(It’s later in the night and I decide to run to the nearby convenience store to grab a beer. As I get to the register I wrestle my military ID out of my wallet and hand it to the cashier. She looks at it a moment, then looks at me. I’m a 25 year-old female, only about 5’4″ and although my hair is shorter in the picture, it’s still recognizably me.)

Cashier: “I can’t accept this. It needs to be American government-issued ID.”

(I, as well as the two men behind me, am taken aback.)

Me: “It is government issued. It’s a military ID. My birthdate is on the back.”

(The cashier turns the card over, then hands the card back to me.)

Cashier: “No, it’s military; it needs to be government issued.”

Me: “It IS government issued. Look, UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES.”

(The two men behind me are offended just as much as I am. One of them is an older man; the other is younger, closer to my age. They come up to the counter and pull out their military IDs.)

Other Customer: “I served my country in Desert Storm and my son here just got back from Afghanistan. I don’t know what this young lady has been through but GOD D*** IT, she JUST WANTS A BEER!”

(By this time the shift manager, an older man, has heard the ruckus and has come out from the stockroom.)

Manager: “Is there a problem here?”

Cashier: “This young lady is trying to purchase alcohol with this ‘military issued ID.’ Should I call the cops?” *the cashier rolls her eyes and picks up the phone*

Manager: “No, this is military. It’s valid.” *looks at the cashier bewildered*

Cashier: “No, it’s military, not government issue.”

Manager: “Are you kidding me? Get out of here. Go stock the milkshake machine.”

(The manager shoo’d the cashier away and the three of us made our purchases without another word.)

Manager: “Thank you for your service… I’m so sorry…”

(The manager sighed as we left.)

(One of my coworkers was recently sent to one of our neighbouring locations to help out. This coworker also has the exact same name as me. One day, I get a phone call from the manager of that neighbouring location.)

Manager: “Yes, can I speak to [My Name], please?”

Me: “Speaking.”

Manager: “Ah, good. I just wanted to take a moment to call and thank you for coming to help out last week. We were swamped, and your help was greatly appreciated!”

Me: “Oh, you’re looking for [Coworker]. I’m sorry; he’s not in right now.”

Manager: “Who are you?”

Me: “I’m [Full Name]. Sorry for the confusion; we’ve got the same first name.”

Manager: “Well, put [Coworker] on!”

Me: “I’m sorry. He’s not in right now.”

Manager: “Well, why the f*** not?”

Me: “Because he works the evening shift.”

Manager: “So?”

Me: “It’s 10 o’clock in the morning right now. He’ll be in this afternoon.”

Manager: *annoyed sigh* “Fine. I’ll call back later!”

(A few days later, this manager calls again.)

Manager: “Yes, could I speak to [My Name]?”

Me: “Speaking!”

Manager: “Ah! Glad I finally caught up with you. I’ve been trying to find you to thank you for your help. You know, I called a few days ago, but some other guy with your name picked up. He’s a f****** moron, isn’t he?”

Me: “You’re speaking to the moron.”

Manager: “What?”

Me: “Yes. Again, you want to speak to [Coworker’s Full Name]. This is [My Full Name]. [Co-Worker’s Full Name] works the evening shift and won’t be until later this afternoon.”

Manager: *long pause* “TELL HIM I’M LOOKING FOR HIM!” *click*

(I suffer from several chronic issues, one of which causes severe pain, which I manage with cannabis. I am at the dispensary trying to get a refill.)

Me: “Could I have one gram of [strain on special], please?”

Cashier: “Oh, we just ran out of grams; all we have is eighths left. But someone’s in the back right now filling more, if you want to wait just two minutes.”

(There is one other customer wanting for the same strain; he gets something else and I tell them I will wait. I take a seat and play on my phone, expecting them to call me up when they’re done. After a few minutes, I wander around the lobby and browse their non-consumable merchandise and read their posters, never going more than three feet from the counter. Finally, after 15-20 minutes, I approach them again.)

Me: “Hey, have you guys finished bagging up the gram bags of [strain on special] yet?”

Cashier: “Oh, we just ran out of grams, all we have is eighths left. I can recommend [more expensive strain] or [other more expensive strain].”

Me: “No, there’s someone in the back filling more bags, I was told it would only be a few minutes.”

Cashier: “Really?”

(She asks a coworker who just shrugs.)

Cashier: “No, sorry, there’s no more. Did you already pay for it?”

Me: “No, but I’ve been waiting….”

Cashier: “Okay, I can offer you [more expensive strain] or [other more expensive strain].”

Me: *frustrated* “I’ll just get [other, less-effective strain on special].”

(I still haven’t decided whether or not to complain to management over the fact that I waited close to 20 minutes for something they had no intention of giving me.)

(I work at a summer camp that has a “carnival” near the end of the week for the kids. My supervisor is carrying a giant bean-bag toss board out of storage with a little roll of tickets sitting on top. Another coworker comes along.)

Supervisor: “Hey, can you help me with this?”

Coworker: *takes the tiny roll of tickets off the very heavy board and runs off* “I help!”

(All of the managers, and a handful of team members, are in early for first aid training. A new coworker, who is very sheltered, has been chosen to fill out the numbers and have the training. We’re on a break before the next session. I should also note that at work, the general manager always comes off as quite serious and stern if you don’t know him that well.)

Me: *seeing the general manager walking around* “Oh, [General Manager]! I didn’t recognise you for a minute. I guess because none of us are in uniform, I thought you were some random person who had somehow gotten in.”

General Manager: “Haha, you probably didn’t recognise me without a shirt on!”

(I had to walk away and laugh while my coworker blushed. The general manager was oblivious to how he sounded.)