Minimum wage is crap. There. I said it. We can all stop pretending it's not. If you've never worked for minimum wage, consider yourself impossibly lucky. Those of you who have will totally get what this reddit user meant when they asked:
Minimum wage workers, what is something that is against the rules for customers to do but you aren't paid enough to actually care?
We all want to think that work ethic just is what it is, but I promise you when you make next-to-nothing it's not enough money for you to chase down a poop-covered man to try and hold him until store security gets there. Yeah, that was personal experience. Nope, I didn't even consider giving chase. Here are some of the best responses - some may have been edited for content or clarity.
Do They Really Pay You So Much?
GiphyI worked at a hardware store in the garden center making close to minimum wage. We often loaded heavy bags of mulch and dirt for customers in their trucks beds and what not.
We were told that we were not allowed to take tips from customers.
So being the good boy that I was, I turned down a couple tips until one day I loaded up a full customer pickup bed and he handed me a $20.
I told him I can't take that, and he looked me dead the eye and said, "Do they really pay you so much you don't need it?"
I stopped being an idiot that day. Why the f*** I let someone pay me so little and tell me I'm not allowed to make more and I listened is just embarrassing now.
Just Clean Up After Yourselves
GiphyUsed to work at a movie theater. No one cares if you bring your own snacks, although it's super aggravating if you leave your snack garbage in the theater instead of taking it out with you. We usually have an hour window where all the theaters are getting out. We tend to have about 10 min per theater to clean on a busy day. Leaving your garbage in your seats makes everything slower. It's not hard to carry it down to the can.
Bathroom Privileges
GiphyUsing the bathroom if you aren't actually a customer. We are the only place open at 3 in the morning. I'm not gonna tell people to go find somewhere else.
Price Check
GiphyIf the item doesn't have a price I let the customer just name it if they're nice. We're suppose to have someone check the price but that usually takes a long ass time as everyone's busy, I save that for as$holes.
Me: "Do you remember how much this was?"
(Situation A)
Customer: "I think it was $x.xx"
Me: "Sounds right." manual price entry
(Situation B)
Customer: "No, I don't, sorry"
Me: "Well, today only it's on sale for 99 cents" manual price entry
(Situation C)
Customer: "Of course not, that's not my responsibility this store is so horrible I don't know why I keep coming here you're all worthless I probably wouldn't be such an ahole if mommy and daddy had told me they'd loved me more I don't have time for this don't you know who I am"
Me:pages "Price Check"
- JayEster
Ketchup
Years back I worked at a local chain restaurant that had a drive-through. One of the owners would occasionally come through and reiterate that we were to only give one ketchup packet out per order of fries at the drive-through. Our fry orders were huge, and one packet was nowhere near enough, so as soon as he was gone, we'd go back to throwing handfuls of ketchup packets into the bags.
Need A Penny, Take A Penny
GiphyI'd carry coins on me when I worked at a fast food joint so if anyone came up to less than a dollar short, I'd cover it for them. I'd feel especially bad declining them if they were with a girlfriend or family or something. I know what it's like to come up short at a fast food place.
Not Enough Cheese
GiphyAt my pizza place we make large pies for slices. Cheese pies only get 14oz of shredded mozz on them but that's not enough cheese to get decent coverage. I'm putting at least another three ounces of cheese on that MFer, ain't nobody getting a s*** slice of cheese pizza on my watch.
Explosive Fitting Rooms
GiphyOne of my jobs as a teenager was working at Marshalls. In case you all weren't aware, but having explosive sh!ts in the changing room is against the rules for EVERYONE. When they tried to get me to put on gloves to clean it up I just stood there and said no. They certainly were not paying me enough to deal with that sh!t... literally.
Why Kick Them When They're Down?
GiphyPeople sleeping in their cars overnight. I consistently work night shifts and see it all the time. We're meant to tap on the window and ask them to leave; but really if someone has to sleep in their car and we have a huge empty carpark, why kick someone while they're down?
- Skorm178
Fluffy
GiphyPeople aren't supposed to bring their dogs into the store yet would walk their dogs on leashes through the store all the time. I'd see it happen, realize I hated my job, pet the dog then go about my business. I didn't get paid enough to get into an argument with some old rich dude about why Fluffy isn't allowed to walk around in the store.
H/T: Reddit
Curious to hear from those who've eventually become wise to the ways of a parent or other adult figure, Redditor i_cant_have_dairy asked:
"What's something you were told as a child by adults, that you now realize is complete bullsh*t?"
Parents hoping to prevent a bad habit had interesting things to impart.
Advancing Bone Degeneration
"Cracking your fingers make you get arthritis."
– Haik11
Stroking Fear
"If you keep masturbating, you'll go blind."
– K333N4N
Interesting things were said in school but not everything stuck.
The Threat That Didn't Land
"HS teachers: 'That stuff won't fly in college" College: ✈️✈️✈️✈️'
– Comfortable_Wish_930
An Easy Pass For Today
"I got this BS all through school. 'I'll let this slide, but don't think you'll get away it next year...' "You can do this now, but don't think it'll happen in Middle School...' 'Don't expect to get away with this in High School...' 'Yeah, we'll let this go in High School, but if you think you'll get that sort of accomodation in college/the real world...(evil laugh)'. "
"Eventually, I caught on that it was more dependent on the teacher's attitude rather than anything else. Small example, in high school I couldn't remember the name of a town on a test, but I could remember everything else, even drew the diagram the teacher had the board in the margin, just to prove I had paid attention that day. Still got marked wrong. In college, similar brain fart, couldn't recall a place name, but I put as much description as I could otherwise. Professor gave me half credit."
– GrandSpecter
The Wrong Impression
"DARE activities in primary school gave the impression that grownups would always be giving away narcotics for free. lol"
– MiguelinaKnudsen
College Myth
"That a degree would open all the doors and knowing about politics, history and general stuff would make me an interesting person and that socializing was a waste of time. Nowadays I work for a big4 but I have the personality of a boiled potato. And they have the nerves to ask why I don't have a girlfriend or more friends at 27. Teach your kids social skills. Studying is not everything."
– davidmt1995
Certain behaviors get fact-checked.
The Thing About Respect
"That you gotta have respect for you elders.... Don't get me wrong you gotta have respect for everyone but I'm only gonna give what you give me. If you are a butthole ima be a butthole."
– Ok_Win7358
There Are No Stupid Questions...Maybe
“No harm in asking', boy did that get me in trouble…"
– khamelean
Combating Bullies
"Re: bullies."
'Just ignore them and they'll go away.'
"No it doesn't. It just makes them laugh so they do it more."
– j-c-s-roberts
Getting Old But Never Wiser
"That adults know what they are doing."
"31 and I feel like a chicken with his head cut off."
– Brontolope11
You Are Not What You Eat
"That you can't be full unless you eat bread. Carbs actually make you hungrier. Protein fills you up."
"Also: if you drink coffee, you'll grow a tail. Don't ask me where I'm from."
– Senishte1992
I was a very rambunctious and obnoxious kid, so maybe I deserved the tactic my mother resorted to using to get me to be on my best behavior.
Whenever I acted out, my mother used to convince me she would call the "mountain people" to come back and retrieve me back to the community from where she claimed to have initially found and adopted me.
One time, when I was incredulous and stood my ground after being a pain, my mother told me the mountain people were going to take me back.
So she called them up by using our rotary-dial telephone and faked a whole conversation with them about how unruly I've been and that it was time for me to return.
She sent me to my room to start packing–which I did. Unbeknownst to me, she rang the doorbell to indicate they had arrived to take me away.
When that happened, I profusely apologized to her and promised to behave so she could send them away.
That was the last time she used that effective tactic and the last time I think I was at my worst in terms of my rebellious behavior.
We laugh about it now but back then, I was terrified.
But I can't discredit her for her creative discipline.
