I work at a teashop. We sell high-quality loose-leaf teas, tea brewing equipment, and accessories, and have a small tea counter where people can order cups of our tea. Imagine a place like Teavana, and you’ve got the general idea. Importantly, none of the people who work here are medical professionals. Occasionally, we do have people who wander in thinking that we’re an apothecary, but most of the time in those cases, we just explain that we’re culinary only, and we can’t give medical advice, and they understand. But sometimes people get weird.

A woman comes up to the counter where I’m working.

Customer: “I need a tea that cures anxiety.”

Me: “Oh, sorry, we’re culinary only, none of us have medical training. We can’t give medical advice.”

Customer: “Okay, fine. So, what tea should I get?”

Me: “Legally, we’re not allowed to give medical advice. Our teas are for drinking to enjoy them, not to give any sort of health benefit.”

Customer: “But I need a tea that cures anxiety. Which one?”

Me: “Are you looking for a caffeine-free blend?”

Customer: *With a tone like I’m particularly stupid.* “Caffeine doesn’t matter. Anti-anxiety tea. Which one?”

Me: “…I am not allowed to make any claims about our teas in regards to health or medicinal usage.”

Customer: “If you were good at your job, you would know.”

And then she stormed out.

If she had asked for a “good, calming tea,” I could’ve pointed her in a couple of directions, because that’s not medical advice, but she explicitly asked for a “tea to cure anxiety”. Also, I just told you I’m in no way medicinally trained, so why do you WANT my advice?

I was already in the shop for some time, sufficient to check the teas. I picked one flavour I was curious about and was rescanning the others, hoping I missed one, when an employee came up to me.

Employee: “Can I help you?”

Me: “I don’t think so. I was actually looking for something refreshing to make iced tea this summer, but I can’t have strawberry, peach, or mango.”

At this point, I already knew that all their summer teas contained one of those and they all let me break out in hives, so I like to avoid them.

Employee: “I have something, do you know hibiscus?”

I do; not my favourite. I’m willing to keep an open mind, but she continues without giving me time to answer.

Employee: “It is sour, that makes it refreshing, yeah, really sour.”

She kept on pressing the sour quality of hibiscus and took a box containing a tea with “berry” in the name. Surprised that I missed one, I take a container to check the ingredients as in my experience, “berry” does not necessarily mean strawberries, only in ninety percent of the cases or so.

Me: *Clearly angry, not shouting, but the emotion shows.* “I just told you that I can’t have strawberries.”

Employee: *Surprised Pikachu face.* “It has three percent strawberries…”

I was ready to just walk out in that moment, but my curiosity for the strawberry-free tea I selected earlier won out.

Related:
Reached Your Tea-Total

When I was a teenager, I worked at a well-known boba shop in a busy mall. All the employees were either high school students or college kids, ages ranging from fourteen to twenty, and the two managers were married. The owner almost abandoned this location to focus on another one.

Our managers were very cheap and never wanted to waste a single drop of product or give a refund unless really needed.

My coworker (eighteen at the time) and I (fifteen) were working on a mildly busy day. This woman came in with her three kids: her oldest daughter, middle son, and youngest daughter. They ordered their drinks like normal, and some of them got slushes instead of milk tea. Whatever, pretty normal.

When we handed them their drinks on the other side of the kiosk, they tried them right there. They could have moved for other customers, but okay.

A little bit later, the woman got back in line and started asking my coworker for a refund because her youngest daughter didn’t like the slush — not an exchange for something she might’ve liked, but an entire refund.

[Coworker] told her that since we hadn’t made her drink incorrectly, we could not give her a refund, as we had a policy to only give refunds when it was a mistake on our part.

The woman argued with [Coworker] for way too long before asking to speak to the manager. [Coworker] told her that our manager wasn’t there at that moment, but we could get her on the phone.

[Coworker] went in the back and called our boss to explain the situation. She came to the front and put her phone on speaker, and the woman explained her side of the story. My boss then said the same thing: “Since it was no mistake on our part and we did not mess up your drinks, we will not be able to give you a refund.”

The woman basically stormed off after that, with all her kids, to a sitting area right in front of our shop, practically vibrating with anger as her kids looked sad or maybe embarrassed.

Eventually, after some time, they left, and I saw that she left all of the drinks in a circle around the edge of the garbage bin where they were sitting.

Like, okay? You wasted your own money, not ours.

When I worked in a mall, there was a little tea shop that I absolutely adored. Most of the employees were about my age, and everyone was super nice… Unlike the customers.

This was in a rather affluent suburb of Chicago, and if you didn’t know it, you wouldn’t last long in your position.

At the time, I worked in a candy shop. Basically, we could eat whatever we wanted and give out free samples, which meant we’d get free tea — and other goodies, like bags of tiny perfume samples, from all around the mall — in exchange.

One day, I stopped by to deliver candy and pick up our tea, and I found a new employee in training. She was standing to the side, staring at the floor, while her supervisor (a very punk woman with multi-colored hair, covered in tattoos) helped a rather well-dressed woman. Obviously, the transaction hadn’t gone too well.

I plopped down the bag bursting with candy as the woman left in a huff.

Me: “Hey, [Supervisor], how’s it going? Here’s today’s delivery!”

Supervisor: “Ugh. It’s going. Have you met [New Employee] yet?”

Me: “No, I haven’t. Hi, I’m [My Name]! I love your headscarf; it’s beautiful. And it really brings out your eyes.”

The new employee smiled awkwardly and thanked me. [Supervisor] finished brewing the teas and handed them to me.

Supervisor: “Thanks!”

Me: “No worries. Thank you! See you around, [New Employee]! Oh, hey, what’s your favorite candy? Stop by our store on your break and see what you like. So long as we get free tea, you’ll get free candy for life.”

Her smile at that was genuine.

She was there almost every time I was there, and she began to wear even cooler headscarves, which I did my best to compliment her about.

And then, her sister started working with me at the candy store! She was required to wear a particular headscarf (stupid corporate mandates), but we got along so well, and that first encounter with that horrible woman was quickly forgotten.

We’re all people. Some people are weathering worse storms than you are. For goodness’ sake, be nice.

Customer: “Do you sell knitting needles?”

Me: “Knitting needles?”

Customer: “Yes! For knitting!”

Me: “This is a bubble tea shop.”

Customer: “Ugh! Yes, or no?”

Me: “…no.”

Customer: “That’s very inconvenient! You should sell them!”

Me: “We sell bubble tea. We don’t get any customers coming in needing knitting needles.”

Customer: “Well, you just did!”

She stormed off in an entitled huff.