(It’s late on 4th of July, about 30 minutes before the pizza place is going to close. I have been doing Uber for several hours and ready to end it for the night and wanting to order to pick up on my way home.)

Employee: “Thank you for calling [Pizza Place]. Is this for dine in, carry out, or delivery?”

Me: “Order for pick up.”

Employee: *after getting my name and number* “What would you like to order?”

Me: “A small pepperoni and pineapple.”

Employee: “Oh, I’m sorry, but we are out of pineapple tonight.”

Me: “Oh, no!”

Employee: “We are also out of chicken, green onions, and anchovies.”

Me: “Well, I’m not so sad about the last one but pineapple is kind of vital for my pizza…”

(I’ve ordered my food and pull around to pay.)

Worker: “Sorry we don’t accept American Express.”

Me: “Really? I thought I saw the sign saying that you do.”

Worker: “No,, we don’t.”

Me: *while looking for some change* “That’s really inconvenient; is there a problem?”

Worker: “No, we just don’t take them.”

Me: “Okay. Well, I will have to pull over at that cash point. You should really update the sign.”

Worker: “I’ll ask my manager.” *off she goes*

Me: “I just made that comment that you state that your sign says that you take American express and I’m told you don’t.”

Manager: “Where does it say that?”

Me: “The sign with all the cards on it.”

(The manager jogs around looks at the sign then jogs back in.)

Manager: “I guess we can see if it works.”

(The payment clears fine.)

Manager: “Well, I never. Apparently we do take it.”

Me: “Okay, thanks.”

(All would be fine until a week or two later I had the exact same conversation with another manager!)

(I work at a market research firm. Part of my job involves calling the manufacturers of high-tech devices to interview them. Some of the companies I call are very large, and others are quite small family firms. Some of the smaller companies have local radio stations on instead of hold music. Usually these are country music stations with ads about farm equipment. One time though:)

Me: “Hello, this is [My Name] calling from [Company]. Could I be connected with [Project Manager], please?”

Receptionist: “Sure thing. Please hold.”

Me: “Okay.”

Hold Music: *really loud gangsta rap* “MY MONEY AND MY HOES!”

(I started laughing so hard I had to hang up and call back again.)

(A coworker and I are the same age, and when she started working we generally got along. Sometimes I would even give her part of my tips if she didn’t make a lot. Since then she has become a royal pain and altogether terrible worker. I’ve seen her steal tips out of the jar, both on her working days and her days off. I’ve seen her call in and then show up at the shop to make herself and her friends free food and drinks. I’ve opened the shop the day after she has closed and come in to a mess that takes nearly three hours to clean up. She would be scheduled for two days a week and call in one. She has failed to show up several times, and her excuse for her absence was basically “Well, if I had known I needed to show up I would have.” We are short staffed, meaning shifts usually consist of one employee at a time. It also means my coworker probably won’t be fired, seeing as we need people. My coworker in question is on work suspension for excessively calling in, after months of incidents, and as a result is only allowed to work eight hours a week. It is the day before I am scheduled to open the shop at 5:30 am. I live half an hour away, so to get there on time I need to wake up around 4:30. My coworker texts me at 10:45 pm. this night, waking me up.)

Coworker: “Hey, I have a church thing tomorrow. Could you work for me from 2:00-6:00?”

Me: “If I really have to, I guess, but I’m opening tomorrow also.”

Coworker: “[Manager] says it’s fine. Thanks so much!”

(I decide not to argue because I’m not very busy the next day anyway. I go in for my morning shift and get off at 11:00 am. My manager has the shift from 9:00-2:00. Instead of wasting gas to go home for an hour and a half, I decide to sleep in my car until 2:00. I go back in until my other, much more likeable coworker comes in at 6:00. She sees me and immediately gets angry, as this is not the first time it has happened.)

Good Coworker: “Go home. I’ll deal with her. Do not take another shift of hers, got it?”

Me: “I wasn’t planning to.”

(The next day, my good coworker forwards me what is apparently the reply of our manager to what I assume was a long, merciless rant about the bad coworker.)

Manager: “I understand your concerns, but [Coworker] has a tough home life. I wouldn’t be surprised if she messes up here and there. I’ll talk to her about it, but there’s not much I can do, since we need workers. Most of the customers like her anyway. Cut her some slack.”

(I, in turn, sent a lengthy email of the above along with this manager’s reply to my supervisor, who seems to be unaware of the situation. Her solution was to increase her suspension to four hours a week. Losing it, I told her that four hours is all the coworker works anyway. I was fired for talking back.)

(My first day in the history park is not like I imagined. The weather is very bad and it’s the first day of the opening season, so there are virtually no visitors. Also, no historical clothing has been arranged for me and two other new colleagues yet. Since there isn’t much to do and we look “normal,” the three of us get some odd jobs to do. As the day progresses, I start to notice that the park’s director/owner is not a normal boss. He gives orders all around. Some of them are even countered by our team leader, who tells us to wait, while he is going to have “that discussion.” In the afternoon we’re doing some raking in the playground with a veteran colleague. He starts telling stories.)

Colleague: “One time he even fired almost everyone. We had thrown a party in one of the buildings, but apparently that wasn’t allowed. Then he realised that he needed people for the park, so he came running after us, like: ‘Stop! Stop! You can keep working here!'”

(Then the boss comes up and starts talking to me.)

Boss: “I have something for you to do. Come.”

(Without waiting for me, he starts walking towards the office building. I’m following quickly. He opens a door. Behind it is a pile of old wooden poles and dirty rope.)

Boss: “This can be taken out.”

(He already starts walking away before he’s finished his sentence. No explanation what do with the stuff. I assume that it’s garbage, so I and another new guy get a wheelbarrow. With that, we move all the stuff to the back. We don’t know where to put it, so we ask some coworker walking by.)

Me: “Do you know where to put this?”

Coworker #1: “Erm… Dunno… I’d put it in the waste container.”

(So we do. Later in the afternoon, still doing odd jobs, the boss even compliments us.)

Boss: “Really good that you guys are so devout and fanatic! Take one advice from me; always stay on your own level.”

(To me it’s unclear what he means with that. The compliment is nice, but very exaggerated. Finally, I and the other new guy prepare to leave. In the hallway, we meet two coworkers.)

Coworker #2: *almost whispering* “Get out! Out! Quickly!”

New Guy: “What’s wrong?”

Coworker #2: “You put the old wood in the waste container? It wasn’t supposed to go there. He’s enraged. If he finds you he will start scolding and stuff.”

(Hearing this, we try to leave quietly. But then the boss comes running after us. Since he is over two metres tall, this is quite an intimidating sight.)

Boss: “Come back! You two! Come back! Sort it out! Now, please! Only household garbage is supposed to go in the container! Come on, take it out!”

(With leaden feet we walk back to the waste container. Our team members of the day are standing around it, while the team leader is getting the wood out of it. The scene is like that of an entire class being berated by an enraged teacher. The boss seems to be totally mad. He singles out another new coworker.)

Boss: “I have a question! I’ll ask you! Can I just throw away stuff in your home?!”

New Girl: “No.”

Boss: “See, that’s what I mean? You throw away the obvious garbage from the waste baskets. Apart from that you discuss EVERTHING before throwing it away! The rope is good, so don’t do that! The wood goes over there on the pile! Come on, make it happen! And fast!”

(We make it happen. The boss runs off to be somewhere else, much to our relief.)

Me: “He didn’t tell me what to do with the stuff or where to put it. He also wasn’t clear on the point that I only had to throw away the wood. He didn’t say anything about the rope.”

New Guy: “Oh, weren’t we supposed to throw away the rope? I just put it back in the waste container.”

Me: *pause* “Good. It’s his own fault for not being nice.”