Have you ever walked into a store, and just thought “dang, this is overwhelming"? Because I know I have. Specifically, the time when I walked into a certain boutique on 5th Avenue in NYC, because I'm a freelance writer, and I don't have 5th Avenue money. I'd consider those price points a rather painful experience.
But guess what? Retail can be painful in many other ways, as explained here by the shoppers of Reddit. RelapsedCatoonist asked:
Which store is the most painful to shop at?
Speaking of painful, let’s talk about the stores that are hella confusing to navigate.
Sears was a beast.
“It used to be Sears when they were still around.
It was impossible to find anyone, they never had what I wanted, and I went to the same Sears for most of my life. When I was younger, it was a beast, but near the end, you can tell it was dying.”
“Sears has become a case study of poor management. With their early history as a catalog store they could have repurposed themselves using that image arcing to the internet age and competed with Amazon. Instead the CEO pitted different parts of the organization against each other in the belief that the competition would make the company stronger but all they did was eat each other and aid in its destruction.”
Why are Hot Topic stores so small, anyway?
scared hot topic GIF by South Park Giphy“Hot Topic. I never understood how every Hot Topic store I've been to has the same squished layout. I still occasionally go because it's one of the few in person places I can shop for fandom merch (at least where I live). But c'mon, why it always gotta be so thin and narrow?"
The smell in these shops are unbearable.
“Abercombie and Fitch and Hollister are not ideal places to shop when you have asthma.”
“Also, why do they advertise clothes by plastering the walls with photos of topless models being photographed from the chest up? The guy isn't even wearing anything that you're selling; why is he there?”
These guys are totally right about Hollister and Hot Topic. But what about the smaller stores?
People do this???
“Most of the convenience stores in my neighborhood. There's almost always a person buying lotto tickets. They can't buy them all at once though. First they need to get their previous tickets checked/cashed in. Then they need to buy their weekly tickets. Then they need to buy a couple scratch'n'win tickets, which they quickly scratch off just the verification area. Depending on those "winnings" they'll buy more. When that's done, they'll look at how much change they have left and buy a couple more tickets.
Meanwhile, there's a line of people forming behind the gambler as they treat the cashier like a slot machine.”
It’s a clothing store, not a club.
Animated GIFGiphy“Any store that I can hear before I see. Dark lights and thumping music is really not necessary in a clothing store and I'll walk straight past every time no matter how good the clothes are.”
This is so messed up.
“Any stores with their exit located behind the cash registers forcing you to cut through a line of people waiting to pay.
F*ck your tricks.”
“My local Walmart has blocked off every unused register so you have to go through a line to exit the store. And they want you to stand in line with nothing (or a bag of meds you picked up from pharmacy) wait your turn, and tell them you don't need to checkout before you can leave.
I refuse to do this and usually just squish past people if I have to go in.”
The most painful of all retailers.
“Cellphone carriers.
You can't get anything done at AT&T or similar without them trying to sell you 15 things and services that are totally irreverent to what you need.
That is why I switched to Boost because they will actually just sell you a phone without trying to sell you half the store.
What should be a 10 minute experience of buying and activation of a phone ends up being about half an hour.
On that note, rereading this, this is totally a first world problem.”
On second thought, maybe we should just shop online instead.
Looking at you, LUSH.
How Are You Help GIF by Your Happy WorkplaceGiphy“Any store where employees are constantly hounding you about helping find something. Please leave me alone to browse in peace, if I needed help I would come ask.”
“I used to work at a Target and were told we'd get yelled at if you didn't ask. It was also a theft deterrent. I go to Target all the time and no one asks me which I am okay with actually.
I really hate how the American meaning of good service is bugging your customer/patient/whatever constantly as opposed to just flagging someone down when you need something.”
Nothing wrong with boring underwear.
“Victoria’s Secret can suck it. Went there as a teenager with a group of friends to get "properly fitted" for bras. The sales lady was all positive and enthusiastic and assured us that they had the perfect bra for each of us. Get to me, and I measured at 34AA. She frowns and says, "oh we don't carry that small a size, you will have to special order it." So I had to sit there on a stupid pink velvet bench and watch my "normal" friends pick out frilly bras.
That experience ruined my self-esteem for years. Luckily, now I love my little t*tties and my boring underwear!!”
Nothing wrong with being barefaced, either.
“Holy sh*t, Sephora 100%. If you're not wearing at least 7 shades of eyeshadow they think you're either stealing or don't belong there.”
“Ulta is like that too though. They try to steer you towards the super expensive brands or they talk down to you. when joked I was just looking for a concealer in almost white because I'm pale to a girl there, she got snippy with me and was like ‘actually you mean fair skinned’ lmao.”
So to sum it up--turn down the music, stop cleaning your carpets with nasty perfume, and leave me the hell alone. Shopping would be a much better experience that way.
They gotta make money, sometimes they just go about it in an unethical way. Retailers--be the change!
People Who Got What They Wished For Along With Unintended Consequences Share Their Experiences
"Reddit user Casca_In_Red asked: 'Have you ever gotten monkey's pawed (gotten something you deeply wished for but it came with unintended consequences) and if so, how?'"
I try to be VERY specific with my wishes.
You have to be.
If you're not specific, you leave room for grey areas.
And the powers that be who dole out wishes like to play with the script.
I'm even precise when I throw pennies in a fountain.
Do the kids still do that anymore?
The sad truth is that life is a give and take.
And irony is unavoidable.
So be careful what you wish for... the author of that line should be a billionaire.
Redditor Casca_In_Red wanted to hear about how wishes and hopes have gone awry, so they asked:
"Have you ever gotten 'monkey's pawed' (gotten something you deeply wished for but it came with unintended consequences) and if so, how?"
Life is consequence and in the end... nothing is free.
Sad Finances
Pay Day Money GIFGiphy"I wished for the money to pay off my car and all my bills, I got the money when my brother died and left me money in his will."
gh234ip
"Same for me. Wished my house would get paid off and then got the money after both my parents died within months of each other."
chi-woo
Let's Go Out
"Wished I could stay at home all day with my cats. Boom, on dialysis with stage 5 kidney failure. I did work 2 more years before going on disability and then I was too sick to enjoy much about being home, but I still got what I wished for. (I'm doing much better now and still stay home with the cats because now I work from home. It'd be nice if I had enough money not to work but I think I've tempted fate enough)."
auntiepink007
Whoops
"In January of 2020, I was overwhelmed with everything in my life and wished for the world to pause for a couple of weeks so I could get my crap figured out. And uh well sorry everyone."
Dropped_Rock
"Scrolling through the comments makes me think COVID was caused by a massive collective wish for a break from work. Like, our entire species consisting mostly of overworked poor sods entered some kind of hive-mind state wanting a break so desperately that evolution said 'You know what? Here, have this!'"
Ser_Optimus
"Same here. When I saw that animal crossing was coming out for the switch, I told my manager I was gonna need a 2 month paid break to play the game as a joke. My manager texted me during lockdown and asked if I was enjoying the game."
CatsandPotatoes
Sacrificing Others
"I got promoted. Something I wanted for a while. I went to go tell a colleague and his desk was being emptied. In order to promote me they let go of him. he hadn't been performing as well... they could have kept both of us but since I asked for the promotion, in order to keep me they canned them."
"It was devastating for him but I never told him what they told me. I just lived with it and let him rant. I lost touch after a while but I don't think he ever put two and two together. I knew because I had asked. For a while, I felt a lot of guilt but it faded. Not my call."
Nonbinary_Tea
CEO Problems
Sad The End GIF by HollyoaksGiphy"Wanted to start a successful company. I did it and lost the love of my life because I was never home."
ruralexcursion
Work takes WORK.
They never tell you how much sacrifice comes along with it.
No Fun
mad homer simpson GIFGiphy"When I was a kid, I just wanted to be an adult so I could do adult things. Am an adult. It's exhausting. My back hurts."
netwolf420
January 2020...
"In January 2020 my wife was diagnosed with Stage III cancer. She was obviously upset, and one thing she was really sad about was having to miss out on social gatherings and work conferences while she underwent chemo and healed up. Fast forward a couple of months and, well, turns out the whole world missed out on all that, too."
"She’s still getting treatment and trying to keep the disease under control. It hasn’t been an easy 3+ years, but our family has been able to enjoy a lot of moments together since the initial diagnosis, and we hope there’s still more to come."
12345_PIZZA
A needed intervening...
"Back in early 2020, I realized I'd misread some dates and had a family vacation planned at the same time I had an evaluation for a university that I had to be there in person for. The vacation was extremely important to me since it was likely it might be the last I could ever go on with my mother. I spent about a week agonizing over it, wishing for some grand intervention that would get me out of the evaluation. Anyways, my wish was granted when my country went into hard lockdown because of Covid. Whoops."
medievalsl*t
Wrong Move
"Wanted this promotion at work to a management-level position. Got it and hated it. The amount of sh*t you have to deal with from coworkers wasn't worth it. Like you kind of have an idea of who's who in the office before, but then you get a veil lifted and you get clued in on a lot of things."
"Like, who's a good worker, who's a complete slacker but still employed b/c of connections, or who has to have some flexible time off b/c they're going thru some substance use issues., etc. Also, the bottom 10% of workers give you like 90% of the trouble."
chewytime
Oh My
Future of the DamnedGiphy"Wished for a girlfriend who was always in the mood. Got that but she wanted it more often than me and got really upset when I couldn’t perform. So then I wished for a break and she died. Also wished my job was remote, and then Covid happened."
bumscicle
Well the phrase "Be careful what you wish for" has never felt scarier.
The grass isn't always greener.
Lesson learned.
Anyone who has held more than one job in their work histories can agree that some jobs are better suited for us than others.
But some jobs have turned out to be such a bad match, people have quit at an impressively fast rate.
Redditor thed**ned234 asked:
"What's the fastest you ever quit a job and why?"
Not Meant for Telemarketing
"It took me about two hours in telemarketing to realize what an a**hole I felt like, and then I left."
- Bumpa**
Not What They Signed Up For
"I was hired by a temp agency to file documents in a Paint Factory office, but when I showed up, I was put on the assembly line with zero training or instruction and the cans came down the conveyor belt at 10,000 miles per hour."
"I don't even know what I was supposed to do. I just let each can whiz by. I quit at the end of the first day."
- JamesKPolk130
Saw an Opportunity
"At one of those quick-lube oil change places when I was about 18, they had me down in the pit (under the vehicles) draining the oil, and I kept getting burned by hot oil and by hot exhaust pipes."
"On the second day, I said I had to use the bathroom, and when I walked around to the side of the building, I took off running and didn't come back."
- _Shape-Shifter
Not Wasting Their Time
"15 minutes."
"I applied for and accepted a job that was advertised as solely data entry, evening shifts. I got there, did the quick intro and meet-and-greet thing, and was handed a mobile phone."
"The supervisor goes, 'It's actually a cold-calling role. No one would apply if we said that, so we tell people it's data entry.'"
"I went, 'Sorry, what?'"
"He said, 'Yeah, we cold-call people for this idea my friend has, asking for investors! You'll get a commission if you do well!'"
"At that point in time, I was a salty, snarky young lady, so I told him to shove it, that this was probably illegal in so many, many, ways, I applied for data entry job and not cold calling and swindling people, etc etc."
"I called my dad to come pick me up and never looked back. I took a legit data entry offer the next day."
"So. Yeah. Uh... 15 minutes. Found out many years later that dude and the friend with the great idea both got done on some serious fraud charges shortly after my run-in with them."
- silvanmorte
Immediately No
"In college, I got a summer job at SeaRay boats through a temp agency. I showed up first-thing, and they had me sit in the break room, which was on the second floor, overlooking the entire plant."
"I waited an hour for someone to come to get me and heard a commotion. I looked out and three or four people were running out, because a dude cut off his middle and ring fingers with a Sawzall. The dude behind him had his fingers in a towel."
"At the time, I wasn’t what you might call tool handy. So I noped right the f**k out."
- tech405
A Negative Amount of Time at the Job
"I quit 15 minutes before I got there."
"I had a weird feeling about the job and how vague the hiring manager was being."
"Halfway through the drive on my first day, I put the clues together, and it dawned on me that it was some traveling door-to-door sales s**t. The kind where they pack you in a van and drive you to some neighborhood to sell coupon books or whatever."
- Suougibma
Strike Three
"I'm a vet tech. I quit a clinic after about three weeks when the doctor told me to start reusing needles. He wanted me to pull up a vaccine, administer it, and then pull the next vaccine up into the same syringe with the same needle and repeat."
"That was the final straw."
"The first straw was finding out that we (it was a small practice with two other techs and one receptionist) were required to bring our own toilet paper to work."
- xonacrackr
A Whole New Level of Cross-Contamination
"Sandwich shop. The health inspector showed up. They found mop cleaning solution in the tub they were keeping the utensils they used to make sandwiches with (get meatballs out for subs, spread tuna on sandwiches, etc)."
"That explained the very odd, burning chemical smell from that area. The mop cleaner was mixing with the meatballs and sauce and just cooking all day in that pot."
"The owner argued that it was safe to use it that way. The health inspector made him dump it out in front of them."
"The second they left, he filled it back up and put all the utensils back in it."
- cheyonreddit
The Scapegoat
"Six weeks. I got blamed for another delivery driver leaving the tank close to empty and not parked where it needed to be."
"I was like, 'Huh?'"
"Then a week after I left, they found out it was another driver and they were fired right after."
- BoosterRead78
No Time Off
"I worked at 24-Hour Fitness when I was 17. I wanted to go skiing for a week and was told no it was impossible to schedule."
"So I just walked out. The manager was fuming and yelling about marking me as a no rehire or some bulls**t."
"I found a job at an LA Fitness center down the street that paid more after my ski trip. Good times."
- 89fruits89
Not in the Job Description
"I worked at Party City and was closing. Someone s**t in the bathrooms but not in the toilets. It was on the floor, the walls, the stall doors, in the sinks, in the SOAP DISPENSERS… and for an added effect, they had smashed the dispense button a few times. Vile."
"I was NOT on bathroom duty that evening but for whatever reason, my Manager told me to clean it up."
"H**l to the no. I told her I wasn’t cleaning that biohazard and that my 7.25 an hour wasn’t worth it. PLUS there was no way in h**l I could clean all of that up in the 30 minutes before I had to clock out (or get written up for being over)."
"My manager, the living embodiment of Shrek, said she’d write me up for failing to complete my closing checklist (again, I wasn’t on bathrooms that evening)."
"So, in my best judgment, I went and clocked out and left. Never came back. I was scheduled to open the next morning but nope."
"My General Manager sent me an email confirming my termination and said, 'You’ll always be welcome back, should you choose to come in.'"
- Kili-Starlight
The Coworkers' Advice
"First day. I got out of the Marines and got a job doing hardwood floors for 10 dollars per hour."
"They didn't tell me I had the job and then called me and asked where I was. I used a whole tank of gas driving from job to job."
"The first thing the boss asked me was, 'Are you messed up from the war?' (Of course I am)."
"Every employee told me how much they hate the job and to run. I finished the day and quit."
- Irondaddy_29
A Pyramid Scheme
"I had an interview that was unlike any other interview I’ve ever had. It was a room full of other applicants and the 'interviewer.'"
"The interviewer was telling us about the job, asked if anyone had any questions, and then said we were all hired."
"I didn’t fill any paperwork out thank goodness. After he said we were all hired, half the people including myself walked out."
"The job was to go door to door selling knives, and we would have to pay $2k for our demo set of knives. Nope! No thanks!"
- bzsbal
Just Not a Match
"I was a dishwasher and I lasted one shift."
"I was 19. The owner/chef was a nice guy but I knew this wasn’t the job for me maybe one hour into my shift."
"I finished the shift, told him I wasn’t coming back, and asked for $40 cash to call it even. He obliged. He even gave me a bowl of risotto."
- PewdyDewdy
More Self-Respect Than That
"I was a waitress and I didn't even last out the shift."
"I had a job and it was my day off. An acquaintance begged me to help out waitressing for the night because his work was really short-staffed. I was traveling and staying in a backpacker's, so I didn't really have the right gear and had to pull something together really last minute."
"I got there and the manager gave me a hard time about my black pants and gave me a bit of a dressing down in front of the rest of the staff about my lack of professionalism because my pants were men's suit pants."
"I started work feeling pretty down and then the penny dropped. This guy isn't my boss, I'm only helping them out of a jam. I took my apron off and walked out without saying anything to anyone. Best feeling ever."
- sometimessnowing
We've likely all had at least one job that we didn't enjoy or that we didn't feel like was a good fit for us, but so many of us tried to stick it out, either waiting for something better to come along or sticking around for the paycheck.
These stories of people walking out with more self-respect than the job showed were almost cathartic in a way!
Men Who've Had A Woman Move In With Them Explain How A 'Woman's Touch' Improved Things
All of us have our own unique set of talents, and talents around the home are no exception.
But men have pointed out that after having a woman live with them, their home went from simply functional to welcoming and cozy.
Redditor Fortuna_Pulling asked:
"Men who [have lived] alone and then had a woman move into your place, what are some examples of 'a woman's touch' that she added?"
So Comforting.
"So many blankets everywhere."
- OxtailPhoenix
An Annoying Number of Pillows
"So many f**king throw pillows. I can't sit on the couch without moving some. And then where am I supposed to put them?
I'm okay with decorating, but not when it gets in the way of an object's function."
- Pac_Eddy
"I don't get it either, although I'm not nearly as girly as my sister."
"I went to visit them and there was a small mountain of throw pillows at the foot of the bed by the time I cleared them off, all to sleep in their guest bedroom."
- Lady_von_Stinkbeaver
The Garden Feature
"She made a raised flower bed in my backyard and planted a nice little vegetable garden."
- johnsonfromsconsin
"Yeah, my wife is the one who works with plants. I mow the lawn and occasionally rake the leaves when they fall. Also, I trim the two big bushes we have in the backyard once a year. Even that feels like too much yard work for me (but I’m too cheap to pay someone else to do it for me). She likes digging in the dirt. I don’t, never did."
- ChronoLegion2
Surrounded By Loved Ones
"Apparently I am supposed to have pictures of my loved ones in my house. Who knew?"
- BillionaireGhost
Not Knowing What They Had
"My house is plain as f**k. My ex had it looking like a home. Decor/rugs/wall hangings, etc. It was 10 times better. She took it all when she left and I never got around to trying it out myself. I should, though. It really looked so much better."
- depressedf**kboi
Home Sweet Ship
"I worked on a ship when a female cook-steward started working there, before the crew were all male."
"Within a couple of days, the mess and galley were transformed. Tablecloths, curtains, coasters, it was really all new, the galley became a water-cooler kinda place where you always could go to have a chat and get a snack, the galley always smelled of cooking and she was listening to her radio."
"It was a real game changer from the former grumpy guy and sterile setting. Our skipper loved it."
- TheCapten
Out of Thin Air
"A friend of mine, who grew up with his dad and two brothers, told me they found out his dad had a girlfriend when suddenly a candle appeared in the living room out of nowhere."
- The_Sceptic_Lemur
Actual Furniture
"She replaced my cardboard box with an end table. Unnecessarily."
- shytster
"The NERVE!"
- NuttonButton
The Moment He Knew
"I came home once from work. She’d made an awesome dinner. Put cut-up strawberries in the salad."
"Strawberries, guys. It was game over."
"We've been married nine years now and she’s still doing everything on a strawberries-in-the-salad level."
- Gr8BrownBuffalo
Improved Living
"Before my wife moved in (girlfriend at that time), I lived with a friend and our flat looked pretty bad, more like a university student flat than anything else. Zero decorations, old furniture from the landlord, horrible cream color walls, etc."
"Since we were always at work and barely home, it was not a problem for us. Living abroad, I always considered it a temporary place and didn't have much attachment to it, so I didn't want to spend time and money to improve the space."
"Once she moved in, we slowly started making it into a real home. We painted the walls, bought furniture, plants, hung some photos, bought a cat, etc. It made such a huge difference and improved our quality of life, to be honest."
- vgcamara
It's Called "A Variety"
"The million shampoo bottles and all the seasonings."
- ButtervonBaum
More Accessories
"Pictures, curtains, cushions. Little tables to put your drinks on. Coasters! So much stuff, bless her."
- stumpytoeskiing
"For some reason, a couple of different companies send me little magazines every once in a while, so I just use those as coasters. It’s always fun to see what’s on the cover of my new coasters."
- Freedom_7
Organized Like a #CleanTok Video
"My messy fridge turned into a very clean and organized 'refrigeratohrrr.'"
- badboogyman
The At-Home Bakery
"She always gets vanilla candles, and now this house always smells like a bakery, and GOD D**MIT, I LOVE IT."
- Big-Routine222
A Happy Home
"A warmth and happiness I didn’t know I was missing and CERTAINLY didn’t know how to cultivate."
"Art, glassware style unity, refrigerator organization, multiple sets of sheets… The list goes on. A million little touches that compile a happy home."
- CoolAndGroovy
Though there are a few jokes thrown in here, it's heartwarming to see how well-received a comfy and cozy home was for these men on the subReddit and how they're willing to contribute all of those feelings to their partner's hard work.
The people you love can hurt you the most.
When a relationship is on the rocks due to an incompatibility awareness or an unfaithful lover, it can feel like all hope is lost.
But there are worse things to come when the inevitable breakup happens.
Ending a relationship is bad enough as it is, but the words said in the heat of the moment can be like twisting the knife after being stabbed in the heart.
Strangers online revisited their dating history to share their lowest point in a relationship after Redditor thedamned234 asked:
"What is the worst thing your EX said during the breakup?"
These Redditors were kicked while they were down.
There are Options
"I can have any guy in this room, why would I want to be with you."
– wyoflyboy68
"No, you can f'k every guy in this room. It's different."
– PinceTancredi
Dispensible
"After I financially supported her for three years, I paid the travel expenses for American Idol auditions and one America's Got Talent audition. After I nursed her through her recovery after gastric bypass surgery, she said this,"
"You are worthless and I don't have time for you anymore."
– Elle12881
Actions Hurt The Most
"Abusive relationship for 3 years. Finally had enough and broke up with her after taking her to dinner. She got hostile (again) and I literally f'king ran out the restaurant. The worst was her screaming my name while driving in circles around the casino parking lot, honking the horn. She was not sad. She was angry as f'k."
– chaoticneutraldood
Trust issues were at the heart of these problematic relationships.
Hurting Before Getting Hurt
"Justifying her cheating because she thought I was cheating on her."
"I wasn't."
– TopTurtleWorld
"My girlfriend has been accusing me of cheating the last few months. I’ve been depressed and kind of distant, but I still only want her. My greatest fear in life is this. I don’t know what that says about my relationship and self-esteem but here we are."
– VANY11A
Just Someone She Lived With
"My last ex left me for the person she was cheating on me with, after 3 years together. When she came to get the last of her stuff, she would only talk about how she was worried she'd screwed up things with her new partner, cause he didn't know she was with me at the time. She'd lied to him and just said I was someone she lived with."
"She wasn't even sorry about what she'd done to me, just that it was causing problems with the person she actually cared about. Been hard to feel good about myself since then."
– Cheesus333
These words sting the most.
Oof!
"I wish we never met."
– Skyx10
"I usually get something similar from enemies and my brother"
– thedamned234
Undesireable
"My 2nd two year relationship, 'I feel disgusted when I touch you' that ate at me for a while. Much healthier and happy spot now."
– khadmon
By The Way
"Well, it is better than 'I'm breaking up with you because Im getting married tomorrow, please leave or I'll file a restraining order.' After 5 years in a relationship."
– sam-sung
Father Figure
"You'll never be a great father (before I even had children)."
"No reason why she should have said that except I held off having children with her because she was a heavy smoker and lied about quitting. I am now a father of two in a happy marriage of 9+ years. My kids tell me they love me every night and I spend almost all my money on them making memories, not stuff."
– cubsfanrva79
Consolation Prize
"After 5 and a half years: 'I was just afraid I would end up alone, so I settled for you.' Immediately after the break up she had a new boyfriend."
– kokosnoot32
Roommates With Benefits
"6 years and she used the same line on me as she did with the guy before me."
"We were just roommates who f'ked for the last 6 months"
"I'd bought us our firat house 3 months before."
"Over a year later and I'm still broken mess."
– accused_throwaway22
There's no way to soften the blow when it's time to breakup with someone–the worst of which happens when it's a unilateral decision.
Although I give compassion points for those who are not hostile during breakups, it doesn't help when they say, "It's not you it's me."
Like, that makes things so much better.
What do you think is the gentlest and honest way to breakup with someone?