A coworker has just come back from a European vacation, mostly around France and Italy. She is going on about how good the food was.

Coworker: “I ate so much pasta, but I actually ended up losing a little weight! They must be using special pasta! Everyone there was eating pasta and drinking wine, and they were all so skinny!”

Me: “Okay, but how much walking did you do?”

Coworker: “Oh my god! So much! My feet got blisters! I’ve never walked so much in my life!”

Me: “Do you think maybe that has something to do with it?”

Coworker: “What do you mean?”

Me: “Well, walking burns more calories than sitting and driving, obviously. You ate more, but you probably burned more. Do you have a step count on your phone?”

Coworker: “I don’t know, it’s an iPhone.”

I quickly show her how to look up her health stats on her phone. Lo and behold, her usual steps per day is around 3,000 or less. In Europe, it was well over 10,000 every day.

Me: “See? You did over 10,000 steps every day. I bet the locals do that every day, too.”

Coworker: “Yeah, but that’s 10,000 steps in Europe, so it’s different.”

Me: “What do you mean?”

Coworker: “That’s like… 10,000 steps in metric. What would that be in American, like half that?”

I walked away after that. I don’t know how many calories she’s burning a day, but obviously none of them are going to her brain!

I recently started a call center job for a train company, handling reservations. Thankfully, we’re given a fair amount of latitude when dealing with particularly difficult customers. 

Also, I didn’t know until this job that there are two cities named Las Vegas, one in Nevada, the other in New Mexico.

Me: “[Standard call opening].”

Customer: “Yes, I’d like to travel from California, from Los Angeles, I think, to Las Vegas.”

Me: “Okay. Would that be Las Vegas, Nevada, or Las Vegas, New Mexico? We service both, so I want to make sure I book you for the correct one.”

Customer: “You know. Las Vegas.”

Me: “Yes, I know, but which state?”

Customer: “The one near the West Coast!”

Me: “Ma’am, both Nevada and New Mexico are relatively close to the West Coast. I need to know which state you’re traveling to.”

Customer: “YOU KNOW. LAS. VEGAS!”

Me: “Ma’am, I understand you’re going to Las Vegas, but I need to confirm the state.”

Customer: “I’m leaving from California!”

Me: *At this point, it’s obvious I’m losing patience.* “Right, and I just need to know what state you’re traveling to.”

Customer: “Nevada! Was that so hard?”

Me: “Yes, since we service both Las Vegas, Nevada, and Las Vegas, New Mexico.”

Customer: “Well, how was I supposed to know that?!”

Me: “Ma’am, I’ve asked you four times now…”

Customer: “Fine. I’ll just book it online.” *Hangs up.*

A couple of days later, a coworker tells me the customer ended up going to the wrong Las Vegas… and was angry that the agent she spoke to “didn’t tell her” there were two.

Some people have asked, “Why didn’t you just assume Nevada?” Turns out, she meant to go to Las Vegas, New Mexico… and still blamed me for her own mistake.

I rented a home through a popular rental app. There was a $2000 deposit that I would get back at the end of the rental period as long as everything went well and I followed the checkout instructions provided when I was ready to leave.

A few days before I left, I sent a message to the owner:

Me: “Good morning, could you send the checkout instructions?”

Owner: “Yes”

Nothing is sent for a full day.

Me: “Hi, I didn’t receive the instructions. Can you double-check that it was sent?”

Owner: “Yes”

Another day, no instructions.

Me: “Hello again, I still don’t see the instructions.”

Owner: “K”

The day of checkout came, and I had no instructions. I really wanted that $2000 back, so I cleaned every inch of the house, mopping, vacuuming, doing all the dishes, and laundry. Honestly, I think it was cleaner when I left than when I arrived.

I took time-stamped photos, told the owner I was leaving, and left. There was no communication for a full week, nor did I get my deposit back. I reached out again.

Me: “Hello, just checking on the status of my deposit.”

Owner: “0”

Me: “I’m sorry?”

Owner: “house is disgusting reporting you”

Me: “I’m going to need an itemized list of what was wrong because I left it cleaner than it was when I got there.”

Owner: “K”

The owner sent a series of photos of the rental. It did look disgusting. The itemized list included things like “piles of trash, bedding destroyed, furniture stained, and did not follow checkout instructions.” I disputed this list with my own photos, thinking, “Surely the timestamp and the record of asking for the instructions will help me.”

Nope.

The app sided with the owner, stating that they had provided photographic evidence of the condition of the house. I reported the owner to the service team, along with screenshots of our conversation and all my photos. I also added that if it came to it, I would seek legal action. It took two more weeks before my full deposit was returned.

I left the owner a one-star review with the same photos I submitted. He turned around and left me a one-star review, saying I was difficult to communicate with and lied about the state of the home.

I work in a nice hotel in a very old and touristy city in the south of Spain. Our building, along with all the others in the city centre, has been here for hundreds (and in some cases, over a thousand) of years. The streets are narrow, the floor uneven, and the atmosphere charming.

I’ve checked in some American guests earlier today. They were dropped off using our hotel’s shuttle bikes, but these are only used for airport pick up and drop offs. 

They’ve just got back from their first afternoon sightseeing, visiting the town centre and the immediate area. They already look tired and dishevelled. They walk up to me at the front desk.

Guests: “So you guys just… walk places? Like, on purpose?”

I had to hold back from giving a sarcastic answer!

Back in college, I worked at a casual seafood spot overlooking an inlet. It was an owner-operated place with a gorgeous view, especially when the tide was high. The sparkling water with boats drifting by was very picturesque, and you even got dolphins if you were lucky.

Of course, when the tide went out, it looked… less magical. More mudflats and oyster shells than ‘picture postcard.’ 

Because we were owner-operated, we were allowed to be a bit more ‘playful’ with customers than you might find in a corporate-owned place.

One afternoon, a couple is seated at a window table. I bring their drinks, and they immediately frown out the window.

Woman: “Um… where’d all the water go?”

Man: “Yeah, this isn’t what it looked like online. There was water in the photos.”

I glance out. Classic low tide with the exposed sandbars and all.

Me: “Oh, right. We drain it every few hours and refill it with fresh water. It cuts down on algae.”

They both nod like that made total sense.

Me: “We’re due to pump it back in around sunset, so just hang tight.”

And yes, they came back at sunset! They were very happy to see that we’d “pumped it all back.”