(I work at a pet-boarding facility that also offers grooming and daycare. As a kennel worker, we had first, second, third (janitorial shift), and a daycare shift. I am currently about 20 minutes from the end of my daycare shift that day and my coworker is already there for second shift where it is her responsibility to clean the walls of the daycare area, and third shift sweeps and mops when they arrive. All the tasks for my shift have been completed and I’m now killing time by helping out my coworker and cleaning one of our potty rooms.)

Manager: “[My Name]! [My Name]!”

(My manager finds me, pooper scooper in hand, cleaning.)

Manager: “What are you doing?”

Me: “Cleaning the front potty room for [Coworker].”

Manager: “Well, can you clean the walls in daycare? The dogs somehow got poop on them; they need to be scrubbed really well. And sweep and mop the floors, too.”

Me: “Okay.”

(I proceed to finish what I’m doing and head out to daycare with a scrub brush and a bucket of soapy water and scrub the walls perfectly clean, which was a chore. I then notice it’s time for my shift to end and head to the front to clock out, assuming my manager wouldn’t mind and had only asked me to do those tasks to fill time, since they aren’t my responsibility on my shift.)

Me: “Can I go home now? I finished the walls but didn’t get around to the floors; sorry about that.”

Manager: “Yeah, I guess so, but I’m going to have to write you up.”

Me: “What?! Why?”

Manager: “You didn’t finish all your tasks.”

Me: “But I did! All my tasks for my shift are done. Cleaning the walls is second shift’s job and sweeping and mopping is third shift’s. I know because I’ve worked all those shifts!”

Manager: “Well, I’m still going to have to write you up.”

(Needless to say, I quit not long after this. Along with the manager having no idea what the shift duties were and never keeping cleaning supplies stocked, she also lost customer information and showed up drunk multiple times, including my last day when I was training my replacement. It’s amazing to me that they’re still in business.)

(I frequent a game store near my house, even when I’m poor, as in this story. I’m talking to my favourite employee.)

Me: “I’m getting my car fixed. I know this is probably the opposite of why you’re here, but please yell at me if I try to buy something.”

Employee: “Sure! Never enough opportunities to yell at a customer!”

(The next week I wander in and start admiring a new figurine. I start to walk over to the counter when:)

Employee: “No! Bad, BAD customer! PUT IT DOWN. You’re poor, remember?!”

Other Customer: *to me* “What the..?”

Me: *sheepishly putting the figurine down* “I told him to yell at me for buying things. I didn’t think he’d DO it!”

(That is why I shop there!)

(My dad goes on a trip to Delaware every other week. For whatever reason, he is a project manager, which he is not qualified for. This occurs in the car…)

Dad: “So I think I finally figured out this project management stuff.”

Mom: “Hmm?”

Dad: “Yeah. Everyone else does the work, and I take the all the credit…”

(I’m having an awful day, and the first half of my shift only makes my mood worse. By break, I’m about ready to cry. My manager rings me out for food, and I realized I’ve forgotten to add something to the order.)

Me: “Uh… [Manager]… can you ring me out for a cookie?”

Manager: “For you?”

Me: “Yeah…”

Manager: “Just grab one. Or two. You’ve been looking upset all day; you probably need something to cheer up with.”

(I smiled for the first time all day and was a lot better for the second half of my shift.)

(I recently finished an extensive project to install several computer systems for a new business. Afterwards, the owner paid me half of the agreed upon money with a check marked ‘full payment’. This is our conversation.)

Me: *handing it back* “I think you made a mistake. This is half of what we agreed to.”

Owner: *cheerfully* “Well, you see, the project ran over-budget, and since we were paying you so well we decided to just take the excess out of your paycheck.”

Me: *stunned* “That’s not how this works. We signed a contract for an agreed sum and you’re trying to rip me off for half of it.”

Owner: *laughing* “Oh, that silly thing! Yeah, I forgot to mention, my wife looked at it and said it was all wrong and that she could fix it easy.”

(He pulls out the contract from a drawer, where I can immediately see about a dozen ‘corrections’ made in pen and pencil, cutting my pay in half as well as including a clause for unlimited on-call repair work for the next 15 years.)

Me: “No. You owe me [total amount], which is due by the end of the week, and I clearly stated when I took this job I would only offer a two-year warranty for repairs.”

Owner: “You can’t do that! You already signed the contract!”

(I ended up going to small-claims court over this, where the judge openly mocked the business owner and his insistence that his ‘corrections’ to the contract were all perfectly valid and legal. The case was very quickly ruled in my favor.)