(I’ve worked at this store for five years. I have dealt with this guy every Friday night I’ve worked, as he comes in at 8:00 pm every Friday. At first, I was just a checkout operator and didn’t know much about the store. I’m now a supervisor and am expected to know where everything is, even though I stand in the checkout section for most of my shift. The guy is okay, if you just talk to him normally and have a conversation. But if he wants to know something and you don’t immediately know the answer, he gets very condescending and sarcastic. A colleague has called me to a till to override something with a key only I have. On the way, one of the new employees on self-scan looks to me for help — a literal, wide-eyed, “oh, God help me” look — and I stop to make sure he’s okay. The sarcastic guy is behind him and is asking for help, already looking annoyed that my two-week-old colleague can’t answer his question. I sigh and resign to quickly find out what he needs on my way to the till.)

Me: “Hi. Is everything okay?”

Customer: “I’m after mulled wine. It’s a particular kind of Christmas wine. I can’t find it with the rest of the wine. Do you know if you have it?”

(I know we’ve started to sell mulled wine as I saw an entire side frame of it down near the alcohol only earlier today. I’m trying to remember exactly where the side frame was to direct the guy to. This means there’s a pause of a couple of seconds. Apparently, the concentration on my face and the fact that I don’t immediately answer makes him think the following.)

Customer: “Mulled wine… You don’t even know what I’m talking about, do you?! Do you even know what mulled wine is?! I don’t know why they employ people who don’t know basic things.”

(I blink at him for a second in astonishment.)

Me: “Apologies. I was just trying to remember exactly where I’d seen the mulled wine. I can show you if it’s easier.”

(We silently walk down past the checkouts, and I tell my colleague on the till that I’ll be two seconds, as I just want to get rid of this customer. As we’re heading to the alcohol section just beyond the checkouts, an entire aisle end of mulled wine catches my eye.)

Me: “Oh, look! It looks like they’ve moved some to this end now. Here you go!”

Customer: “Oh, uh. Thank you. Sorry…”

(He looked appropriately apologetic as he had to have walked past the aisle end twice — once to go to the alcohol, and once to find me. Hopefully, the next time he comes in, he won’t be so rude!)

(Unlike in the States, pretty much everything is closed on Christmas Day in the UK, with the exception of hospitals and hotels. I work in the latter, and we are putting on a special service in the restaurant for the holidays. Many families not staying at the hotel book tables months in advance to avoid cooking on Christmas Day, so we have been sold out since early November. I notice an older woman, looking a bit forlorn and tired, approaching my service stand.)

Older Woman: “I don’t suppose you’re serving Christmas Day lunch, are you?”

Me: “Yes, do you have a reservation, madam?”

Older Woman: “Oh, no. Do I need one?”

Me: “I’m afraid so, madam. We’re fully booked all day.”

Older Woman: “Oh, I see. I’m terribly sorry to be a bother.”

(Normally, I would just smile politely and say goodbye, but there is something about this woman, alone on Christmas Day, that makes me do something different.)

Me: “Excuse me, madam, are you dining alone?”

(She doesn’t say anything, but I can tell by the pained expression on her face that she is. She nods silently.)

Me: “Please excuse me a moment; I will see what we can do.”

(I go and find my manager and explain the situation.)

Me: “She’s dining on her own, and I feel bad about sending her away. We have room at the bar, if she’s willing, and I am sure one more plate isn’t going to stretch the kitchen.”

Manager: “If [Head Chef] and [Bartender] are fine with it, then it’s not a problem with me.”

(I quickly check that it’s okay with the head chef and the chief bartender, and go back to find the woman.)

Me: “Madam, if it’s okay with you, we have space available at our bar area for Christmas Day lunch?”

(She beams a huge warm smile that immediately lets me know that I have made the right decision. I get her seated comfortably and leave her with a menu. Once all our other diners are settled for the service, I check in on her to find her having an animated conversation with the bartender. Upon seeing me, the bartender pulls me aside quickly. She is fighting back tears as she is talking.)

Me: “What’s the matter?”

Bartender: “Oh, my God, that poor woman! I simply mentioned that I really liked her earrings, and then noticed they matched her wedding ring. Her husband would always buy her matching jewelry to go with her wedding ring and it sounded lovely… until she told me that he died in a car accident three months ago, and this is her first Christmas alone!”

Me: “Oh, my goodness! That’s awful!”

Bartender: “It gets worse! All the family came in for the funeral, but because they had to take time off for that, they can’t come and visit for Christmas! She’s all alone for the holidays!”

Me: “I see.”

(I come back to the bar and start talking to the woman, who, after some gentle conversational prodding, tells me the same story told to the bartender. She sounds emotional during the exchange but is able to hold back the tears. She even shows me some photographs of her late husband. It is then that I have an idea.)

Me: “Madam, what are your plans for the rest of Christmas Day?”

Older Woman: “I was just going to go home and watch the telly.”

Me: “I see. Madam, pardon me if this is too forward, but to say thank you for working on Christmas Day, my manager has allowed my family to come in for the dinner service at 6:00 pm today, when my shift is over. I will get to have my Christmas dinner with my family, and I would be honoured if you would join us.”

Older Woman: “Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly be such an imposition! I just wanted to be out of the house for lunch, which you’ve been ever so kind to organise for me, but I wouldn’t dream of being more of a bother than I already have.”

Me: “It would not be a bother, or an imposition, madam. You see, the moment you showed me the photograph of your late husband, I realized that having you join us for a family meal would be appropriate. You see, three months ago, my father attended a funeral for an old friend he used to work with many years ago, who he remembered very fondly, and even gave him a roof over his head in his younger days when he was having a rough time at home. Your husband and my father used to be friends, and I know he would love to see you for dinner tonight.”

(Her eyes narrow as if she is looking at me for the first time. Then, they widen as she says:)

Older Woman: “You’re [Father]’s little girl?”

Me: “The very same, madam.”

(She screamed happily — enough that she made a few nearby diners jump! — and gave me a huge, tearful hug. I took a little break and caught up with her, and then reminded her to be back at 6:00 pm sharp; she was welcome to stay by the bar, too, but she insisted on going home to put on a more festive outfit! She joined us for my family dinner, my father recognized her immediately, and from that moment on she became great friends with most of the family she met at Christmas dinner that day. On the years when she doesn’t spend Christmas Day with her family, she instead spends it with us.)

(I am sixteen, working for a pub that is rather mismanaged. I am often sent down to the supermarket multiple times on a shift. It is December and there is a Christmas menu in place. My boss has sent me to the supermarket for Christmas crackers and says the kind he wants have animals on them. I get to the supermarket and head straight for the snack aisle and look at all the cracker boxes, trying to find one with animals on, whilst also wondering when we started doing cheese and biscuits. We’re not allowed phones on shift, even when running errands, so I can’t phone and ask. Eventually, I decide to ask an employee for help.)

Me: “Excuse me. Do you have any crackers with animals on?”

Employee: “What kind of crackers?”

Me: “What do you mean?”

Employee: “The food kind or the ones you pull at Christmas?”

(Cue me staring off into space for a solid minute wondering why I was so stupid.)

Me: “The ones you pull at Christmas.”

(The employee led me to the crackers and, sure enough, there was a set with animals on the front. From then on, I always made sure to get proper clarification before journeying down to the supermarket.)

(My grandmother is visiting us for Christmas. She grew up with quite a few siblings who, for various reasons, have grown apart from her over the years. Not that she’s ever minded…)

Gran: “One day, when I was a teenager, my brothers and sisters came to my room and said that because my birthday is on the 22nd December, they’d each only ever get me one present. They acted like it was such a brilliant idea, too.”

Me: “Geez, really? That must’ve hurt.”

Gran: “Well, it did at first, but it didn’t last long.”

Me: “Why’s that?”

Gran: *grinning* “I started doing the same thing. It made such sense, after all.”

(To this day, my grandmother’s kids and grandkids are the only ones who make an effort as a family for the holidays. The more I hear about my great aunts and uncles, the less I wonder why.)

(I work in the security department for a credit card company. When a customer receives a new card it is blocked to all transactions until they call to activate it. This call happens about 10:00 pm on Christmas Eve.)

Me: “Good evening. Security department, [My Name] speaking. How can I help?”

Caller: “Hi. I got a new card and it’s not working. I spoke to someone earlier and they said they’d activate it but it’s still not working. I’ve tried using it a few times and it keeps declining.”

Me: “I’m very sorry about that. May I take your card number and [security details] to verify the account?”

Caller: “Yeah, it’s [details].”

Me: “Thank you. I’ve checked the notes on the account and we just need you to send some additional information to us before we can activate the card.”

Caller: “No way. The girl I spoke to earlier said she’d activate the card straight away.”

Me: “I’m afraid I don’t see any notes about any earlier calls. You will need to send the required information before we can activate this card.”

Caller: “That’s not good enough! It’s Christmas f****** Eve and I’ve brought my whole family out to dinner. I said I’d pay and now my card isn’t working. What am I supposed to f****** do?”

Me: “Do you have any other cards you can pay with or do any members of your family have cards or cash on them?”

Caller: “No! I have no other cards and no cash, and because I said I’d pay none of my family have any money with them. Do you have any idea how f****** embarrassing this is? Activate the card now!”

Me: “I suggest you speak to the restaurant to see if they can arrange something or see if you can call someone who can bring cash to you. As I’ve already said, I cannot activate this card tonight. You will need to send in the required information first.”

(The call goes round in circles for the next ten minutes as the customer gets angrier. Eventually, I end the call.)

Coworker: “Man, I could hear him screaming at you from here. How did you stay so calm and polite?”

Me: “He’s in a restaurant with his whole family and not one of them have cash or cards on them? That seems unlikely, so I looked at the transaction history. He said he’s trying to use the card, but if he tried to use it that would show as a declined transaction on the system. There are absolutely no transactions — nothing. He’s lying. It’s easy to stay calm when I know the customer is in the wrong and just trying to fluster me!”

(Sure enough, when I checked the account after Christmas, it had been closed as a fraudulent application.)