(I’m in line when a mother and teenager join me. The teenager picks up some display biscuits.)

Daughter: “What the…? Spelt biscuits? What the heck are spelt biscuits?”

Mother: “Well, they are biscuits, made out of…”

Daughter: “I get that! Jeez! I mean, what the heck are spelt biscuits?!”

Mother: “Spelt is a kind of…”

Daughter: “I know! Gosh, Mom, gosh! Never mind, okay?!”

Mother: “Oh, I forgot something…” *leaves the line*

Daughter: “What? Mom, come back! Mom! I’m not staying here! If you won’t come back right now, I’m leaving without you! Mom! UGH! MOM!”

(By the time I was finished with the cashier, the mother still hadn’t returned and the daughter was still waiting. I really felt sorry for the girl; apparently, puberty hit her hard, and Mom knew exactly how to deal with it!)

When working for an employment agency, I was asked to work in a certain bar one evening. When arriving there, all seemed right and, to be honest, the work was okay. However, after a few hours work, I asked how everything worked with breaks. The other workers reacted a bit surprised. Break? Oh, well, in fact they didn’t do those, because there was no time… despite the law making it very clear that the employer is obliged to allow it and the employee is obliged to take it. “We don’t do that. The employment agency should have told you. I’ll talk to them about this, because this is really important.”

A bit later they had the chef de cuisine make me a croquette sandwich. Since I was quite hungry, I was very happy about this and thanked the cook, despite the fact that he shouted at me and bullied a coworker earlier in the night. I ate it quickly and went back to work immediately.

After an evening of hard work in a very busy bar, I had to leave at midnight. One of the floor managers took me to the office to find the form for temporary workers. The office turned out to be a mess and she was unable to find the form, although she was clearly as annoyed by the mess as I was. In the end, the lady improvised and made me write down my name, employment agency, and hours on a blank note. I worked for seven hours, so that’s what I wrote down.

The next day, I commented to my contact at the employment agency about the break problem, stating clearly that I wanted to be fully informed, and that I thought it was weird that the place didn’t do breaks, despite this being illegal. My contact reacted somewhat defensively, although they called the incomplete briefing “a learning point for us.”

Despite this, I was assured that it was very common in hospitality work that you’re supposed to have eaten before 5:00 pm, and I was asked to have “some flexibility.” I didn’t answer, since I was clearly not winning this, although some Internet research and a phone call to the union made it clear to me that I was totally right.

Later, when I downloaded my payslip, it turned out that the place only paid me for six-and-a-half hours, anyway, while eating the sandwich took me about five minutes. I emailed my contact, asking exactly what the bar’s general manager submitted, pointing out that I didn’t take half-an-hour break and, therefore, worked for much longer.

No response ever came. Much later, I asked the financial person of the employment agency what was submitted. According to her, [Bar] indeed claimed I worked six-and-a-half hours with a half-an-hour break. Once again, the employment agency didn’t take any action, but since then, the bar was on my personal blacklist, which I made very clear to my contact.

(I work for a major company for Internet, TV, and phone services, and this call comes in.)

Me: “This is [My Name] with [Company]. How can I help you today?”

Customer: “Yeah, my f****** Internet isn’t working every time I use the d*** vacuum cleaner!”

Me: “Okay, that’s weird. Can you tell me in depth how you know that the vacuum cleaner is the issue?”

Customer: “Well, whenever I clean the house, I don’t have Internet, TV, or a phone line. It is starting to freak me out!”

Me: “But I can see that the services are working just fine.”

Customer: “Yeah, that’s the weird part; like ten to fifteen minutes after my husband comes home from work, everything works perfectly.”

Me: “Is your husband there, because maybe he fixes it somehow?”

Customer: “Yeah, hold on. I’ll get him for you.” *screams husband’s name*

Husband: “Hello, this is [Husband]. What’s up?”

Me: “Your wife told me the services like Internet and TV aren’t working all day long after she used the vacuum cleaner, and just like magic, when you come home from work everything works again.”

Husband: “Yeah, that’s true. Whenever she uses the vacuum, she pulls the plug of the router and modem to put the plug of the vacuum cleaner in. Then, she removes the vacuum cleaner, but doesn’t put the plug of the modem and router back in.”

Me: *confused* “So… why didn’t you tell her this?”

Husband: “Because she thinks the router and modem don’t have anything to do with Internet and TV because she uses ‘wireless services.’ She always says she wants to throw the router and modem away because she never uses them.”

Me: *almost crying* “Okay, well, I suggest you tell her that they are needed.”

Husband: “Nope, that’s your job. Good luck.” *passes the phone back to his wife*

Customer: “Hey, so is it fixed?”

Me: “Well, it seems that you pull the plug of the modem and router whenever you use the vacuum cleaner, but forget to put the plug back in. Your husband puts the plugs back when he’s home, so that’s why all services work whenever he comes home.”

Customer: “But I use wireless; I don’t need that stupid box of s***.”

Me: “Well, actually, you need it, ma’am, because that box sends the wireless signal.”

Customer: “Oh.” *screams the name of the husband* “YOU MOTHERF*****! WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME THIS, YOU PIECE OF S***? NOW I’M F****** EMBARRASSED, YOU D***-HEAD!”

Me: “Is there anything I can assist you with, ma’am?”

Customer: “No, thanks. Lots of love, and thanks for the support!”

Me: “You’re welcome. Have a nice day.”

(Just when I said my last line, I heard pots and pans getting thrown around. I just hung up and burst into laughter. My supervisor asked me why I was laughing, so I told him the story and let him listen to the call. It was a fun day.)

After a long search, I finally get a short job in the next town over. It’s production work, so I have to get up early, and it takes me half an hour to get there. I’m on my way there on my bike at around 5:00 am, and there’s not a soul on the road, as you can imagine. Then, at the worst location possible — some godforsaken back street with nothing but one lonely house — my bike chain falls off. I’m a girl with two left hands and I have no know-how on bike repairs whatsoever.

I try to call my work to tell them I’m going to be late, but no one answers the phone, because it’s 5:00 am. Afraid of losing my job and being stranded in the middle of nowhere, I kind of start to panic.

In the distance, I see two men on bikes approaching, both wearing uniforms from some nearby factory. I stop them and ask for their help. They first look a bit bewildered, probably wondering what a young girl like me is doing there so early, and why I’m so upset. Truth is, this job has been a much-needed lucky break within a long period of bad luck, so yes, I’m nervous, panicking, upset, and crying. I start crying even more out of gratitude when the guys agree to help and patiently take a look at my bike. The chain is fixed in no time and I’m beyond relieved, though I have less than 15 minutes now to get to work.

In tears, I tell the men, “Thank you so much! I usually don’t do things like this, but you totally made my day. Can… can I give you a hug?”

One of them replies, “Uhm… sure…?”

I do so, and we go our own ways. I race like I’ve never raced before, and I end up being only two minutes late to work. Unfortunately, it turns out to one be a one-day job, but those two angels on the road that helped me out of a tight spot at the ridiculous crack of dawn, I will never forget!

(Our director has to do the scheduling himself and he soon discovers this is far too “complicated” for him. He starts using an online programme; everyone can easily put in whether they’re available or not. Soon, the director starts changing schedules at the last moment, sometimes scheduling people in only one night before. I fight this myself by checking the schedules as soon as they are ready and putting every free day on “unavailable.” However, this doesn’t mean he stops making changes, like changing my starting time from 10 am to 9 am the night before. I live quite close by and I can use the money, so I only protest this if his demands are impossible. One morning, I and several colleagues have our starting times changed to 9 am. I overhear the following conversation between the director and a guy who comes in 20 minutes late.)

Director: “You were supposed to be here at 9 am! You can’t just show up later! You always must follow [Online System]!”

Coworker: “I know, but I only saw the change this morning. Last night, I wasn’t home, you see.”

Director: “You should have installed the app on your phone.”

Coworker: “My phone isn’t a smartphone. You’d better give me a call next time.”

Director: “Erm, no, we don’t do phone calls!”

(Some people seem to think they’re always right, even when reality contradicts with their view.)