I get a notice that there’s some recall work that needs to be done on my car. The paperwork says it’ll take about two hours. (I should have realized that’s two hours for the actual work but doesn’t necessarily take into account the time spent waiting at the dealership, but that’s a different story.) I call the dealership and get a time scheduled to bring my car in and get a loaner so I can go back to work.

I dropped my car off just before 8:00 am. At about 2:00 pm, I get a text.

Representative: “Hello, this is [Representative] from [Dealership]. Your car is next in line to have [recall work] done. Based on your car mileage, our technicians are also recommending [a whole bunch of stuff that basically boils down to an oil change]. The charge for that will be [almost $500]. Would you like them to do this work?”

Figuring that I can get the same oil change done at [Oil Change Chain] for $120 and laughing my a** off, I respond to the text.

Me: “Just the recall work at this time, please.”

Representative: “I’ll let the technicians know. Thank you.”

I get another message at 5:41 pm.

Representative: “Hello, this is [Representative] from [Dealership]. The work has been completed on your vehicle and you can pick it up at any time.”

I double-checked their signage when I dropped my car off that morning, as well as the website, and saw that they are closing at 7:00, so I finish a couple of things around the house and then go to the dealership.

I pull in at 6:05 and it’s pretty empty. I get out and try to go into the lobby, and it’s locked. I start glancing around and pulling up my phone to double-check the website as well as staring at the closed garage doors. Everything says they’re closing at 7:00.

An employee finally comes out a nearby door and seems startled to see me.

Employee: “Uh, hi.”

Me: “Hi, I got a message that I could get my car?”

Employee: “Well, uh, we’re closed.”

Me: “So, are you saying I can’t get my car?”

The employee likely sees that I’m about to cry.

Employee: “Uh, one moment.”

He disappears back inside.

Admittedly, having to wait a day to get my car probably wasn’t the end of the world, but I have been acting on the (supposed) knowledge that they are open until 7:00. I rearranged a few things to be able to be without my car for the day, but I need it tomorrow.

The employee finally pokes his head out the door.

Employee: “Okay, come on in.”

He took me up to the desk where they checked in the loaner and then sent me out to get my car. I finally got the rundown of what they did — just the recall work, so that’s free — what they wanted to do — the $500 oil change that I refused to do because that’s f****** insane — and the recommendation that I get the $500 oil change done ASAP. I got in my car and went home.

When I got home, I double-checked the paperwork as I was putting it in my files, and up at the top, the hours were listed as closing at 6:00 pm. That was literally the only place it was listed in any of their documentation.

I was so frustrated, especially with the text that said I could come and get my car. It would have been one thing if the representative had said something like, “Please be aware that we close at 6:00 but will reopen tomorrow,” and I’d just misread it or completely forgotten. But I double-checked all of the communication, and there was nothing. I submitted a review and tried to lodge a complaint, but it never went anywhere. It did ensure that I wouldn’t use that dealership unless I absolutely have to, though.

Related:
Not So Closed Minded, Part 30
Not So Closed Minded, Part 29
Not So Closed Minded, Part 28
Not So Closed Minded, Part 27
Not So Closed Minded, Part 26

One of the most frustrating things about the warehouse work I used to do was the complete disconnect between the sales staff and the warehouse. Sales staff would promise the moon and stars to customers to secure a sale, with little to no consideration for what it would do to the warehouse staff, the worst promise being that we would wait for a customer to come back and pick up goods.

After a few months of these ridiculous promises, I finally went to management and said that if sales staff expected us to stay past close to assist a customer, then we would be billing that time as overtime.

Management downright refused, as the company couldn’t “afford” overtime.

A few days after that conversation, I was on the sales floor unpacking a new range of rugs when a salesperson approached me with this woman who immediately had the “I want to speak to your manager” vibe.

I could tell already from this lady’s smug smirk that she had worn down the salesperson and made them promise her something that would be against policy.

Sales Associate: “Hey, [My Name], this lady has bought a few rugs from out the back. Can she come to pick them up later?”

Me: “Sure, you can pick them up between now and 5:00 pm.”

Customer: *Smugly* “Your salesperson has already said I can come back at 7:30 pm and pick them up.”

Me: “Well, miss, I’ll be here until 5:00 pm. After that, the warehouse is closed for the evening. If you’d like, I can always help you tomorrow morning—”

Customer: “I’ll be here at 7:30, and you’d better be here, or I’m calling the manager and f****** complaining.”

I just gave her a shrug and went back to my work.

Customer: “Oh, and make sure you clean the rugs before I pick them up. I’m going to be inspecting them, and they’d better be f****** spotless.”

She then turned on her heel and walked off. The salesperson walked away, assuming all was good. There was no way I was waiting two and a half hours for such a condescending, crabby woman.

I grabbed my trolley and made my way back to the warehouse, passing the clearance area.

As I was walking, I noticed a lady’s purse sitting amongst a stack of cushions. I walked over and picked it up to take it to the counter, and I had a gut feeling. Could it be? I opened the purse and found a driver’s license; it was the customer’s license and purse!

I chuckled to myself as I walked back to the warehouse, made my way into the warehouse office, and took extra care to safely secure her purse inside our safe.

I then started my closing-up process, and as a little extra slice of pettiness, I typed in the all-purpose alarm code and reset the alarm system code so only I could unlock the warehouse when I showed up for my shift the next morning.

Apparently, this lady showed up at 7:30 pm only to find the gates locked, everything pitch black, and no rugs.

She filed a complaint and wanted a full refund — not for the clearance prices she paid but for the FULL PRICE of the rugs.

When I was questioned about this, I provided my manager with the emails from the general manager stating that they wouldn’t pay employees to work any overtime.

They also questioned me about the change of alarm system code, and I just said that we had a potential security issue, and with this lady’s expensive purse being left in the store, I figured it’d be best resolved the following morning and kept in a safe and secure spot.

When the customer did show up to pick her rugs up, I also helpfully pointed out that it was illegal for her to be driving without a license.

She shot me the most amazing death glare I’ve ever seen.

I work in a bookstore.

Customer: “I’m looking for a copy of the Constitution.”

Me: “Okay, we have one that was published in 2011 and one that was published in 2019.”

Customer: “So, which one’s the newest?”

I babysit a lot as a teenager. I have regular families that I babysit for and other families that I have been recommended to. One of my neighbors recommends me to one of his employees.

When I get to the man’s house, it’s a mess. He can’t find his keys, there is zero food except for basically chips and cookies, and there’s nothing to make a lunch out of. He has two kids — nine months and two and a half years — who he says do not take naps. (They do.) He also has dogs, which he does not give me a heads-up on.

After a long day, he calls.

Client: “Hey, I’m fifteen minutes away. How much do I owe you?”

Me: “$70.”

An hour and a half later, he finally gets back home. He hands me the $70.

Me: “And I’ll need another $20 from you.”

Client: “Why?! You said $70.”

Me: “And you said you were fifteen minutes away. It’s now been an additional hour and a half. $70 is for when you were fifteen minutes away. If you had told me an hour and a half, I would have told you $90.”

After the third time this happened, I told him that was the last time I was babysitting for him and that he needed to find someone a better fit. My neighbor was frustrated that I dropped his employee and asked why I couldn’t do a solid for him. I told him charging only $10 an hour for two kids in a dirty, messy house without food was doing him a favor and he abused it.

I was booked for a 7:00 am flight from Birmingham International, and I was told by the airline to arrive at least two hours beforehand. Paranoid about arriving late, I turned up three hours early.

And when I got there, I learned that the [Airline] flight check-in desk opens at 6:00 am.

When we eventually boarded, at 8:00 am, I overheard another passenger say:

Passenger: “Why do they even call it a 7:00 am flight to Paris? It always boards at 8:00!”