I’ve been going through a bit of a rough time lately and living from paycheck to paycheck. The day I get paid, I can’t sleep, and I head to the ATM at 4:30 am leaving my partner at home with our two kids.

Since I’m with a bank that has recently shut most of their branches, I have to use a different bank. The ATM gives my card back without the cash before displaying a system error. I check my online banking to find it has taken the money from my account but not actually given me the cash.

I call my bank to find out I have to go into a branch to dispute it and it will take up to two weeks. By the time the bank opens, I’m a complete mess, I have two kids that need nappies and formula, we have no food in the house, both my partner and I need medication, and we have rent to pay.

The first employee fills out a dispute transaction form and then tells me there’s nothing else they can do as I’m receiving government benefits — which actually is this bank’s policy on overdrafts. She then gets the branch manager. The manager spends over an hour on the phone but reassures me that if they can’t sort it out today, she will give me $100 out of her own account to make sure we at least have the basics until it’s sorted out or until my partner gets paid in a few days.

In the end, she manages to get an overdraft for the full amount I am due. I truly believe she would have given me the money from her own account, too. Before I leave she gives me a hug.

To the manager of the branch of a small, out-of-state bank in Melbourne City, if you’re reading this, thank you for going above and beyond for a very stressed-out, crying woman. Your kindness and understanding are amazing.

(I am fourteen and have just started my first job at a fast food place. I am a few orders into my first shift, still unsure about what to do.)

Customer: “I want a [meal] with [drink].”

(I put the order into the register, without needing help finding anything for the first time ever, but I’m still extremely nervous, as it’s my first day.)

Me: “Sure, that’s [total].”

Customer: *hands me cash*

Me: *whilst handing change* “That’s [amount].”

Customer: *glares* “YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST SAID, ‘THANK YOU,’ WHEN I GAVE YOU THE MONEY!”

Me: “I’m… sorry?”

(A few minutes later, after bagging his order and making drinks myself without any mistakes, but even more nervous now…)

Me: “Here you are, sir, enjoy your night.”

Customer: “YOU COULD F****** SMILE!”

Me: *forces terrified smile* “Sorry.”

Customer: *storms out*

(My friends and I have joined in on a tour of a hotel supposedly haunted by a little boy. The tour is being run by a group that has a few married couples. It’s decided that a group of females will go into the room where the little boy is supposed to be. There is one woman acting as lead.)

Leader: *addressing the ghost* “If you would like to make yourself known or even seen, we wish you no harm. We are all mothers here…” *even louder and with a b****y undertone* “…except for those who can’t actually have children.”

(I wonder why she would even toss that comment in. We wait about ten minutes with no action, so we move out into the pitch-black hall to get ready to move to the next part of the tour. A few minutes later, my friend hears a noise in another hallway off from where we are waiting. She quickly snaps a picture up the hall.)

Friend: “Oh, my God! Look at this!” *shows us a picture of two people embracing* “Um, isn’t that [Lead]’s husband and [Other Woman]? Are they having an affair?”

Me: “Wait a minute. It looks like she’s crying; he could simply be comforting her. I wondered who [Lead] aimed that comment at, about someone not being able to have babies.”

Friend: “Oh, she did say that, didn’t she? I thought I misheard her.”

Me: “I was standing next to her.”

Other Friend: “I must have missed that comment, but I did wonder why [Other Woman] got up and walked out of the room.”

(I am currently the supervisor of the front end of a major supermarket in a small Australian town on the edge of the suburbs. I get called over by an employee who is dealing with a rather rude customer.)

Me: “Hi, sir. What seems to be your problem today?”

Customer: “Fire your d*** useless employee now!”

Me: “Okay, sir, please calm down and explain to me what the exact problem is.”

Customer: “This d*** employee won’t accept my rewards card! I never get good service here! You love taking my money, but I never get any service!”

(I turn to the employee and see he is holding a [Massive American Retailer] rewards card.)

Me: “Sir, I am sorry, but we can’t accept this card here.”

Customer: “I demand to talk to a supervisor! This is completely unacceptable!”

Me: “Sir, I am the supervisor currently working today. Now, please calm down and we will try to work this out down at the service desk.”’

(I ask to employee to save the transaction so I can recall it at the service desk.)

Me: “Sir, there is no way we can accept this card, as it is not a [Our Store Rewards Card]; this card is not valid anywhere in this country.”

Customer: “Why the h*** not? I always use this card!”

Me: “Because we are not [Massive American Retailer], and I can assure you nobody here will accept this card.”

Customer: “But I always use this card!”

Me: *seeing this is going nowhere* “Okay, sir, I will ring the closest [Massive American Retailer], and if they say it’s okay, we will accept it.”

Customer: “Finally!”

(I get my phone out and look for the closest store, which happens to be in Honolulu, thousands of kilometres away across the Pacific. As soon as they answer, I give the phone to the customer. I can only hear what he is saying, but he is turning beet red. After a few more seconds, he slams the phone down and turns to me.)

Customer: “Is this some sort of joke? Why did you call a f****** store in Hawaii?”

Me: “That is the closest store; we are in Australia, not America, if you haven’t already noticed.”

Customer: “You f****** idiots have no idea what you are talking about!”

Me: “Sir, please stop swearing. Now, would you like to finish your purchase, or would you like me to void it?”

(He then stormed out, muttering that he was absolutely in America and we just didn’t want to help him. I really didn’t know what to say after that.)

(The phone rings.)

Me: “Good morning, [Pharmacy]. This is [My Name] speaking.”

Customer: “I need to speak to the pharmacist.”

Me: “Sorry, the pharmacist is consulting at the moment. Maybe I can help you?”

Customer: “No. It’s super urgent. Only the pharmacist can answer this question.”

(Luckily, the pharmacist has just finished consulting.)

Me: “Oh! The pharmacist has just finished consulting. I will put you on.”

Pharmacist: “Hello? [Pharmacist] speaking.”

Customer: “What time do you guys close?”