(A customer has just purchased some material.)
Customer: “Okay, I will pick it up Friday.”
Me: “Sounds great.”
Customer: “You close at five?”
Me: “Yes, we close at five on Friday.”
Customer: “And if I come at six?”
Me: “…no one will be here?”
(Cue crestfallen face from customer.)
Customer: “Oh.”
(I work overnight at an independently-owned franchise of a very large fast food company that has a reputation for making sandwiches and fries in bulk ahead of time and leaving them in warmers to save time on orders. Many, many customers complain about this and will often resort to claiming allergies to ensure their food is made fresh. However, at my location, we cook everything to order late at night to maintain quality and to prevent food waste. We only have three or four people on this shift but only the drive-thru is open at this time, and we all wear headsets; that way, when an order comes through we can all hear it and we know what to make. Cook times are very similar on food items and are usually only just a few minutes (with only one or two exceptions) so while drive-thru is taking the order someone makes fries while someone else cooks meat, etc. so that everything comes out together and the wait time for the customer really isn’t much longer than if we made everything ahead of time. We get a lot of people like cops, hospital workers, cab drivers, and other people working late who really appreciate being able to get a hot meal late at night and we rarely get complaints.)
Me: “Hi, welcome to [Restaurant]! What can I get for you tonight?”
Customer: “Hey! I want three cheeseburgers, no ketchup or onions, one large fry, and a large chocolate milkshake.”
Me: “Okay that’s [repeats order]. No problem! Your total is [total] and I will see you at the first window.”
(He pulls up and starts counting out his money. Someone calls out the time on my headset and says they are getting ready to bring the food back to me.)
Me: “Okay, so that’s [total]. Your food is going to be out in just a minute so I’m going to have you stay at this window.”
Customer: *pulling back his hand with the money in it* “NO.”
Me: *confused* “No?”
Customer: “No. I’m not waiting. I want my food NOW. This is [Fast Food Company]. Why am I waiting?”
Me: “Oh, I’m sorry. We make all the food to order at this location but when I said ‘just a minute’ I meant that literally. That wasn’t very clear and I do apologize. You actually have—“ *leaning around the corner to see the timer on the grill* “—45 seconds left.”
Customer: “I didn’t come here for fresh food! You don’t have any just sitting around you can just scrape the toppings off of?”
Me: “Umm…”
(His food was already done by that point so I cashed him out and wished him a good night but I couldn’t believe someone complained that we didn’t have food just sitting around.)
(I serve in a restaurant that offers a little of everything. On this Tuesday morning, I am physically and mentally exhausted as I’d gotten off the night shift Monday night at 10:30 pm. So, I am the one Not Always Working. This is my second table of the day, around noon.)
Me: “Hello! My name is [My Name] and I’ll be taking care of you this evening…”
(The three guests look confused but not angry so I quickly amend what I said.)
Me: “This morning…”
(More confusion with just a hint of grins all the way around.)
Me: “This afternoon…”
Guest #1: *with a smile* “Aw, sometime today, right?”
(Guests #2 and #3 start laughing and even I laugh at myself.)
Me: “Yeah, sometime today! I’m sorry, I worked the night shift last night and I’m still a little tired.”
Guest #2: “It’s okay, honey.”
Me: “Thank you. So, can I get you started with something to drink?”
Guest #1: “Will it be out today?”
Me: *grinning* “I promise it will.”
(The rest of my shift went off without a hitch. That particular group gave me a pretty good tip and were still joking with me even as they were leaving. One of my favorite groups of customers so far!)
(I work in a comic shop. The shop is currently closed for a stock-take; however, we still have many people coming up to our front doors, knocking, and yelling. On this occasion, a woman who looks to be in her 50s slowly makes her way up to our glass doors, I see her gawp at the “closed for stock-take” signs on our door as I’m sorting through comics. She begins to yell through the door and knock very loudly.)
Woman: “WHEN ARE YOU GUYS OPEN AGAIN?!”
(My male coworker is talking to her through the door as I’m watching.)
Coworker: “Possibly tomorrow? Sorry, but we’re not entirely sure. It’s probably safe to come back in a few days. Sorry about that.”
Woman: “NOT GOOD ENOUGH. I DROVE 20 HOURS TO GET TO THE CITY TODAY!”
(The woman storms off.)
Me: *to confused coworker* “20 hours?”
(There were also three other comic shops on the same street…)
(I ran a handful of errands before my opening shift at the store. Because I’ve been hustling due to the trains being delayed and I’m carrying four heavy bags AND it’s over 95 degrees out, I am sweaty, red, and frustrated when I arrive. I’ve arrived 45 minutes before we open because I want to mop after an especially busy and dirty weekend. Our store has a more casual policy on customer service — essentially, be polite but don’t suffer fools. I rarely take advantage of this as 20 years of service industry jobs have brainwashed standards into me, but today I am running on no sleep and possible heat exhaustion. A lady is standing outside the gated store when I arrive.)
Lady: “Oh, good, you’re finally here.”
Me: “I beg your pardon?”
Lady: “Are you opening? You’re late!”
Me: “I am opening, ma’am, but the store doesn’t open until 11. You’ve got 45 minutes left.”
Lady: “That’s wrong.”
Me: ”It isn’t. It’s on the sign right here.” *I point*
Lady: “Well, I’m glad you’re here. I need a card.”
Me: “Ma’am, I’m not going to let you in 45 minutes before open, certainly not for a $4 card. There’s a CVS up the street and about 11 stationery stores within a 10 block radius. I’m here early because the store needs to be cleaned and this is the ONLY time I can fit it in around my three jobs. Please come back at 11.”
(She huffs and starts to walk off so I go about raising the gate and wrestling the ancient oak door open. Suddenly I feel a shove from behind me, and this lady is trying to shove her way into the store past me!)
Me: *screaming with all of my rage from the morning* “WHAT THE F**K ARE YOU DOING?! GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU LUNATIC!”
(She stops, looking shocked. I am enraged, so I simply hurl my bags through the door, shoulder it closed, and lock it in her face. We stare at each other through the glass for a second, then I turn away and start my tasks while taking deep breaths. The phone rings several times but I can see her pressed against the door window with her cell to her ear so I ignore it. My cell phone rings then and I see it’s my boss, who opens the main store in another neighborhood an hour earlier than this one.)
Me: “Hi, [Boss].”
Boss: “Hey… how’s the mopping going?”
Me: “Just getting started. Had some difficulty getting into the store this morning.”
Boss: “Yeah, uh, a lady called and says you slapped her, kicked her, and called her a b**** this morning?”
Me: “…no.”
Boss: “What happened?”
Me: “She was here when I got here, ignored me when I asked her to come back after open, and then shoved me to try and force her way inside. I screamed at her because she startled me and I was hot and tired, and then I locked the door in her face. She’s outside right now staring at me through the window.”
Boss: “Whoah. That’s nuts. If she is still there at open, call the police. Are you okay?”
Me: “Yeah. Just angry.”
Boss: “Yeah, if she comes in after you open refuse her service. Tell her to leave. If you want I can come there for support.”
Me: “Nah, I can handle that. I’m calmer now, after rage-mopping.”
Boss: ”Okay. Hang in there!”
(The lady finally left about 10 minutes before opening. Apparently she had called my boss again and he told her to leave or he’d call the police. Then she called again and screamed at him and he hung up on her. She left eight voice messages on our machine.)
