I work in the seafood counter of a grocery store. A big hurricane is coming.

Customer: “Do you have any more Alaskan salmon?”

Me: “I’ve got an entire pan here.”

Customer: “Any more? I don’t like the looks of these.”

Me: “That’s everything I’ve got. We’ve been pretty busy today.”

Customer: “But there’s a hurricane coming! This is absurd!”

We are going through a massive heatwave. Air conditioning is extremely rare and everyone is a little irritable from the heat. Eventually, I can’t handle it, so I decide to get some ice cream to cool down, and unsurprisingly, there’s a queue. This specific shop makes fresh churros to order and some people are ordering them so there is a small backlog, but it’s nothing crazy.

A woman walks up behind me and I immediately know she will be trouble when she starts huffing. Some other people begin to glare at her for this, which only makes her more annoyed as she begins whining in annoyance.

We all know she wants to skip the queue so she won’t have to wait, but none of us are letting her do so. By this point, there are maybe fifteen of us waiting and there are three people inside; one is taking orders and the other two are fulfilling orders. Once they have caught up, the one taking the orders walks out and asks us to queue in a U shape so people can access other shops. Most are fine with this, but not this woman. Once the worker goes back inside, she brings her phone out, and this is what I hear.

Customer: “This f****** stupid b**** thinks she can tell me what to do when she won’t go inside and do her own job. Lazy c***s, the whole lot of them. It’s not a difficult thing to do, so who does she think she is not serving me?”

The people in front of me turn to her in surprise at this, but I don’t, having dealt with people like this daily for years. I am able to tune her out for the most part, but she just keeps ranting to whoever is on the phone with constant huffing, whining, and moaning. I am beginning to reach my tether with her when she comes out with the following.

Customer: “Why are they taking so long?! I shouldn’t have to wait like a servant. Can someone move so I can order?”

I don’t hear the next part of this rant as I am let inside, but from what I see, she gets into an argument with people in the queue. I order and wait. The woman comes in and orders a lot of something that is backed up. The moment she is told there is a wait, she goes into a rage.

Customer: “How dare you tell me to wait?! I am a professor at [University five minutes away] and I will not be treated like this! You will serve me right this moment, and if you do not, I will be complaining!”

Remembering years of being the one on the receiving end of this, this does it for me.

Me: “Hey, it is 30° (86° F), most people are off as it’s a weekend and not everywhere is back open yet. We are all tired and desperate for something to cool off. Unlike you, we were taught how to wait our turn. You have been stomping your feet, you have been whining, you have been huffing, and you have been complaining non-stop because you’re not being treated like something special. Now either wait your turn like an adult or stomp off as an overgrown, spoiled three-year-old!”

I got the harshest glare ever for that, but those who were also waiting began to say similar things. She proceeded to stomp out with her nose in the air and not-so-secretly screaming in annoyance, as she hadn’t fully closed the door. Once I finally got called to collect my order, I noticed a hastily written thank-you on a napkin. It wasn’t much, but it felt good to put someone like her in their place for once.

My dad used to work for a heating and gas company. The company had twenty-four-seven after-hours emergency service. My dad’s area of coverage was about a two-hour drive in any direction.

One day, my dad got an emergency call on the weekend for a town roughly two hours away. As he got to that town, a blizzard rolled in — not a terrible one, but enough that you’d definitely have to drive slower when on the roads.

As he was at the site, he got another emergency call from a woman in another town two hours the other way, closer to where he lived. He called the customer, and she said she smelled gas. My dad went through the usual questions. He had a few theories about why she might be smelling gas.

Dad: “Can you please check [gauge] on your propane tank?”

Woman: “No, I won’t do that! I’m not qualified to look.”

Dad: “Do you have another source of heat you can use?”

Woman: “I do.”

Dad: “Okay. Turn off the gas to your house and use the backup heat source, and I’ll be there in a few hours.”

Woman: “That’s unacceptable! I need you here right now!”

Dad: “Unfortunately, that isn’t possible. I’m in [Town] several hours away.”

Woman: “No! I need you to be here now!”

Dad: *Bluntly* “Listen. You wanting me there now doesn’t change anything. I’m in another town two hours away. There is a blizzard going on, so that will slow me down. I can’t fly to where you live, and I’m not rushing and risking my life just to get to your place sooner. So, I can be there in a few hours, or you can wait until the week starts, when all the technicians are back to work, and you can have someone help you then.”

The woman backs down.

Woman: “A few hours will be fine.”

My dad got there after a few hours of driving, and almost right away, he saw the issue. Apparently, she was running out of propane, and smelling gas is some sort of warning sign a tank is getting low. If she had looked at the gauge like he’d asked, it would have saved the drive, plus the bill for him coming out to check, and she could have called the proper people to fill her tank.

Because it was an emergency call, she had to pay a bill that was triple what a typical weekday call was, in addition to the cost of having a truck come out to fill her tank.

I’m looking to buy a digital camera as a gift for a friend who I know needs one. The camera I have is very good and I know it would suit my friend’s needs, so I’m looking for another one online. I find a seller on [Auction Website] selling a new one for a good price with cheap shipping, so I order it right away.

I live in a relatively small town in North Dakota, and the winters can be pretty harsh, so I think nothing of it when I get an email from the seller about the camera, telling me that the shipment may be delayed due to a bad winter storm in their area. I reply, saying that it’s fine and I understand, as my area is also currently experiencing a bad winter storm.

Out of curiosity, I navigate to the seller’s page to see where they are shipping from. To my surprise, they are shown as being in the same small North Dakota town I’m in! And somehow, neither of us noticed this before.

I have a laugh and email the seller again, pointing out the funny coincidence, and offering to just meet them somewhere local and pick up the camera if they would prefer. They reply with equal astonishment and amusement and agree to meet at a coffee shop for the hand-off.

We meet and share another laugh about the situation, and they even refund me the shipping charge in cash.

I work for a construction company as a secretary. Twice a week, the heads of both the construction company and the customers will meet to go over progress. For the last few meetings, [Manager] has been asking for access to the air conditioning system. I haven’t seen the control panel myself, but from what I gather, it is under lock and key to avoid running up an electric bill for the customer.

Manager: “As you know, it’s been very hot here lately.”

Customer: “Oh, I know! I’ve had my AC down to sixty-five for a week!”

Manager: “Right, so the guys are out there building in the heat and—”

Customer: “I would hate that. More power to them, though!” *Laughs*

[Manager] is still polite and even-toned, but I can see he’s getting annoyed.

Manager: “So, the air conditioning units—”

Customer: *Angry* “I don’t know why you keep bringing up these air conditioners. You do not have access; you will not have access. What is so hard to understand? You have fans, you have water, and there is shade along the building. Do we need to go over the contract?”

[Manager] calmly pulls a copy out of the folder in front of him and points to a specific section.

Manager: “Right here, it states that you will allow us to use the air conditioner if the building exceeds eighty degrees. It has been over ninety-five for the last week. We have documented the conditions using thermometers at various places every hour of the workday. You are in breach of your contract and, as such, we have every right to pull our employees off this project today.”

Customer: *Blushing furiously* “I… Well… How was I… When was this changed?!”

She snatches the contract and glares at it.

Manager: “It was never changed. You signed it.”

Customer: *Meekly, still blushing* “We will provide access codes at the end of the meeting.”

The workers got their air conditioning within the hour.