enough notice to make it work. Put a note in the team calendar, and let me know on Thursday if there’s anything I need to keep an eye on while you’re gone.”
Me: “No, but really? That’s it?”
Manager: “That’s it. It’s your personal life. Tell me if you want me to know, not because you think I’m going to ask for it. Anything else you need from me?”
I said SHE said she was inexperienced as a manager. I didn’t say she was bad at it.
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I’d been having a bad day, and I had ridden with my daughter to the store. I’d finished my shopping and was sitting on a bench by the registers waiting for her to check out, and while I was waiting, I was coloring a picture of a dragon on a color-by-number app on my phone. I glanced up as a young boy, I’d guess to be four or five, approached me. I have a large facial birthmark and it’s not unusual for youngsters to ask about it, so that’s what I was expecting.
Boy: “Whatcha doing?”
Me: *Turning my phone so he can see* “Coloring. Do you want to see?”
Boy: “Oh, a dragon! But it’s not real, you know.”
Me: “I know, it’s a drawing of what someone thought one would look like if it was.”
Boy: “But it’s wrong; dragons aren’t blue!”
Me: “Oh, they aren’t? I didn’t know that! What color are dragons?”
Boy: “Red and green, and they have fire coming out of their mouths.”
Me: “Okay, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for the correction!”
Boy: “You know, I have one of those.” *Points to my face* “It’s right here!”
He lifted his shirt to show me a red mark on his belly.
Boy: “My mama says it’s a birthmark. I really like yours; it’s pretty!”
The woman he was with — I assume his mother — who was checking out at the closest register to where I was sitting, came to collect him and apologized for him bothering me. I assured her that he was not bothering me — in fact, he was quite delightful — and thanked her for sharing him with me for a moment.
It still wasn’t my best day, but I was still smiling a few minutes later when my daughter came to collect me.
My wife and I have some experience with trying to sell stuff we don’t need anymore at an online marketplace. The reason we do this is that we don’t like wasting something that could be useful to someone else, but also that, occasionally, it is easier to have big stuff like furniture or an old mini-oven picked up by someone rather than having to get rid of it by yourself.
We’re trying to sell off our laminate floor because it is partially damaged. Our first post asks for some money for it but it gets no response. My wife changes it to “free.” Now, responses come flooding in.
Keep in mind that the ad says that you have to pick up the floor yourself and that we like to discuss who will remove the flooring and who will get rid of the damaged bits as this job would incur a payment.
Customer #1: “I’d like to pick it up.”
Wife: “Great. Now the question: who is going to get rid of the damaged parts? If you do, the floor is yours for free.”
Customer #1: “You. Your ad says I don’t need to do that.”
Wife: “The ad says we want to discuss this, yes, and that’s what we are doing now. You don’t need to take the damaged bits, but in that case, we would like a little payment in return. since getting rid of it will cost us a bit because we don’t own a car.”
Customer #1: “Sorry, I don’t own a car, either.”
Wife: “Well, you said you were going to pick the floor up. This implies you have some kind of transport, right? So, here’s the deal: you make it a bit easier for us and we make it free for you.”
His tone changes.
Customer #1: “Never mind, ‘cause apparently, you can’t read! Just changing it all by the minute! I said I don’t have a car and I don’t want the damaged parts! And now I don’t want any of it!”
Wife: “Okay, bye.”
It was quite clear he thought “discussing” meant he was going to tell us what he wanted and that we just had to obey his wishes.
And then, there was this person who didn’t read the ad:
Customer #2: “I’d like part of the floor, but only if it could be sent over to my place in [Town on the other side of the country].”
