I work in a store that specializes in clothing and outdoor recreation equipment. A guy enters my store.

Me: “Good morning! How can I help you?”

Customer: “Uh, yeah, y’all got kayaks?”

Not only do we carry kayaks and canoes, but we have several attached to the OUTSIDE of the store, the pillars INSIDE the store, and HANGING from the CEILING of the store!

Me: “Yes, sir, we do. What kind were you interested in?”

Customer: “Seal skin.”

Me: “Excuse me?”

Customer: “SEAL SKIN! Do y’all have seal skin kayaks?”

Me: “No, sir, we don’t.”

Customer: “Well, why NOT?”

Me: “Well, sir, for one thing, the cost would be prohibitive. For another, I believe it’s illegal here in the US for anyone other than the Inuit people to catch and butcher seals.”

Customer: “You don’t know s***!”

And he walked out muttering to himself. I wish him the best of luck in finding a retail store that openly sells illegal products, far, far away from the source of said illegal product.

My job closes at ten. One night, this guy pulled into the parking lot at 9:55 but didn’t come right in. He sat out there until right at 10:00. Then, he walked up while I was locking the doors on that side.

Guy: “Are you open?”

Me: “We have just closed.”

Then, I closed and locked the door. I should have felt bad, but it’s not my fault he sat out in the car until we had closed for the night.

CONTENT WARNING: Sexual Harassment

I’m working at a big box store, wandering the aisles to adjust product placements and see what items need to be restocked. I turn the corner into one aisle and see two people: a young woman, in her late teens or early twenties, browsing, and a middle-aged man who is very obviously leering at her while rubbing his hand against his crotch through his jeans. The woman is not aware of the man’s presence.

Me: *Practically shouting* “Dude, that’s disgusting!”

The man laughs and disappears around the corner of the aisle.

Me: *To the young woman* “I’m sorry about that, miss.”

Woman: “What happened?”

Me: “Well… to be blunt, he was watching you and touching himself.”

Woman: *Rolling her eyes* “Gee, what else is new. Thanks for stopping him.”

Me: “You’re welcome. I’ll try to get him banned from the store, but I have to go through my manager for that. Anyway, enjoy your shopping. If you need any help, please ask me or any other employee.”

I headed straight to my manager to alert him of the creepy guy, but he claimed that since the guy never harassed the woman “directly” — basically, since he never did anything to get the woman’s attention — there was nothing he or the store could do about it.

As a middle-aged man myself, who was raised to respect women, this was the first time I realized just how prevalent this sort of casual harassment is. I expected the young woman to get upset or be embarrassed or something, but to see her pretty much blow the whole thing off as just another part of life was honestly kind of heartbreaking.

I work at a retail store that is known for its low prices. We kind of just get leftovers from all over. I am the main cashier on the floor, and with that comes a lot of extra things that I have to do. I am helping the other cashier newbies and making announcements to the REALLY long line to remove their hangers, in both English AND Spanish, all while ringing and bagging my customers in my own registers.

This one lady comes through with some fragile vases. I scan them through and ask if she would like them wrapped, to which she nods. I don’t think she speaks either language that I do really well. 

The transaction is pretty smooth. I don’t make an announcement or have to leave my register the whole time. I give her the total and she pays, and I gingerly hand her bags to her. When I look up, she is giving me the nastiest look you can over a mask.

I tell her to have a nice day, and I move on to the next customer after the lady walks away. When I look back over, she is marching back to my register, and she says:

Customer: “WHAT IS YOUR NAME? I’M CALLING CORPORATE!” 

I was too stunned to answer her, but she saw my nametag, said my name while shaking her finger at me, and then marched out. 

The customer still standing there asked what had happened, but I shrugged my shoulders and told her I had no clue.

I still have no idea what I did!

It’s the late 1970s in Australia, and barcode scanners have just been introduced. Because each item no longer has its own stick-on price tag, a lot of customers are very concerned that they’ll be charged the wrong price at the checkout and not realise it. In response, many of the large retailers have instituted a policy that if an item scans at the wrong price, you get the first one free and any others at the right price.

I go in to buy a full carton of cigarettes, and when I go to pay, it scans at a price that is considerably more than the price on the shelf.

Me: “Sorry, that’s the wrong price. It should be [correct price].”

Cashier: “Just let me check…”

After a short check, the cashier admitted that it was wrong but re-rang it at the lower price. I pointed out their policy, which was listed on a card above the checkout — that I should be getting it for free. She flatly refused, so I asked to speak to a manager.

After a long delay, the manager put in an appearance and (very rudely) admitted that I was right and gave it to me for free. Given that it was the equivalent of about $100 in today’s money, I can understand his reluctance, but I didn’t make the policy!

Shift forward about a day, by which time I felt that they’d had more than enough time to fix the incorrect price in their computers if they had any intention to do so. I went back and got another carton, which promptly scanned for the same incorrect price!

At this point, the s**** really hit the fan, with the manager loudly abusing me while I pointed out that I had done nothing except take advantage of their own store’s policy. In the end, I was given the second carton free and told not to come back.

And, yes, I have long since given up smoking!