(My dad and brother worked in the drywall spacklers union, traveling down together to the big casinos to work on and back for a number of years. This is the one story my dad loves to tell.

My dad is working on a stairwell while my brother is working on a high reach machine. There are a number of caution tape and signs saying do not enter, but as we all know sometimes people just don’t follow directions.

My brother needs to move to another spot while high in the air, so he looks down to make sure everything is clear when he spots an old lady sitting on his tire! So my brother calls out to my dad that he needs help while pointing down to the floor.

My dad walks down the stairs to tell this lady to move. He points up to even show my brother who is just waiting to get back to work. The old lady just stared at my dad, then looks up, then looks at my dad again before deciding to get up and shuffle off.

This happened while I was young, and it has been five years since I lost my brother, but man when people are in casinos do all common sense fly out the window!)

(I am a twenty-one year old female and I work at a well known bedding and bath/kitchen housewares store. I am working opening shift on July 4th as the main cashier when an older man comes in.)

Man: “Do you have a windshield cleaner with replacement pads?”

Me: “Hmm, we have two kinds in store. Let me show you the first that’s just up front here!”

(I walk out from behind the counter and lead him to where one of the two kinds is hanging. I point to it.)

Me: “We have this one here, the [particular brand name]. Is this it?”

Man: *suddenly with voice raised* “No! I want a windshield cleaner with replacement pads! That’s not it!”

Me: *getting nervous at his volume and tone* “Okay! Well we have another type that is further back in the store. Let me call another employee to the front and they can help you find it!”

(I walk away and call over the walkie-talkie for another employee. Since I am the main cashier, I have to stay within a certain area near the main registers. I walk back behind the counter just as my coworker comes up. I introduce him to the customer and explain what he is looking for.)

Me: “He’s looking for windshield cleaners, and it’s the other one, not [particular brand name].”

Coworker: *nods and looks at the man*

Man: *Interrupts before coworker can say anything* “I need a windshield cleaner with replacement pads! And not that one on the wall!”

Coworker: “Hmmm…” *walks over to a newly placed bin with the second kind of windshield cleaner in it. He takes one out and shows it to the customer* “Is this it?”

Man: “…Yeah, I guess so.” *he takes it, my coworker thanks him and walks off. The man approaches the counter I am at in order to pay*

Me: *Smiles sheepishly* “I’m sorry about that, sir! They must have put the bin up yesterday when I wasn’t in and I didn’t get a chance to notice it. It’s crazy how much a store can change when you’re gone, even in such a short time!”

Man: *Tosses it on the counter* “Yeah, right, you just don’t wanna serve veterans! None of you do!”

Me: *Startled* “No, sir! Actually, my dad and grandfather are both vet-“

Man: *ignores and interrupts, leaning on the counter and getting very close to my face* “Don’t lie to me! I know the truth!” *he takes out his wallet and begins pulling out a bill*

(I’m already overly sensitive to loud noises and shouting, and him getting so close only made the whole situation worse, so I was shaking by this point, but I managed to put on a smile).

Me: “Alright, that will be $10.59.”

Man: *pulls out $11.00 and hands it to me, picks up item, and starts to head toward the exit around the counter*

Me: *quickly finishes ringing out order* “Oh, sir, do you want your change?”

Man: “Yes.” *continues walking toward exit as he holds his hand out towards me*

Me: *Plops change in his open hand* “Have a good day!”

Man: *Nods* “Have a happy July 4th.”

Me: *Confused* “…You too!”

Man: “Oh, you’ve already made it better!” *says this in a genuine tone and walks out*

Me: *stunned*

(Now, I fully respect veterans and I entirely understand that July 4th can be a bad day for some of them, as I assume was the case here, but still, this was a startling and bizarre scenario for sure!)

I work in as an office staff member (meaning I don’t sell policies, but I service them). My coworker has been with the office many years and knows our customers well.
A customer walks in and approached me desk:. Hi, is (Coworker) in?
Me: Yes, but she’s at lunch right now. I would be happy to help you, though?
Customer:. No thanks. (Coworker) called me earlier, and I’ve been working with her for years! She sold me my original policy, you know!
Me:. That’s great! We love our long term customers! She’s probably going to be out for any twenty minutes or so. Do you want me to leave her a message, or perhaps I could look up something for you?
Customer:. Oh no. I’ll just wait for her.
Me:. Are you sure? I’d feel bad for keeping you.
Customer:. It’s no problem.
Me:. Alrighty. Can I get you a water or coffee while you wait?
Customer:. Oh no thanks. I’ll just play with my phone a bit.
Me:. Can I get your name, then, so I can have your file ready for (Coworker) when she gets back?
Customer:. Oh no- she’ll know who I am.
Me: I’m sure she will, but if I can grab your file, she’ll be able to get right to you.
The customer waves me off, and sits in the lobby, playing with his phone. Approximately every five minutes, he grumbles about having to wait, and ponders why we’re given such long lunch breaks when we’re supposed to be working. Each time, I politely inform him that coworker will return, and ask him if he’s sure I couldn’t help him.
After approximately 20 minutes, Co-worker does, indeed, return.
Coworker:. Hey, Customer! How are you?
Customer:. It’s about time you got back! I been sitting here this whole time!
Coworker:. Well, you know, I had to run some errands! What can I do for you?
Customer:. Well, you called me this morning, and I didn’t understand the message!
Coworker: (confused). I haven’t called you today. Are you sure it wasn’t (me)?
Customer:. It couldn’t have been her.
Coworker (to me):. Did you call (Customer’s full name)?
Me: Yes, I did. I wanted to let him know his payment had gone through, as he requested yesterday.
Customer:. That’s not right! I’ve never spoken to you in my life! I ONLY speak to (Coworker)!
Me: I’m sorry. I spoke to (Customer full name) yesterday, who requested I keep an eye on his automatic payment, as he had just updated his credit card info online, and I called to confirm it was posted to a card ending in xxxx. Was that not you?
Customer:. That was me, but I never talked to you!! I talked to (Coworker)!! I never talk to anyone else, ever!
Coworker (reviewing our interaction notes): I’m sorry (Customer), but I haven’t spoken to you since last year. You’ve worked with (me) five times over the past several months.
Customer:. Well this isn’t right. I shouldn’t be tricked like this! I expect to talk to Coworker every time!
Coworker:. I’m sorry, but sometimes I’m not available. (Me) is just as licensed and knows what I do.
Customer:. What am I paying for if I don’t get to talk to (coworker)? This is ridiculous!!
Coworker:. You are paying for an insurance product. We are the staff that advises and guides you. Everyone in this office is licensed by the state and bonded by the company to help you.
Customer:. This is ridiculous. You’ve been lying to me all year. I wait all day to talk to you, and you tell me I can’t even talk to you. SHE (me) can’t even help me!
Coworker starts to explain again that she is not always available, but Customer has had enough, and leaves with a slam of the door. He later called to cancel all of his policies, but never completed the process. Sadly, this was a pretty common occurrence in our small town.

I have a summer job at a reception oh a hotel in Prague centre, and our guests are mainly tourists. This is happening on July 03. We have two national public holidays coming up, one on July 05 and second on July 06. Neither is really celebrated unless it’s an anniversary year.

The guests are clearly Americans, one of them has an American flag around his suitcase. There are four guys in total, somewhere from 30 to 40 years old if I had to guess. But they are generally pleasant and cooperate during the check-in.

Me: Hello, welcome to our hotel. (The usually if they have a reservation, under which name etc.) All right, you are all set. Can I help you with anything else? Any places you would like to visit and need directions for?

Guest with the American flag on his suitcase: Where are the celebrations? What is a good spot to watch the fireworks?

Me: Oh, the holidays are on July 05 and July 06, unfortunately, there won’t be any festivities. Only some places might be closed, and other might have different opening hours. But definitely nothing major.

Guest with the American flag on his suitcase: What! (Which surprises me because he was really nice up to that moment, however, he starts to raise his voice.)

Another guest from the group: The Fourth of July.

Me: Oh, you mean the American Independence day?

Guest with the American flag on his suitcase: YES!

Me: I’m terribly sorry, but I’m afraid that here in the Czech Republic we do not celebrate the American holiday.

Guest with the American flag on his suitcase: But we came here to celebrate it!

After that, the manager came down to the reception and dealt with them. All four guys seemed to be genuinely perplexed that there won’t be any festivities to mark American Independence day in the middle of Europe.
However, my manager was quick on his feet and suggested them to look for some FB group for Expats living in Prague that there might be some Americans living in Prague that will be celebrating. When I asked about the idea, it turned out they were not the first one to ask about it.

I also saw two of the guys this noon (July 05), both seemed hangover with bloodshot eyes but in better mood than when I told them that we don’t celebrate the Fourth of July.

*The store I work at not only sells computers, printers and the like, but also offers repairs on said products. One thing that should be noted, is that we rarely repair printers. If they are still under warranty, we ship them to the manufacturer, otherwise we’ll try a few simple repairs. If those dont work, we usually offer to buy a new one, since a out-of-warranty repair can be realy costly. This just happens on a random, slow day*

Slightly elderly gentleman enters the store, holding something that I cant realy place.

Me: ‘Hi there! What’cha got for us?” *Indicating to the device*
Customer, in a loud voice the entire time he’s in my store: “Hi. Eh… Its a printer. It doesnt work I’m afraid”
*Thats when he puts it on the counter, and I recognise it as a 2 decade-old model*
Me: “Oh, sorry to hear that. One small thing though, I dont think we can fix it. Its allmost as old as I am (I’m 22) so the warranty expired. Atleast, I’m sure its safe to assume it did. And our technicians can’t fix printers, certainly not 2 decade old ones. At this point, I’d say it did its work, and you might want to consider buying a new one.”
Customer: “WHAT? WHY WOULD I BUY A NEW ONE? JUST FIX IT DAMMIT!”
Me, unfazed by his outburst (working IT does that to you): “Sorry sir, but we’d have a hard time finding manuals and replacement parts. Besides, a new basic printer will only cost you about 40 euros, which is far less than what the repair would cost you”
Customer: “Fine, I’ll buy it”
*I process the transaction without further incident*
Customer: “Ooh, I also want to buy a new desktop”
Me, ever so slightly irritated that he didnt mention before: “Sure thing. A basic, pre-build desktop will set you back a good, say 450 to 500 euros. A simple, garden variety desktop” *Glosses over the specs, and what you can do with it*
Customer: “Does it have WiFi?”
Me: “Built in? No. Our desktops, unless they are custom built, rarely if ever have WiFi. But, a USB WiFi antenna works wonders.”
Customer: ‘NO! I want it built in! I know you sell a [Laptop/part manufacturer] desktop with WiFi”!
Me: “As far as I know, we dont sir. As a matter of fact, [Manufacturer] doesnt actually make desktops. They make desktop parts and laptops, sure. But not pre-built desktops. You sure you didnt see a laptop? *Shows [Manufacturers laptops]
Customer: ‘NO! I know a desktop from a laptop! Just give me the desktop with WiFi!
Me: “Cant give you what I dont have sir. Here, thats a list of all the desktops we have in our system. *Lists off the brands*. Can’t see a single [Manufacturer] I’m afraid.
Customer: “GODDAMMIT! FINE! ILL COME BACK TOMORROW WITH A PRINTOUT OF THE MODEL OF YOUR WEBSITE AND YOU’LL SEE” *Storms out*
Collegue, at the next register: “I wonder if he comes back”
Me: “Kinda hope so, he left his new printer here”

*He never did, or if he did, never asked about his printer. And since we dont have a number on file, we cant call him*