So I work at a rather popular tourist attraction. I come into work like normal only to be told that we are experiencing a power outage ( We had a bad power line). I was upstairs answering phones and online chats. I spent most the day handling questions about what was open (some of our rides were closed due to not having power) and I had to call people about their reservations as well. One person stands out in our chat box.

Our usual Hi! If you have questions please just ask! prompt thing comes though.
Customer: Yes, I wanted to buy tickets online

(Due to everything going on we closed down our online tickets, you could only purchase in person)

Me: Hello! So unfortunately due to a major power outage you can only buy tickets in person today!

Customer: I want to buy tickets for the [ ride name here]

Me: Unfortunately due to a major power outage the [ ride ] is closed, we still have tours going on.

Customer: I want to buy tickets online for [ ride ]

Me: Due to a power outage that ride is closed for the day and you can only buy tickets on site today.

Chat box: Vistor Left

~Que internal screaming~

<i>(For future reference, Houston, TX has just been hit by Hurricane Harvey, the worst hurricane on record. Entire communities are gone, whole families are being discovered dead in their homes, the whole city has been completely torn asunder. My store runs pet-based fundraisers several times a year, and our current group has generously told us to cut their fundraiser short in favor of collecting donations for hurricane relief. I’m ringing up a regular customer, who is always brusque and hard to deal with, a few days into the new fundraiser.)</i>

<b>Me:</b> “OK, and we’re currently collecting donations for Hurricane Har-”</i>

<b>Regular</b> <i>*impatient*</i><b>:</b> “No, I have my own water problems.”

<b>Me:</b> <i>*speechless*</i>

<i>(Whatever his “water problems” were, I hope they got only worse!)</i>

(while coming home from school, my mum and I stop at a bakery, my mum gives me $10 and says she will wait in the car, I go inside and this happens.)

Worker: Hello, can I help you?

Me: I’ll just browse for a bit, thanks.

Worker: *Watches me*

Me: *is feeling extremely pressured to choose faster*

Me: Can I have two savoury bites?

Worker: Sure, that will be $5.46

Me: *Hands money over*

Worker: Thanks.

Me: You’re welcome.

Me: *this is awkward*

Worker: *hands me my food and change*

Me: Thanks

Worker: You’re welcome, enjoy your food!

Me: Thanks, you enjoy your food too!

Worker: *suddenly looks sad*

Me: *realises that I am being one of those people, runs out*

Mum: So, How did it go?

Me: It went fine.

(I’m a female in my early 20’s and I have been working for a couple years for a major coffee shop. At this time the company doesn’t have us wear name tags. I decided to go back to school and transfer to a store 200 miles away that was near the university that I was going to be attending. This happens about 3 months after I had moved. The store is at the slow time of day and I’m the only one upfront.)

A male customer in his late 30’s – early 40’s approaches my register. He looks like a regular but I can’t remember his name. The company is very big on creating the “3rd place” and wants us to treat all of our customers like we know them. So I put on my “omg I haven’t seen you in forever” smile and making a guess at his order say, “Hey, how are you doing? Grande coffee?”

He smiles back at me “Yep, you always make the best coffee, that’s why I came to find you.”

Me, kinda confused by what he said. “Whelp…here I am. Let me go grab that for you.” I go and get his coffee and ring him up.

After he takes his coffee he says, “sorry it took me so long to stop by. It took me a bit to find this store. I was here yesterday but you weren’t working. When is your break? We can catch up!”

I look around but my coworkers are still doing tasks in the back. “Well…I just started so I wont have a break for a couple hours. You have a great day now.”

The guy smiles at me “Oh don’t worry (my name), I took a week off work to come down and visit you. I will just be sitting over here.” He indicates a table near the cash register.

I realize that he was a regular customer of mine from my old store. I never knew his name because he just came in and got a coffee. I smile awkwardly at him. “Uhm.. yeah ok.”

As soon as he sits down I went and asked one of my coworkers to watch the front and went to talk with my supervisor. He’s doing the bank deposit and another coworker is taking their break. “Hey (Supervisor) there is a weird guy that is making me uncomfortable.” I point him out on our cameras.

My coworker looks to. “Oh yeah that guy came in yesterday evening and asked if you were working. We just told him there was no-one here right now by that name.”

My supervisor looked at him as well. “Yeah he was in yesterday morning looking for you as well. He sat in the cafe for 4 hours. Why don’t you go out the back and go home for the day. I will deal with him. I will let the manager know what happened and we’ll figure it out.”

I go out the back door that leads to the employee parking area and go home. My supervisor told the guy to get lost and that if he came back they would call the police. My manager paid me for the day of work and talked to the managers at all the other stores in the area. They worked it out so that I worked at a different store every day for that week so that the guy wouldn’t be able to find me. My co-workers told me that the guy sat in the parking lot everyday waiting for me. The police were called but he was in a public area and they said there was nothing they could do. Thankfully he apparently took the hint because after his “vacation” was over he never came back.

(I have clocked in to work, and head to the back to say hi to my managers. Please note: I am the only woman working in the store, my managers have been there a LOT longer than me, and Manager 1 has been there for over a decade. So they know a thing or two. Also they have a very, VERY weird sense of humor….)

Me: Hey, guys, what’s up.

Manager 2: Hey! You’re in trouuuubbbllllleeeee!

Me: *I freeze and grin uncomfortably, because I don’t know if this is a joke or what* Oh? Why this time?

Manager 1: *sighing* We got a Secret Shopper in last month, and he gave us a bad review.

(My anxiety kicks in, and I’m legitimately worried I could lose my job, because I love where I work and I don’t want to put a bad face on this company. I haven’t even been there a year and though I rarely do anything bad, this could make or break me. Or it’s just my anxiety.)

Me: So, uh, so what happened?

Manager 1: This guy said you were incompetent.

Me: Uh?

Manager 2: Yeah, you? No way. I remember this guy, too. He’s a semi-regular guy. He came in, asking if we had a comic in stock, and you checked in the computer, said we didn’t have it, checked the comic wall, couldn’t find it, and then asked me. And I said, because it was Tuesday, it wouldn’t come out until tomorrow. He was kind of rude about it, too. The worst part of it is: you did RIGHT.

Me: Wait, what? I did? Huh? Hang on, so I’m *not* in trouble?

Manager 1: Nope. You’re fine. The guy’s an idiot. Even said you were a nice helpful woman somewhere between 24 and 27 years old.

Me: …at least I look young for my age? I’m 29?

Manager 2: The entire point of this Secret Shopper was for (distributor) to make sure we weren’t selling comics a day early. Don’t worry about it. I wrote them a really nasty email about the whole thing, because you did exactly what you were supposed to do, and everything’s fine. I told them never to use him again, he was a real jerk.

(I’m waiting for my heart to stop beating wildly, and the doorbell rings so Manager 2 goes to answer whoever’s there. I stay a minute to talk to Manager 1.)

Me: Okay wait. I’m really not in trouble?

Manager 1: Nope.

Me: Only because…every other place I’ve worked at…they write you up if you get a score any lower than a 98 out of 100.

Manager 1: No, here you only get written up if you get lower than a 12…out of 1,000. It’s fine, don’t worry about it.

(I love my job, even if I worry about it!)