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People Explain Which Things Everyone Assumes About Them Based On Their Appearance

People Explain Which Things Everyone Assumes About Them Based On Their Appearance
Image by gabrielle_cc from Pixabay

Whenever I visit clothing stores, I make it a point to fold the clothes I unfurl. That is apparently my downfall as a customer.


Because of this, fellow customers often peg me as an employee and always ask me questions like where the bathroom is, or if the store has certain sizes left in stock.

Umm, no, I don't work here. I'm just a responsible customer. As you were.

Many of us make assumptions about other people just by looking at them. Who knew we were so presumptuous?

Curious to hear the experiences of strangers online, Redditor lilmizzvalz asked:

"What do people assume about you, based on your appearance?"

People often misinterpret moods based on how someone looks. That's unfair, wouldn't you say?

Assuming Expressions

"That I'm caring and supportive. I have a resting nice face."

Shoddy_Natural4217

​Perpetually Angry

"That I am always mad. Nope just dissociating and staring off into space."

AeBS1978

Not Meaning To Be Mean

​"That I'm mean. I have a resting mean face for a dude I guess. Also lately it's worse because I'm bigger now. I don't really notice how my face appears but apparently, I seem angry when I'm looking at stuff."​

"'You should smile' and 'are you ok?' comments followed me from busboy, waiter, bartender my whole career."

iBelieveInSpace

When it comes to measuring intelligence of others, some people are just way off.

Hard To Live Up To Expectations

"That I'm clever. People keep saying it to me, but I'm dumb and that sh*t is hard to live up to."

"I have glasses."

suicidebytiger

Eyes Full Of Wisdom

"I apparently have something similar going on mixed with looking like I know sh*t, because people come up to me in public and ask about directions, bus schedules and stuff all the time. Like, they'll deliberately avoid other people to ask me. Including when I'm abroad and should look a bit out of place."

Water-Chestnut

Intellectual Disability

"They assume I have an intellectual disability. (And also that I'm deaf, since I'm not able to speak.)"

"No, I am a person with two university degrees who happen to need a wheelchair because of a nasty neurological illness."

JRL1981

People don't always look their age. Some don't even act their age. But these Redditors have gotten their fair share of wrong guesses for their ages.

Forever Young

"That I'm 15."

"I'm 22."

Agent_144

Eternal Pupil

"I'm 38 and a doctor. 'Did you just finish school?' EVERY DAY."

aevictory

Opposite Impression

"This thread was depressing to read as I am 38 but often get mistaken for 50. I hate y'all and your youthful beauty."

YazzGawd

Some people are typed out as certain types of people with just one look.

Watch Your Tone

"That I have a southern accent. Not one stranger has ever suspected that I have a 'New Jersey' accent (Born and raised in New Jersey before moving south)"

Treeflower77

Not A Biker

"That I ride a Harley and/or work on them. I'm bald with a long goatee and tons of tattoos, but I'm in IT for a living and don't ride motorcycles at all."

osborns

Like others have expressed in the thread, I've also been accused of having "resting b*tch face."

You know, that neutral expression where you're not smiling the one time you're not in a situation where you have to be "on" for other people?

Yeah, that one.

If someone's resting face comes across as unfriendly, well, perhaps it's best not to upset them by asking them what's wrong all the time. Just sayin'.

When two people decide to get married, everyone hopes for a “happily ever after” ending. Sometimes, though, the union is doomed from the start. These Redditors share some red flag moments from weddings that should have brought the impending nuptials to a grinding halt—but didn’t. Constant fighting and cheating are only the tip of the iceberg.

1. Work Wife Vs. Real Wife

The groom spent almost the entire wedding glued to his female work colleague, to the point that the bride had to drag him away for their first dance. They also kept going off somewhere together. You could see the obvious hurt on the bride's face throughout the day. But that’s not the craziest part.

Prior to the wedding, he'd taken his colleague away abroad for his stag. It was just the two of them, despite the bride's protests, and in his wedding speech, he pointed his colleague out and told her that he'd had "the best time of his life" that weekend.

They're still together at the moment, but I don't see it being the happy ending that the bride was so desperate for.

Hodifer

2. Nothing But Complaints

The bride-to-be told me two days before the wedding that she found her fiancé annoying and that she didn’t like him, and that he was AWFUL in bed. She was visibly, endlessly uncomfortable at the rehearsal wedding/dinner combination. Then, she cried the ENTIRE morning, the day of her wedding. She ended up not getting any makeup done because she wouldn’t stop scream-crying, and refused to get dressed, stalling the wedding for about 35 minutes.

She then said 45 minutes of “vows” that she had prepared. It was nine pages of things like inappropriate vows to friends and family, his parents and sisters, but none of them were to her husband. Then, she ALMOST didn’t say “I do”. They managed to get a, “Uh, yeah, okay, yeah I do” out of her almost a full 60 seconds after she was supposed to say anything.

I could go on for HOURS, but it was the most painful and awkward wedding I have ever been to. I’ve got my money on it lasting about 10 months. Two and a half months later, she would gossip about how awful her husband was, and they were in couples therapy. At five months, there were fighting non-stop and there were no more lovey-dovey images on social media. They seem to be right on track for a 10-month breakup as I predicted.

brbdead

3. Their Vows Didn’t Show Much Promise

woman with white floral headdress beside white wallPhoto by Valerie Elash on Unsplash

The groom hated the bride’s family, and the groom’s family didn’t approve of the bride, which made for a very awkward wedding! The bride’s vows made things especially awkward. She said something along the lines of “I promise to try and be worthy of your family”—and we all raised eyebrows at each other.

The groom’s speech was all about how much he has helped his bride change for the better and how he “made her what she is”. My eyebrows were practically falling off the top of my head at that point. It’s been a few months so I guess we will wait and see, but I found it to be very controlling.

harlot-bronte

4. Teenage Wasteland Wedding

My cousin was in the Army, and his bride was six months pregnant, a senior in high school, and she had just turned 18 the previous day. Her grandfather was the officiant and he gave a big speech about how marriage was only between one man and one woman and no one can tear apart what God puts together. They opened their gifts in front of everyone like it was a birthday party.

There was no booze, dancing, or food. Within 30–40 minutes after the gift opening, the "happy" couple peeled out of the Boy Scout lodge, doing donuts while her teenage friends cheered them on. They spent the night at the hotel everyone was staying at—separately—which consisted of him getting trashed with his friends while she was alone in their room. In front of our entire family, my sister said, "I give them a year."

She was wrong, though. Within three months of the kid arriving, they had split and my cousin swears the kid isn't his. The whole wedding was one giant red flag.

Siffinstein

5. The Groom’s Behavior Had The Bride Shook

After the ceremony, the bride, who had epilepsy, had a seizure and her family took her into a side room away from all the guests to look after her until she’d recovered. The groom’s reaction was brutal. He didn’t bother to go and help look after his wife, he was too busy getting sloshed and partying with all his mates. Even after the bride recovered enough to return to the celebrations, he didn’t stay with her or comfort her, and she sat there in tears for half the night. It lasted a couple of years before they divorced due to his selfishness and drinking.

Rayemonde

6. My Big Fat Gay Wedding

man in gray sweater sitting beside woman in gray sweaterPhoto by Renate Vanaga on Unsplash

The best man, the groom's lifelong best friend, was gay, and all but one of the groomsmen were gay as well. I knew the bride for years before the marriage, from before she met the groom. We never dated or considered dating, but we were part of each other's core social groups. The bride and groom met in college, where they dated casually.

He would always take her to family functions back home, but when they were back at school he would distance himself. A few years after the wedding, the groom's father passed. Within a week of the funeral, he told her it wasn't working and moved in with the best man. Everyone did their best to act shocked. From the first time I met him, I knew he was gay.

This was before I met or even heard about the best friend. He didn't react at all to her, or to other women. His eyes just didn't go where the eyes of a guy who's interested in women go. He was fit and well-groomed, and I saw more than one female flirting attempt crash and burn. All her friends tried to warn her; we literally took turns. It's just sad that he lost so much time to keep from disappointing his father, and that she lost so much time participating in his lie.

Permalink

7. She’s Just Not That Into You

The groom was madly in love with his fiancée, but always got the vibe she just wasn’t that into it. During the wedding, he was so nervous he stuttered. The bride rolled her eyes and looked mad. Then later in the night, after dinner and music had started, the bride got annoyed that people weren’t staying in their allocated seats. They had a “wishing well” for presents, and we added our anonymous gift with a card and thought that was that.

One week later, we got an infuriating call. They said that we did not put ours in. This ended up getting so bad it tore down multiple friendships for the groom. The bride wanted enough money to buy a house. It turned out the bride was cheating on him the whole time with someone who was also married. He ended up leaving her about two years later when a family friend told him about the cheating. She was then threatening to take half his business if he didn’t pay her rent for the following months.

soria1

8. The Bride And Her Lover

The bride was pregnant, and the groom might or might not have been the father. She also invited her lover to the wedding and got really angry with me because her lover was flirting with me. She had also slept with her sister's fiancé two months before the wedding. At the bachelorette party, she was snorting copious amounts of powder.

After her child was born, she got divorced and hubby got custody. She went back to live with her parents because she kept getting fired and couldn't support herself. It was the biggest trainwreck I've ever seen personally.

TwirlyShirley8

9. Friends Or Family?

a woman in an orange dress holding a bird on her armPhoto by Lance Reis on Unsplash

When I got married, it was a Renaissance fair-style wedding outside at a large gazebo and the maid of honor had promised to purchase a stylized dress for my bride that they had agreed on. Three days before the wedding, she revealed that she’d been keeping a secret. She called to tell us she had no money and was embarrassed to admit it. So, we literally hand-sewed one together in 24 hours. In my opinion, it turned out pretty nice for what we had.

The bride’s mother was supposed to pick up the cake and drive an hour south for the wedding. She left her house 30 minutes before the wedding to pick it up. When she finally showed up an hour late, the cake was DESTROYED. She had put it in the back seat and drove like mad all the way down, slamming it against its box with every turn. But then there was another twist. During the one-hour delay, there was almost a fistfight between two groomsmen because the maid of honor showed up in the dress that she was “unable to afford”.

It was an obvious attempt to upstage the bride. After the ceremony, during her speech, the same maid of honor started off by saying, “When we all met, I did not like [the groom] at all. However, I found that he grows on you like a fungus”. Needless to say, the entire side of my family didn’t appreciate all of this. Since all of these issues were on her side of friendships or families, I was told to suck it up, and we would discuss it later.

I sort of assumed that a lot of these “friends” had just shown themselves the door, but it was quite the opposite. In fact, two years later, when I accepted my first well-paying job out of college, it became an issue that it was an hour and a half out of Austin, where we were living. My wife decided to just stay in Austin to be with her friends. I mailed her the divorce papers and since she couldn't be bothered to even show up to the hearing, I never saw her again.

Drakkarim411

10. Bride-Beater Busted

Years ago, I attended a wedding and reception of a friend and neighbor. At the reception, the bride started crying. They were not happy tears either, but rather long, heartfelt weeping. Ten months later, she had a baby, and the next month he beat her up so badly she passed out on the front lawn. Her ex, who was a big, big guy and the father of her first two children, came over to their house.

He dragged the new husband out by his hair and beat him on the front lawn. The new hubby left town, and she divorced him right after that. Then we found out his first wife divorced him for beating her up too.

lovestobeme

11. It Was His Way Or The Highway

My ex-husband kept completely bulldozing the wedding plans. For instance, I didn't get to choose ANY of the music at all. He shut down things and made me feel small. I just kept acquiescing to his non-negotiable wedding ideas. He was also mad because people didn't execute them as he wanted. He wasn't smiling as I came down the aisle because the DJ got the music wrong.

All that should just have been a red flag that it was an unhealthy relationship. I was young, naive, and stayed way too long. It lasted 10.5 years, and those sorts of things never changed. We could never talk and compromise; it was either his way or the highway. If it didn’t go his way, I was a horrible human being for not giving him his way.

If I suggested a paint color for the living room, it was shot down. If he arrived at the same color on his own, it was great. I literally could not suggest something without being made to feel inconsequential. But, he expected me to jump, cater, and give in to anything he wanted, exactly as he wanted. He was always so critical of everything. Never again will I put up with that.

meadowpeace

12. He Just Needed A Hug

man in gray suit and woman in white wedding dressPhoto by Євгенія Височина on Unsplash

I attended the very big, very religious wedding of a 21-year-old bride and a 22-year-old groom. They lied about where they met—it was on Tinder. The night before, the groom and members of the wedding party were playing truth or dare. During a round, the groom admitted his biggest love language was touch but that his significant other hated to express affection physically.

He said that all he wanted was to be cuddled sometimes, and she’d refuse. He said he hoped it got better after they were married. All the groomsmen made frantic eye contact and changed the subject.

giraffewoman

13. The Judge Tried To Warn Her

I worked as a county prosecutor. I did a sentencing where the guy was sent to prison for about two years. As I was walking out of the courtroom, his girlfriend asked the judge to marry her to her boyfriend, who was going to be incarcerated. The judge said she needed a marriage license and there was a two-day waiting period—he was basically telling her not to marry the guy. But she’d planned ahead.

Then, she pulled out the marriage license. The judge told her that she needed two witnesses, and she was alone. The dude's attorney grabbed me by the arm and enthusiastically volunteered us to be the witnesses. The wedding went through. The guy was in an orange jumpsuit and was shackled during the ceremony.

Medicivich

14. The Counting Game

The bride and groom secretly married and told no one because their relationship would cost him his job. They had a wedding one year later, about a month after she graduated college. While at the reception, we were playing a “counting game” which consisted of “How many groomsmen has the bride slept with”? It was all eight of them. The groom had slept with three of the bridesmaids so there was that, too.

Then, we started the betting pool at the reception which only played country music and served grits three ways with beers. I won the bet. It lasted six months after the ceremony, which isn’t too surprising, as the bride went home with the guitarist from the band playing at the reception instead of with the groom.

tonks118

15. His Frat Boy Ways

a couple of men standing next to each otherPhoto by Nima Sarram on Unsplash

I went to my wife's coworker’s wedding. She was the sweetest person and her fiancé was a total slob. He was just a cocky, out-of-shape, burnt-out frat guy. He had told her to her face about all the girls he'd slept with and how he'd had perfect weeks where he'd slept with a different girl every night. I’m pretty sure this was a bad technique to try and make her stick around and think he was desirable. But he saved the worst for the wedding.

That was where he drank so much, he passed out before anyone had left and she had to take him to their hotel room while passed out. She didn’t get to finish her own wedding or have a wedding night. I felt so sad for her.

jonathanweb100

16. Dancing Around The Real Issues

My wedding was full of red flags. My ex-wife had a taste for theatrics and wanted a choreographed dance number for the first dance. She also wanted the whole wedding party involved, but there was no interest. I'd never danced, not even at a club, but was willing to take lessons with her with the understanding we would do something together, so she could have her dream wedding.

I sucked but got through a few lessons of slow dancing. The dance school wouldn't choreograph anything for us, so she promptly gave up. When it came to choosing the song, she decided she wanted “I Want You To” by Weezer, which was my favorite band and the song had just come out. It has a jamboree feel to it; it is not a song to slow dance to.

So, I suggested we choose something else, but she insisted we would just slow dance to it. I made her promise she wouldn't change her mind. Sure enough, 30 seconds into the song, she backed up and started dancing a jig. I just stood there in disbelief, fuming, while she kept shouting and motioning for me to dance in front of all our guests.

To boot, we had set a budget, and she exceeded it. Then her parents decided to chip in $5K, and rather than use it to offset what we were over budget for, she decided to spend more. In retrospect, that should have been a huge clue that she didn't respect me at all. She cheated on me and ran off with some guy a year later. She got remarried before we were officially divorced.

theradiomatt

17. No Arguing It Wouldn’t Last

I was a groomsman at my friend’s wedding. The rest of the groomsmen were guys he met while stationed in the Air Force, and they knew his fiancée much better than I did. During the entire week leading up to the wedding, she would call him constantly and just straight-up yell as soon as he answered; then, they would argue.

During the week, the other groomsmen kept telling me that they didn’t like her and how much of a pain she was. At the wedding, one of the groomsmen came up to me and said, “I can’t wait to see you guys at his second wedding”. I laughed so hard.

theOperentice

18. Big Wedding Gone Bust

a man and woman kissingPhoto by Chip Vincent on Unsplash

The bride didn't look happy to be walking down the aisle. She was smiling, but it was very much a pasted-on smile that I assumed was because she was nervous. I found out at the wedding that her parents had offered to pay for either a big wedding or pay for a small wedding then give them the money for a down payment for a house. She wanted a big wedding. Big mistake.

Where we lived, the housing market was insanely competitive and this was at the peak of the housing prices, right before the crash. Her parents basically offered her the ability to jump-start their lives together. Instead, she turned it down for the big party with her as the center of attention. It was over within two years, and she didn't even seem upset about it.

scarletnightingale

19. Knocked Up And Fed Up

My high school best friend got pregnant from the first guy she dated upon joining the Air Force. She grew up in a super strict, and really weird household. She didn’t know anything about birth control or dating. I moved back to our hometown a few weeks before she came home to get married. She asked me to be a bridesmaid, along with her five sisters, and I agreed.

The guy brought his parents and enough friends to fill out the party. We spent two days around her house just getting to know each other, which was pretty fun. I had been flirting with a couple of the guys, which annoyed one of the sisters. So, she called me out for having a “tramp stamp” and embarrassed me. I really hate being the center of attention, so it was extra awful.

I’m sure it was obvious I was mortified. The wedding went on. The bride bawled the whole time and was about six months pregnant at the time. After the vows, she disappeared for a little bit to clean up. The groom and I ended up chit-chatting while everyone was mingling. It was the first time I had even really spoken to him. He ended up talking about my tattoos, and how attractive they were.

I tried to play it off as him being polite until he said something about inviting me to his hotel room later to show me his own tattoos, which were apparently located in some inappropriate places. I had no idea what to say, so I laughed and said I needed to change out of my heels. It was awful, and I felt so bad for her, but I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.

Most likely, since they lived a couple of states away and had JUST gotten married with a baby on the way, I would have been the one who was blamed. So, I just lived with the guilt. She got divorced less than three years later, at about 22 years old. He cheated a lot, and she finally got fed up. She then took a vow to be celibate afterward.

Because she had a child with him, she chose to just be single rather than confuse her child with a new spouse. I never understood her logic, but I supported her choice. It’s been 10 years, and she’s still single. I don’t feel like she’s ever really even experienced what it’s like to be with a good spouse, and I feel terrible for her.

Cukimonster

20. Keeping With Tradition Spelled Disaster

I come from a very large Indian family, portions of which still strongly believe in "traditional marriage", such as child brides, forced marriage, and uncle/niece marriages. There was one wedding where a woman in the family eventually found the guy of her dreams and wanted to marry him. However, as her older brother was unmarried, she was not allowed to marry until he did first.

So, their parents forced the brother to marry an emotionally manipulative girl. He clearly understood what she was like prior to getting married. He went through with it anyway on the pretext that he was okay "sacrificing" his life for the sake of his sister. It was a complete disaster.

Within two years they were divorced. He eventually married again, for love, but got divorced again. He is now preparing to marry for the third time, again at the behest of his family because "it's not okay" for the older brother to be single while the younger sister is married.

hulidoshi

21. Lack Of Devotion

group of people dancingPhoto by Mitchell Orr on Unsplash

I went to a beautiful wedding a few summers ago. It was a quiet backyard wedding, in a beautiful woodsy neighborhood. The couple had been happily dating for eight years and were about to buy a house. The only thing that seemed kind of off was the fact that the groom cried tears of joy, but the bride didn't. She spent the entirety of the reception dancing by herself or talking to family, not really paying her new husband much attention.

It was a busy day, so nobody really thought much of it. Two years later, she cheated on him with a guy she had just met, filed for divorce, and moved in with the new guy immediately. The husband was devastated and still hasn't moved on despite getting constant offers. His wife very openly didn’t care and has since flooded her social media with cutesy updates and pictures of her new relationship. I suppose the wedding day was a glimpse into the imbalance of devotion in their relationship.

LemonFly4012

22. Princess Bride

A rich guy married a girl with stars in her eyes. The wedding was insane. As you walked in, there was a guy on each of the double doors opening them in unison. They actually paid two people to do this little dance and stand there all day. When you walked in, there was what must have been $10,000 worth of giant flower arrangements in the entryway.

Then there was another double door with two more guys opening them. The wedding was nuts with string quartets, and no expense was spared. However, during the reception, I overheard the bride saying something to her friends about how he better keep working to "keep her". I've seen this princess mentality before, it never works out. A relationship needs each party to be equal.

kperkins1982

23. A Tainted Tribute

We were friends of the bride. We met the groom’s parents for the first time just before the start of the wedding. Instead of offering nice remarks about our friend—their daughter-in-law to be—they spent the entire conversation talking about how wonderful their son was, which struck my wife and me as odd. The marriage lasted a little less than one month.

It also resulted in the birth of a boy who has never met his father, who not only demanded a paternity test but who has never set foot in the state where his son lives. If he did, he would be forced to pay child support, which he has never done, despite the wealth of his family, who were so effusive in their praise of him.

BrStFr

24. The Best Man Got Things Off With A Bang

I was a wedding videographer. About 10 years ago, I was filming a rather prestigious wedding. Everything was going great until the reception. The best man got up to give a speech, and started by saying, “Well, I guess now is as good a time as any to let the groom know I’ve been banging the bride for years”. The room parted into “his” and “hers”, and the groom ran out, never to be seen again. The bride’s parents asked me to send them the video, as they felt so guilty over what happened. I got paid, so it didn’t bother me either way, but it was the best red flag I’ve seen by far!

djillusions24

25. She Was A Gold Digger

people raising wine glass in selective focus photographyPhoto by Al Elmes on Unsplash

My cousin—who’s not a very nice lady—married some poor sucker rather quickly into their relationship. He was a super smart and successful accountant for an aerospace company and she was a nobody. Although that shouldn’t matter In love, in her case we knew what was up. We all knew the real reasons for this unholy matrimony, mostly because she was following in her mother’s footsteps, who was a raging forest fire of a magnum gold digger.

We took great pity for the pain, time, and large amounts of money this guy was sure to suffer. During the ceremony, this guy spontaneously developed a tick. He started throwing his head back and forth, almost as if the Good Lord himself was smacking him. His jaw must have started to lock up because he kept opening it as wide as he could and sticking his tongue out.

It was as if he had this sudden cramp in his entire speak-hole area, and he wouldn’t be able to utter the solidifying words. At the “I do” part, when it was his turn, he took three big violent shakes side-to-side and stretched his jaw super wide. A couple of months later, she was banging at least one other guy, accusing hubby of beating her and of being emotionally taxing, but we all knew better.

Permalink

26. Happiness Is Key

I had a destination wedding. The night before, another couple was getting married, and they had to pass through the restaurant we were in to get to the reception area. The looks on their faces said it all. They looked miserable. They weren’t holding hands, not excited, nothing. It was like the ending of The Graduate. I originally gave them some slack, thinking that having a wedding is hard and exhausting.

However, the next night, at our wedding, we didn’t stop smiling for a second. When we were alone, passing through the restaurant to get to our reception space, we were both giddy, excited, and nervous, but we were happy.

IcedBanana

27. The Bride Wanted A Frisky Frolic

woman in white sleeveless dressPhoto by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

My friend got married to his baby mama after their kid was a few years old. Their wedding had a good reception and the bride was a great wing woman, so the bridesmaid and I left to have a party of our own. We came back and joined the after-party and everybody was feeling pretty good. Soon enough, the bride was sitting at the bar by me, started making comments, and getting pretty grabby.

I tried to get away, as things were getting awkward. So, I waved my buddy—the groom—over and told him what was up and he should probably get her out of there. She told him she just wanted to feel my willie but I wouldn't let her, and they proceeded to get into a fight. Years later, they were still together, but there is no way she's been faithful, and he refused to see it. I wish him the best of luck.

Logisticsbtchs

28. Time For A Change

When my cousin met his wife-to-be, she gradually chipped away at him by molding his personality to how she wanted him to be. In the end, gone was the cheeky lovable personality, his friends, and his hobbies. I barely saw him anymore, and neither did most of his family. The last I saw him was at our grandad’s funeral after they had been married for about a year.

Aside from the fact it obviously was a sad occasion, he was a completely different person. Even at the wedding, he was noticeably miserable. They divorced another year or so later. Apparently, he was boring and not the man she fell in love with, so cheating on him was the logical thing for her to do. I haven't seen or spoken to him since the funeral but I hear he's doing okay.

LetOneRip

29. The Groom Became Texas Toast

My best friend was getting married. I met the bride-to-be about six months before the wedding. She was the southern Texas “treat me like a princess and I’ll tolerate you” type. I was the “loud obnoxious city slicker that will say things to see how you react” type. She started to disallow him to see me, even when I drove two hours just to see him for the day.

By the time the wedding happened, I walked down the aisle of the wedding party bus taking bets on how long the marriage would last. No one, including the bridesmaids, said over three years. The bride got mad at me for undoing my tie at the $30K reception. I looked at her and just shook my head. A year and a half later, I found out the dark truth about her.

She was banging the marriage counselor her father was making them go to see because he couldn’t have his clients knowing his daughter wanted a divorce.

I ended up helping my friend pack all of his stuff in a box truck and driving him across the country for a new start. I ended up being his best man in his second wedding and they are perfect together.

Permalink

30. The Odds Were Stacked Against Them

a large statue in a large room with people standing aroundPhoto by Michael M on Unsplash

I was at a poker table in Las Vegas over Labor Day weekend; it was late Saturday night. Next to me was a lady in her mid-20s, a naturally pretty country girl. She was a decent poker player, having a good time. Next to her was a dude, also in his mid-20s, in good shape, and rough around the edges. He was a decent poker player, but he was drinking and getting loud.

It was about 11 PM, and these two had been married for about 3-4 hours at that point. She had a bad hand, but it didn’t doesn't matter, as she was breaking even for the night. He dropped about $300-$400, and I noticed that a couple of players were keying in on him. By midnight, he was getting louder, and was warned for swearing at the table.

Everybody at the table was hoping to get a piece of his money when he started going crazy.

At 1 AM, he was down $1,000. They were going to play all night, as their plane was leaving in 10 hours, and they didn’t have a room at any hotel. At 2 AM, she was up $100 and was rock solid. She's gone from chatty to super-quiet. Her hubby was all over the place and was dropping about $200 an hour to the table.

At 3 AM, I left the table. I couldn’t help but wonder what possessed a “solid 8+ of a woman” to marry a pathetic trashed mess of a boy. I can't imagine a world where he didn't do something bad that night that she had to clean up. And, looking back, I can't imagine a world where he doesn't do something bad that she has to clean up every few days.

CatOfGrey

31. The Bride Had A Dark Side

A guy I know met, got married to, and divorced this girl in under two years. She was ten years younger than him. He came to find out that she was a pillhead and was buying all sorts of dope on the dark web. She had a rich family who kept giving her money and meddling in the details of their marriage, like buying car insurance, buying a mattress, and such.

Said rich family made them get married on the family property. During the wedding, the bride’s dad said to the groom, “That empty lot over there is a place for [my daughter] to have a house”. There was no mention of him. But that’s not the worst part. She was cheating on him with a guy elsewhere in the state, and when my friend found evidence of their relationship, she told him that the guy had assaulted her.

She took this claim so far with her family that they never knew the truth until the last round of divorce negotiations, when my buddy’s lawyer dropped all the evidence he got from her phone on them, along with transactions for her dope dealings. She got nothing.

TelaTheSpy

32. Double-Dealing Dog

I was the best man at a wedding, and the groom disappeared on the morning of the wedding. He went AWOL for several hours. My wife overheard the bride in tears in the bathroom at the reception, saying she shouldn't have married him, and asked what she was doing. It turned out his absence was to go and speak to another full-on girlfriend—who none of us knew about—to break up with her before he got married. He was leading a double life. They split up within a couple of years when it all came out, but sadly not before they had a kid.

TumTiTum

33. Early Intervention

group of people prayingPhoto by Samantha Gades on Unsplash

I brought my girlfriend to a buddy’s wedding, and a conversation about kids came up. She told me she wouldn’t want kids for at least another ten years. We were only about six months in at that point, but things seemed pretty serious. I was sure I wanted kids with her, and I told her I’d be totally supportive of her if she ever became pregnant, whatever her decision was. Well, that’s when I learned she’d been keeping a devastating secret.

A few hours and a handful of drinks later, she told me she had recently gotten an abortion during our relationship. I didn’t know if it was mine or not; it was kind of a red flag.

Permalink

34. An Exercise In How Not To Act

It wasn’t the couple getting married who had red flags flying, but the best man and maid of honor, who were married to each other. The best man's speech was all about how hard it was to be married. He said, "I've been married for a year and it feels like 100 years". The maid of honor stood up to give her speech and just said, "Ditto". It was so awkward and really brought the whole room down.

The brother of the bride stood up and gave a nice impromptu speech about teamwork, having a partner to go through life with, and how happy the family was to have the groom join their family. The best man and maid of honor were divorced within a year. The couple who got married was still married 30+ years later. I sometimes wonder if the speeches actually were helpful in how not to act as a couple.

designgoddess

35. All About The Groom, But What About The Bride?

I was the maid of honor at a wedding. They seemed like the perfect couple. They had been together for nearly ten years and had this big, expensive, beautiful wedding. The bride would have been happy with a small event, but she told me the groom had a big family and had insisted on a larger one. Alarm bells hit when I sat with her parents in the front row.

I realized the groom-to-bride ratio was so massively off. The groom had three best men, as well as ushers, etc. His sister and one best man read something during the ceremony, and then all three said long speeches about him at dinner. It was all about him. The photographer was even his friend’s mom, so she kept whisking away the boys for these “hilarious” guy shoots.

The bride was ignored most of the day and in the evening, the groom got too trashed, spilled a drink over her wedding gown, and danced with his friends. It felt more like a big birthday party than a joint event. I’d never seen that side of him, but I felt so sorry for my friend. It was like she was just there to be a prop to his plans and look good. Later, I learned the dark truth.

Three months after the wedding, he began being emotionally disparaging to her. A month after that, he admitted he’d been having an affair for years, then left. If I hadn’t seen the way he behaved at the wedding, I never would have guessed he had that in him. Four years later, my friend hasn’t been able to trust or date again yet, but I think she learned never to be a backseat passenger in a relationship again.

When he left, she told him that he would never see her, or hear from her, or about her again. She dropped all friends that had any connection with him and made sure he would always live his life wondering if he made the right decision and what she was up to.

GRC2772

36. A New Do And A Ring Too

shallow focus photo of man holding scissorsPhoto by Eugene Chystiakov on Unsplash

My college roommate was super reclusive. He never had any friends and never dated. One day, he told us he had a girlfriend. We’d never seen him with a girl, let alone talk to one. Toward the end of the semester, he ran into me near the apartment and asked if I was going to be gone around noon. I said I was and asked why. He told me he was going to propose to his girl, but he wanted me there and showed me the rather large diamond ring.

It was weird, but okay. It was the end of the semester, and everyone was busy with finals. The apartment was a mess. Dirty dishes were stacked high in the sink. My roommate’s idea to propose to this poor thing was to ask her to give him a haircut. She showed up before he or I did, so another roommate and she just sat there awkwardly.

We tried to clean up quickly, but we only had a few minutes. This was the first time we had met her and she was a supreme introvert. My roommate showed up and introduced her, and asked her if they could move along. He set up a chair in the kitchen and she started cutting his hair. He didn’t want to get hair on his shirt, so he got a big black trash bag and cut a hole in the bottom for his head only.

His arms were locked in the bag. She cut his hair, and his line to propose after she finished the haircut was, “If only I had something shiny to see my haircut”. She offered to get a mirror, but he repeated the same line louder and fumbled in his pocket and trash bag to retrieve the ring box. He was covered in hair, and his arms were awkwardly held against his body by the trash bag.

He opened the ring box, thrust it awkwardly at her, and went, “Hmmmmmmmmmmmm”? Meanwhile, she was backed into the sink with the dirty dishes. He didn’t really ask her to marry him. She put the ring on, said yes, and he left to go take a shower without kissing her or anything! She then sat on the couch, staring at the ring with a solemn look while the other roommate and I stared in disbelief at the train wreck that had just happened.

The semester ended, and they were still engaged. My roommate went across the country for an internship while she stayed in the college town. Then, my roommate got taken into custody at the airport and charged with possessing a fake grenade in his checked carry-on bags. He got out and came back to the college town. I ran into him about 4–5 months after the proposal mess. I asked how his fiancée was doing, and he replied, “I don’t know; I haven't talked to her since I left for the internship”. Somehow they are still married eight years later. It’s unbelievable.

harbormaster2

37. It Was A Losing Battle

I was friends with this couple for a couple of years in college. They got “secretly” married so they could live off campus. In the last year of school, they were getting “married for the first time” for their family and friends who didn’t know. The wedding day came around, and they had been fighting up to that point like cats and dogs. These two weren’t good for each other and made dumb decisions young.

Apparently, the first words they said to each other in two days was, “I do”. Even at the age of 21, I knew they wouldn’t stay together. Fast forward, and I ended up being roommates with them for one year. What a massive mistake. The fights, the throwing of things, the running out of the house during arguments, the lies told, etc., were crazy. They got divorced within a couple of years of that, and they both later remarried.

Permalink

38. Their Relationship Was Loaded With Problems

I was dating the best man at a wedding. The groom spent all his time hanging out with his buddies, and the bride spent all the time using illicit substances in the bathroom. I spent more time with the groom at the wedding than the bride did. She also flipped his brand new Jeep the day before the wedding because she was driving while loaded, and quit her job the day after the wedding because he was supposed to take care of her now.

They were married in November and separated by January. The groom later confided in my then-boyfriend that he thought getting married would solve everything.

bb_or_not_bb

39. Hitched On Hypocrisy

three people holding glass bottles while talkingPhoto by John Arano on Unsplash

Both the bride and the groom had their stags the night before. The groom and bride stood in the church, hungover, both mad at the other because they were hungover. At the party afterward, they practically refused to talk to each other because they were still mad at each other. It all came to a head at about midnight. They were fighting about literally being in the same condition as the other one but not wanting the other one to be in that condition.

I was kind of shocked, to be honest. There is a threshold of being just hypocritical and being entirely devoid of the ability of self-reflection. Both stood firmly in the second category. Here's the kicker, though. Both wanted a divorce because they both cheated just three months into the marriage. To this day, both blame the other for cheating and ruining the marriage because of it. In some very weird way, they fit each other perfectly.

UndeadBBQ

40. A Photo Finish

I was at a wedding where the couple had four professional photographers and two two-man videographer teams running around the wedding, capturing everything. The bride paid them more attention than her guests and only acknowledged the groom when she was being filmed. Her mailed-out wedding invitations were styled after a gossip magazine and were six pages—FRONT AND BACK.

They had about 12 photos of her looking lovey-dovey at her ring, or with a “surprised” face, and the groom faded in the background on his knee. There were more photos of her dog than the groom. They are currently in marriage counseling, but it’s not looking good. She has a laundry list of narcissistic things she’s done since the wedding, which was less than three years ago.

finlyboo

41. The Signs Were All There

I was the groom attending a Roman Catholic church for a wedding that was a full mass as well as the wedding nuptials. The priest’s sermon was about the effects of divorce in today's society, of all things. When it came time to exchange vows, the bride-to-be looked bloody terrified and not what you would expect a woman to look like at that point in time on her wedding day.

I, on the other hand, was well and truly in the moment, fully embracing the commitment I was about to make in front of my family, friends, and God. But, the emotional state of my fiancée was becoming more and more apparent to me. So, when the priest asked, "If anyone here has any reason that this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony let them speak now, or forever hold their peace", my expression and glances around the church were, in hindsight, a desperate cry for help.

It was the kind of foreshadowing that should have been laughably obvious at the time, but what does one do in that situation? I just wish I knew what I could have done at the time, and not gone on to suffer through a one-sided loveless marriage for over 26 years and lose everything in the process. While we were separated, I found out that she had somehow managed to divorce me without my being served divorce papers and had remarried.

DoctoreV

42. Rather A Roomie Than A Groomie

shallow focus photo of two men kissingPhoto by Glodi Miessi on Unsplash

My friend was gay and his best friend was getting married. We all used to joke that she was already his husband because they were roommates and had a very Will & Grace type of relationship. I didn’t know her that well but, I and some of our other friends, were invited to her wedding. After the wedding, at the reception, we were sitting with my friend.

The girl came up to our table, a little tipsy, and started crying about how she wished my friend was straight so that she could have married him instead. My friend took it all in stride while we and the other guests were horrified. The bride and her husband broke up 18 months later, and she and my friend are roommates once more.

NerdWithoutACause

43. The Bride Gave Off Some Bad Vibes

At my brother’s wedding, we were about to walk into the reception, and I assumed that speeches would be soon to follow. My family wasn’t all too fond of his wife, myself included, but I thought that I could at least give her a chance. I was talking to the maid of honor, who was also the bride’s little sister, and discovered that she had not prepared a speech.

She started freaking out, so I tried to calm her down and just give her some guidelines for something short and sweet to say that would go over well. She actually seemed like she was ready to pull it off. Then, the bride overheard our conversation and piped in, “Oh, no speeches. We’re not doing any speeches”. She was very firm on the matter, and my brother just kind of shrugged.

My reaction was something like, “Well then, why did I spend three days working on one”? I kept my cool, but I was mad. I had a really bad vibe from the incident, like their marriage was going to be a joke. She left my brother a month later.

taakowizard

44. Drama Was A Bonus

Many years ago, I was going out with a girlfriend, Kay, who had moved across the country to live with me, and was struggling to make friends. One night, I introduced her to one of my friend's girlfriends, and they became immediate best friends. This was an immediate red flag for me because this other girl was not exactly a nice person. However, I was glad that we now had a shared friend group and could go out together.

My friend’s girlfriend and my friend were getting married in a few months. A week before the wedding, Kay and I were spending the night in, and Kay was constantly texting on her phone. Eventually, she revealed that she was talking to the bride-to-be—and what she told me was seriously disturbing. The bride-to-be was with her ex in a hotel having a "bonus night" before she got "tied down forever".

My best friend was the best man; hence, I told him so that he could break it gently to our friend. However, the wedding went ahead as planned, surprisingly, and both have cheated on each other over their five-year marriage. I think some couples don't feel complete unless there is drama in their relationship, as my friends do seem very happy together when they're not shouting and fighting.

Ciderhero

45. The Icing On The Cake

a three tiered cake with figs on top of itPhoto by Melissa Walker Horn on Unsplash

In a lot of weddings, it is customary that the groom and bride feed each other the cake. It is not unusual that they will sometimes get some icing on each other's noses or even outright smash it against each other's lips. Usually, it's meant for good fun and whatnot. At this wedding, during the cake slicing, the groom got a little icing on the bride's nose, and she burst into tears.

She was full-on crying and accusing him of ruining their wedding in front of the entire party. It was hard to watch, especially since the groom was my cousin who is a sweet guy that's a playful goofball. He was pretty taken aback by her reaction and pulled her aside to console her along with her bridesmaids and maid of honor.

There were other red flags, like how the bride was insistent that the groom's family be seated 3-4 rows back, while her entire family, extended family, and all got to sit front and center. Then, she asked my parents and me to move from our assigned seats because she forgot that my cousin had invited us. She wanted some of her friends to sit there since it was close to the bride and groom's table. It was a bunch of things, but that cake-eating is what really made me know they were in a doomed relationship. They ended up lasting not even two years.

Keinnea

46. Taking Bets

I used to work in catering for weddings. There was this one couple, who got this beautiful old English Tudor venue, and they paid out a huge amount for the catering; it was for about 200 guests. They were all expected to arrive after the ceremony at 1 PM. Three hours later, they rocked up to the venue without so much as an explanation. There was no call that they would be late, no sign of any guests, nothing.

The staff was all standing around speculating “maybe they called it off, someone was stood up, etc.”, for hours. We started getting ready to pack everything up and just leave when we finally saw guests arriving. So, we started serving canapés and we saw the bride and groom for about two minutes before they walked off into the gardens to have a full-on screaming match.

The main topic of conversation with guests was literally betting on how long they would last, who is going to be the first to cheat, and things like that. They came back an hour later, now shouting at us saying, “Why aren’t the guests eating yet”? Meanwhile, we were waiting for them! After that, things actually went pretty smoothly. We finished serving and they started the toasts.

The guy’s friends were comedians, so the speeches are brilliant, but walking through topping up champagne, we could hear every table still murmuring offhand jokes or sarcastic comments about them not lasting, etc. I think they went off to argue a few more times after that. It was a lovely wedding with terrible people.

frankensteinsdoctor

47. The Butterfly Effect

My husband and I were doing the catering for a small wedding of fewer than 50 people. They had actually had their first date in our restaurant and asked us to cater their big day, which was sweet. It was a seaside wedding, very DIY, and even my kids helped set up. Under each folding chair in the wedding "audience", was a box to be retrieved and opened by the guests when the officiant told them to do so.

The goal of this was well-intentioned. The guests would lift the tops of the boxes to free what would become a sea of delicate butterflies, symbolic of their marital journey "taking off". Well, it ended in a truly gruesome scene. The butterflies all died in their boxes due to oxygen starvation, and when the lids were collectively released, their limp bodies were swept up in a vicious yet timely gust of wind. In one glorious moment, united, they were whipped off forcefully into the horizon.

owlsareahoot91

48. Dreaming Of Another

man in gray suit jacket sitting on chair beside man in gray suit jacketPhoto by Sam Balye on Unsplash

I was a groomsman at a wedding. As the night was winding up, the groom was nowhere to be found. The inebriated bride, whom I’d met maybe three times prior, asked me to dance. Then she made a disturbing revelation. She told me that when she pleasures herself, she would think of me!

That was the first time she ever expressed interest in me. They had three kids in five years, and both caught each other cheating on the other. They divorced at the 5-year mark.

AussieDuckMan

49. For Goodness’ Sake Forsake Already!

I filmed a wedding in Louisiana once. In the hours leading up to the wedding, the bride was getting pretty loaded with her bridesmaids. Rain delayed the wedding, as it was all scheduled for outdoors next to a rustic barn. In the final hour before it was time, the bride was getting pretty angry at her mom who was criticizing this item here, or this guest here, and her drinking wasn’t helping anything.

Somehow, they made it through without a catfight, but the biggest red flag came from the groom-to-be. During the vows, when it got to the part where the line is, "and forsaking all others", the dude simply could not utter those words. So much so, that he was getting emotional on his face, and shutting down completely. I focused on him with the camera, so when I edited the video later, I played that part over and over, trying to guess what was going on in his head.

The bride was laughing and smiling at him, so either she was too sloshed to care, or she was in on some partner-swapping action with him, and thought it was hilarious. The preacher offered to alter the line, and said something like, "Okay how about, and only loving the bride”. The groom regained a little bit of his composure, nodded, and muddled through the rest of the vows. The marriage was only about three years ago, but sure enough, she has a new man she is with.

cjlovesjc2016

50. Getting Even

The groom had his bachelor party the night before, got a handy, and kissed an exotic dancer. He was guilt-ridden and told the bride the morning of the wedding. She still married him. The next day, I was hanging out with the newlyweds and the groom's friends. The bride and I were the only two women there. The bride was drinking and hanging off me like we had been BFFs for years.

She made several trips to the bathroom to pee and insisted I tag along. On each trip to the bathroom, she was fuming over the bachelor party action and kissing the dancer situation. The kissing bothered her more than the handy, but she was still upset and talked about how she was going to cheat on him to even the score. Not a solid start for a marriage.

I-LIKE-NAPS

The Sneakiest Customer Ploys
Photo by Sofia on Unsplash

People come up with all kinds of weird ways to get free or discounted stuff. Sometimes these methods involve sneaky tricks played by the customer. From confusing cash transactions to ricocheting oyster shells, these Redditors have seen it all. Have you ever tried pulling off any of these sneaky ploys?

1. The Callback

So, at work today, a customer calls me up, and asks if we have a certain product in stock. I tell him we do, and the price. He asks if we price match, I tell him, “Yes, but we would need to verify with the store, either by phone or online stock check”. He asks what time I'm here until because he “likes dealing with the same person”, and I tell him.

Fast forward two hours after I've finished work, my manager is texting me to call her about a price match issue. I call her. What she tells me is infuriating. She says the customer is claiming we didn't need to check anything, and that I gave him many options. He also told her I'd agreed to a lower price than we had mentioned, and that I'd already checked it. This sneaky guy tried to pull a fast one by lying but I could have gotten into some serious trouble, and all over ten dollars.

scotsman81

2. Between A Rock And A Hard Place

In high school, I worked a service desk at a supermarket. Whenever somebody returned a small appliance, we always cut open the box to make sure all the parts were with it. One day a guy showed up looking to return an air conditioner. I cut open the box, and there was nothing but a rock inside. He ran out of the store pretty quickly.

jreckers

3. Money Talks

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Stuffed with Reese's Pieces | Flickrwww.flickr.com

I worked at a grocery store a couple of years back. One day, this older woman comes to my line, buys only a pack of Reese's peanut butter cups, and pays with a $100 bill. Before I can count her change back to her, she snatches it out of my hand and walks out. A few minutes later, she comes back in and claims that I shorted her $80 (I think she said $80, it was some ridiculous amount).

Most of the cashiers in the evening were teenagers (including myself) so she probably just assumed that they would be stupid and give her the money, but there was no way I was going to be scammed by her.

I called the manager over and asked him to count my cash drawer. Of course, the woman asked if she could go outside for a smoke in the meantime and didn't come back. She actually came in again a few months later and tried the same thing. This time when she grabbed for her change I kept it out of her reach and slowly counted it back to her. She didn't come back in.

day5rocks

4. Gaming The System

I worked at GameStop years ago. A little old lady brought in her grandkids and told them to pick out whatever they wanted from the used PS2 wall (which at the time was still 1/3 of the store). She asked us for a used PS2, with extra used controllers. These kids must've picked out 20 games. She bought and paid for all of them.

As she was leaving, we reminded her (as we had to, it was policy) that everything used could be returned within seven days for any reason. She replied, "Oh I know. My grandkids are only staying with me for five days. I'm bringing all this stuff back on day six! It’s cheaper than renting”! There was absolutely nothing we could do.

TomPalmer1979

5. The Nibbler

This lady used to come into my job and order this HUGE breakfast all the time. Same one, every time. And every time, about a third of the way into it, she would say something was the matter with it, it was inedible and didn't want to pay for it. We complied many times. After personally seeing this happen a few times, I started to wonder how she got a bad breakfast every time? And WHY did she keep coming in and ordering it, considering what bad luck she kept having?

I came to find out the bizarre truth about her. A regular customer knew her. They told us she had gastric bypass surgery and could no longer eat very much. So this lady would just come in, eat till she was full, which wasn't much, and then complain that it was bad. Being that she hardly ate it, we always believed her and didn't make her pay. The next time she came in, I refused her service. She FREAKED out. When I asked her why she continued to come in even though her meal was ALWAYS bad, her response was: "I'm waiting to get a good meal".

Permalink

6. I’m Not Lovin’ It

McDonalds Night Shot | Never eat there, but the night shots … | Flickrwww.flickr.com

I used to work at McDonald's. This particular night, I was handing out orders to the cars at the second window. This woman had ordered a couple of value meals and a happy meal. We got the happy meal done first and I handed it out. She looked in the bag, then looked up at me and very sweetly said, "I'm so sorry, but they put fries in this bag, and I wanted apple dippers”.

So I apologized, took the bag, and replaced it. The manager on duty happened to be nearby and said to me, "But the order said fries". I told her, "I know, but she told me she wanted apple dippers". An hour later the store gets a call and said manager goes to answer it. She comes back sometime later and says, "Remember that order where you replaced the fries with apple dippers? She just called and complained that she got apple dippers in her happy meal when she clearly ordered fries, which is what her receipt shows. She was wanting a couple of free value meals to make her happy over this "screw-up".

My jaw just dropped. I was only 17 at the time and hadn't really seen just how messed up people can be yet. I said, "I swear to you, she looked me in the eye and told me to replace the fries with apple dippers. I wouldn't have changed that if she hadn't". Luckily I didn't get in trouble, she believed me, but I was so angry that there was this customer who seemed so nice when she was there in front of me, then called back all angry and tried to get me in trouble. Just so she could get $10-$15 worth of free food.

kittenburrito

7. Networking

I worked at a university IT help desk. Someone was annoyed that I wouldn't break policy and let them back on the network after they were kicked off for a month due to repeated, blatant piracy resulting in DMCA complaints sent to us. They then asked to go talk to my boss about it and I told them where their office was and continued working.

Five minutes later, he comes walking out with an odd grin, with my boss following behind and looking like she's trying really hard to be serious and not being successful. My boss comes over to me, and says "He says you ignored him to play a computer game, and then were rude and insulting to him”. The customer has a look on his face like "ha, you're going to get fired now”! Well, he didn’t know who he was messing with.

My boss then goes "Of course, I know you're one of our best employees, so I figure that he's either making it up, or he deserves the treatment, which one is it”? I’ve never seen someone's face go so quickly from happy to "oh dang”. I explain what he's mad at me for, and then she tells me she's going to lock his account for the month out of our control to make sure he can't try to trick any other help desk employees into letting him back on.

Permalink

8. Pet Games

Oh jeez. I work for a grooming salon and we are supposed to verify that the customer has paid for the services before we give them the dog. Harsh, I know, but some of these grooms run upwards of $100 and the store doesn't want to lose that—plus I don't want to lose my commission!

Anyway, a lady comes back from supposedly paying and shows me a receipt. It's a little crinkled but nothing I believe is out of the ordinary. I give her the dog. It turns out she had shown me the receipt from the previous time the dog had gotten groomed. I didn't check the dates or anything. I felt like a total idiot while explaining it to my manager the next day.

FerociousPenguin

9. Billing Department

blue and white concrete building during nighttimePhoto by Jared Murray on Unsplash

I work at a movie theater connected directly to a mall. You know those pens you use to make sure a bill is real and not fake? I marked a $100 bill with one and it passed. It was the right color, though it seemed a bit darker than usual. I just assumed it was because the pen was really old and dry. So I called the manager to get change for it. It was a new shift, so I had a new register with not a lot of change. I hand it to my manager, the big GM who rarely works where I do. He is usually at other stores.

He begins walking to the back and holds the bill up to the light right before he turns the corner. He stops in his tracks. He comes back and says, "We can't accept this…it's a $5 bill”. I am standing there with a blank expression, but on the inside, I am freaking out. The customer says he got it from some check-to-cash place in the mall. My manager says, "Alright, we just have to call the authorities and tell them. You can wait here while we get it figured out”.

The guy walks out. The authorities are called, and a dude in a suit shows up. The guy checks the bill for everything ever in a big book he has with him, and everything gets sorted out. The theater didn't lose any money, and the guy who came in probably lost $5. Now, I check EVERY $100 bill for the security strip and watermark. I'd never heard of someone re-printing on a different bill to trick the pen. So, if you handle cash at work and use a pen to check it, always, ALWAYS check for the security strip and watermark. I'm glad I didn't get written up or fired because of that.

GitsAndShiggles

10. Charity Case

I used to work for Hot Topic and they “sell” items for charity. What's really occurring is that you are making a donation and you get the item for free. The money does 100% go to the charity, but we had to start ringing them through the register because California changed their “donation” laws to charge tax. Jerks. Anyway, this lady came in wanting to return 96 of the charity bracelets.

This lady had bought 100 of them to SELL at a music festival because they said "music=life" on them. She didn't realize her target demographic shopped at Hot Topic and knew they were charity giveaways so they didn't buy them. I explained to her that she didn't really purchase anything, but she wouldn't give up. I gave her my manager’s number and from there, the story escalated. He turned her down flat, so she called the home office. Every day. For almost a month.

This finally gets around to the CEO at the time, who absolutely takes no nonsense from anyone. She finds out about this and calls the customer for her address. She sends her a personal check along with a note telling her that there was no way Hot Topic was going to take money away from a charity and she'd rather take the hit herself. But there was a catch. If the lady cashed the check she was never allowed in our stores again. I had heard about all this but the story was confirmed when I went to the home office and a copy of the letter was posted at one of the HR personnel's desks.

morgueanna

11. Jean Jeanie

I was working at Old Navy and we had just gotten in the "Rockstar Skinnies", and they came in an array of ghastly colors. A woman comes up to my register holding a bright blue pair. It was very obvious these are the pants that are in the front of the store, on display everywhere—but she’d planned the most ridiculous scam. I ring her up, and tell her "That'll be $34.94" and she promptly says "No, they're on sale". I look at the back of the tag I scanned, and there's a sloppily slapped-on clearance sticker reading $2.95.

I explain that it must have been a mistake, these are brand-new pants. If they were on sale it would show up in my system. She demands a manager and my supervisor calls her out, which made the woman storm away grumbling about how Old Navy is lame. We potentially would have honored a sale sticker if it made it on there somehow (even though it was obviously her) if she would have at LEAST put a realistic price on there. Do you really think you're going to get away with paying $3 for a pair of jeans?

kalashnikitty

12. Dinner To Go

black and gray round ornament on brown wooden tablePhoto by amirali mirhashemian on Unsplash

I work at a fine dining restaurant, and every year we have a truffle dinner. It's amazing, we make cocktails, desserts, and 13 courses all with different types of truffles, with a wine pairing per course. Needless to say, the price of a ticket is steep. It's usually over $200 per person, and some years even more. Upwards of 98% of the people who come here are valued regulars or friends of the owners or chefs so we let people pay at the end.

Well, this year we had one couple go out for a smoke and just never came back. We figured out who they were in the reservation book and quickly called the number, thinking they were drinking a lot and that they had probably made an honest mistake. Well, both numbers were fake and they had dined and dashed on us. It was obviously planned out.

Permalink

13. Phony Phone

I sold a guy a phone years ago when I worked for a wireless carrier. I spent an hour getting all his information transferred and set up his new phone. He comes in the next day with a shattered screen. Apparently, he didn’t remember that I was the rep who helped him and he proceeded to tell me that is how it looked when he left the store. Needless to say, the phone was not replaced.

Valhallan1984

14. Playing Telephone

I work in customer service for a major cell phone company. "I never received the phone I purchased" happens all the time. It's actually very amusing because then I can do this: "Oh, gosh Mr. Derp, I'm so sorry that you didn't receive your phone. The tracking number indicates that it was delivered to the address you requested about three days ago. Have you possibly checked with a neighbor who may have retrieved it for you”?

Mr. Derp: "Nope, no one has the phone. It must have been stolen. I'm going to need a new one”.

Cue a big evil grin from me: "Hmmm okay then, Mr. Derp. The reason I'm asking is that I'm pretty concerned. The serial number of the phone we sent you is actually showing as being in use for three days on the same line you're calling me from right now". That’s usually when they hang up.

TheKloKloYo

15. Fruit Folly

person dipping marshmallow in chocolate syrupPhoto by Nerfee Mirandilla on Unsplash

I used to work as a shift leader at a chocolate shop that served fondue. We'd serve bananas among other things to dip in the chocolate. One time we had gotten a bad batch of bananas that we had to throw away early because they got so bad so fast. So we were telling customers that they would get extra of everything else but we had no bananas.

Well, a lady came in and wanted a fondue, and we gave her the “no banana” speech and she was totally okay with it. Big mistake. As soon as we took the fondue out to her she went crazy and freaked out about not having bananas! Her son even said, "They said before that they didn't have any”, and she just shushed him and continued yelling at me.

I don't know what happened but the next thing that came out of my mouth was, "Well Ma'am, I told you we had no bananas. If you want them so bad we have some spoiled ones in the dumpster out back. Feel free to help yourself". My co-workers burst out laughing behind me but she wasn't so happy. She ended up calling our pushover manager and got a free fondue, not because of what I had said, but because there were no bananas!

BeckyBoo122

16. Ticket Taker Trouble

Many years ago I worked at a little dingy movie theater in my hometown. It was my first job, super easy and lax. Of course, you get some angry customers, but nothing too serious. However, we did have this one guy who came in every single weekday for the first show (he was probably in his mid-50s) and I opened the box office every day of the week.

This guy used to come, and I’m not even joking, almost every single movie he would walk out 30 minutes to an hour in and come up to me and demand a refund because "his movie was awful". I had to then call my manager Corey every time. Corey would talk to him about it, and had to follow procedure and then refund the guy. One day this guy doesn't show (thank God).

It's about 1:00 pm and a little bit of a crowd picks up. I'm the only one in the box office and I’m trying to get through the line, then this guy comes up. But it's a little different now. He has a ticket from another movie theater (I'm not joking, not even a theater in OUR chain. Just a theater nearby). So he starts ranting about how he went to that theater, the service was awful, the movie was awful, he slides the ticket to me and says "I want a refund".

I'm too flabbergasted. I don't know what to say. I TRY to explain that we can't refund tickets to any theater but our own, even if it's one in our chain. This guy starts cutting me off mid-sentence while I'm trying to explain, and there's still a line and stuff and impatient customers. He starts raising his voice and saying it's stupid because he's "been a patron for years”!

So I say, “Hold on, let me call my manager”. He comes in knowing very well what to expect. I start taking other customers while Corey is dealing with this guy. After the line dies down and it's a break between shows he's still talking to him (it's been about 20 minutes). The guy is still demanding that he should at least get in for free because he spent money on the ticket to the other place, all this nonsense. Finally, my manager tells him he was not going to do it, and then said, "I really don't care if you never come to see another movie here again", but put it a little more nicely. The guy throws the ticket at him and tells him to screw off, and luckily never comes back.

Permalink

17. Getting Carded

When I was a kid, I worked at this mom-and-pop deli/grocery store. It was a small town so I knew virtually everyone that walked through the door. One day, we were really busy and there was actually a line of customers. The store was set up like a bodega, so the cash register was just in front of the store by the door, not like a supermarket checkout line.

Anyway, there were about six or seven people waiting to get stuff when in walks a teenager that I hadn't seen before. She's pretty attractive and very smiley. She grabs a pack of cigarettes and puts it on the counter, very nonchalantly, while I'm trying to get everyone settled. I start calling out prices to people of what they had in their hands: "Bill, $4.75, Chris, $5 bucks, You (girl with the cigs), I need ID".

"Oh, I don't have any. I just need this pack though, is it ok if I don't show my ID this one time”?

"No, it's not ok". I take back the cigs, like a boss, and tell her to go get her ID and come back.

Three days later the owner comes to me and thanks me. When I found out why, I was stunned.

It turns out she received a letter from the state licensing board stating that her cashier denied a minor from purchasing tobacco and that the girl was part of a sting to try to catch stores violating the law. If I let her slide it would have cost the store thousands in fines and possibly losing their license to sell cigarettes. The owner wound up giving me a raise instead.

the_muchness

18. Take A Seat

pastries display on rackPhoto by Jelleke Vanooteghem on Unsplash

I was managing afternoon tea at a really nice hotel in my town. There was a table with two women—one of whom was employed as a manicurist in the spa—and a child around five years old playing on a DS. They enjoy their petit fours etc. and when we present them with the bill they start complaining that the DS was stolen from their table when they went to the restroom. I explained that none of my staff had seen it nor had they taken it.

Fast forward 30 minutes and they are demanding that we comp their bill (around $30 per person) and replace the missing DS. The whole time the little girl is squirming and looking like she wants to say something. Next thing I know she looks at the lady making the fuss and says she is sitting on the DS. Sure enough, everyone stops talking and the woman looks defeated. She was sitting on the DS case the entire time and was aware that it was there. It was so stupid, to say the least.

wobuxihuanni

19. Did You Turn It Off And On Again?

I work as a Tech Support rep for a cable company. I basically take calls and troubleshoot internet failures and cable issues. It's a very easy job, we were provided on-the-job training and decent pay with bonus opportunities. The job is meant to get me through school. Anyhow, a man called in and just wanted to complain that his internet service was out the day before.

It was about 10 o'clock, and our customer service department closes at 8:00 pm. I tell him this and ask him if his service is on now. He says yes, but he wanted to lodge a complaint. So I said it was understandable, but that he'd have to call in the morning and that I couldn't help him unless there was an issue with his service. His answer was infuriating. He says, "Oh, well ALL of my stuff is off then. How does that sound”?

Then he laughs at me like I'm an idiot. So I said "Sir, you just said all of your service is working fine. Are you just saying that to keep me on the line"? So he curses at me and I escalate him to a supervisor. I found out later that he told the supervisor that I threatened him and refused to troubleshoot his issues. And that I refused to get him to a supervisor. But I got the last laugh.

I simply said to replay the call. They did and made fun of how idiotic the guy was.

FrenchMyToast

20. Which Watch

My dad is a watchmaker. He's been doing it since he was like eight years old and he learned from my grandfather. Suffice it to say he's about the best watchmaker in all of California at this point. Historically, when you fix a watch you make a little personal mark with the date on the inside of the back of the case so that if the watch broke down you could give the customer a warranty.

One of my dad's customers, who was a jeweler, kept bringing watches back. My dad would look at the movement (motor) and it would look like it hadn't been serviced in years. You can tell because the oil is dried up and there's dust and stuff inside. But when he looks inside of the case back…there's his signature and date from only a few weeks before.

This kept happening so my dad started to write the watches' serial numbers down and it turned out that for every service this guy paid for, he would just switch the watch back and bring in another watch. What's worse is that this guy was a multi-millionaire and my dad was just a laborer. He was stealing my dad's time. Screw that guy.

I work with him now and we have a computer database for that stuff. People still try that stuff but we quickly call them on it and they usually shut up.

CribbageLeft

21. Spreading Yourself Thin

125/365: Cinco de Mayo | What's in your cupboard? | Flickrwww.flickr.com

When my Pop was about 17, he worked at a restaurant supply store. Basically, it was a store that carried all of the basic supplies/appliances a restaurant would need, and also some industrial-sized packages of food. Well, this guy comes in and asks for a huge jar of mayonnaise, which my dad sells to him. A while later, the same guy comes back and says that his boss told him to return the mayo since it was the wrong brand, and he apologized that he opened it before being told this.

My dad figures, “hey, no problem” and takes the jar to throw away before he gets the brand the guy wants, no charge. So apparently my dad was very familiar with the approximate weight of a giant jar of mayo at the time. He immediately realized something was up. He opens up the jar in front of the guy, and scoops out some of the mayo only to reveal that he had filled the rest of the jar with sand in an attempt to get more for his money. This being 1964, he looks at the guy and tells him to screw off and never come back. The guy looks at the owner, who tells him the same thing.

Strahz

22. Locked Up

I worked at a small bike shop in high school. I had a guy come in once and try to return five or so U-Locks with no receipt. This, coincidentally, was the number of that type of U-Lock we tended to keep in stock, and the store was small enough that I could look over and see that the rack was empty. So I tell him I can't do anything without a receipt.

He goes out to his car to get it, leaving the locks on the counter, and never comes back. So he pretty clearly had walked in, grabbed them off the stand before I had gotten out from the back, and tried to "return" them. I'm still not sure what I would have done if he had tried to take them with him…

b0jangles

23. Dollars For Dumplings

I deliver Chinese food, and a few weeks ago I had an order that was like $62, and I had about $40 on me for change. When I get to the house, the customer hands me a hundred and asks me if I have changed, and I say I think I have just enough. As I'm fumbling with another member of the household (the customer's brother/husband whatever) by handing them bags, I go to take out my money, and she takes it out of my hands and says, "Oh I'll do that for you". I’m still mad about what happened next.

Kind of rude, but a nice gesture I suppose since I'm somewhat busy. "Oh this will do", she says and closes the door. I know I had a few dollars over what she needed, so not only did she not tip me, I actually lost a couple of bucks. It was a fairly far delivery order too, but I'm not going to start trouble for such a small amount, but it sure did make me mad.

Checkers10160

24. Box It Up

white xbox one console on white tablePhoto by Louis-Philippe Poitras on Unsplash

A guy had an Xbox 360 (classic model) in a new Slim box and tried to return it. He claimed it came that way and that's why he was returning it. After pointing out several things that alone would make it ineligible for return such as past return policy, information on the 360 suggesting it was years old, and the serial number on the packaging wasn't the same as the receipt meaning it wasn't even the same packaging purchased.

After some yelling and such, a higher-up in a separate department came in wondering what was going on, and with the authority to do so, okayed the return. The fact that he just gave $300 cash to a customer returning a product we didn't even carry didn't phase him. So I guess that situation was screwed from both ends. You win some, you lose some.

MisterCurtis

25. Macy’s Sale

I was working at Macy's and this lady would come in all the time and buy brand-new merchandise that we had just put out of the floor, but the ticket would be wrong and marked down to almost nothing. We honored the price the first time but she kept doing it over and over, even after we told her no. So one day I followed her—and what I saw was shocking.

She had actually brought a reticketing machine and was switching the tags of the brand-new merchandise with clearance tags. So she was taken out of the store.

blue_zoidberg

26. Drive On

I'm an automotive service advisor. I had a customer refuse to pay for his car after repairs were completed. He told me he was going to step outside to make a call, when he got in his car with a spare key and started it. I stood in front of the car to tell him he can't leave without paying. He proceeded to try and run me over. When I sidestepped the car, I broke his windshield with the back of my fist.

I called the authorities and had him taken into custody, but then they brought him back and I said I wouldn't press charges if he paid his bill and never brought his car back. He paid and left, and I felt like a boss. Five months later I get served with a subpoena as he wants to sue me for $4,500 and he wants to sue the shop for $7,000. He lost the case with prejudice (due to the sheer craziness of this kid), but I learned it's actually against the law for me to try and stop someone from leaving with their car and not paying. Oh, and I was invited to take the case to Judge Mathis but I didn't want to take time off.

TrickyWon

27. Regifted

a large group of people standing around a buildingPhoto by RANIT SARKAR on Unsplash

About five years ago I was working at guest services at the mall. A man in his mid-20s walked in. He had a $500 mall gift card and he wanted cash for it. I explained that there was no way that I could give him cash for the card. He replied with a story: "Well, my fiancée got me this card for Christmas and a week later she dumped me. She's not talking to me so I can't give the card back, and having this card just makes me think of her”. Right away, I knew something was up.

I was really suspicious and couldn't refund him anyways, so I asked him, "Why don't you just use the card”? He starts up, "Like I said if I use it then I'm thinking about her and the things I buy will make me think about her”. I asked, "What's the difference with cash? How would buying things with cash make it better”? He smiled in a nervous way, but it was a joyful smile. They type of smile that a broken man could never make when his fiancée had dumped him a week after Christmas.

He was happy, and that didn't make sense to me. "You're lying”, I stated. He nervously chuckled, "My dad got it for me for Christmas, and I just wanted cash instead”. He left right after, and didn't say goodbye. After a few seconds of being stunned, I realized he left the card on the counter. I couldn't help but swipe it to check the balance, because after all that, how could I trust that there was really $500 on it? There was no money left on the card. I guess he thought he could use a sob story to get me to give him the money without checking on the card.

Panthersfly

28. Apples To Apples

I used to work for Apple, as an AppleCare senior advisor. I get this guy that says that his Macbook Pro has been running slow since he upgraded his OS. He's reinstalled and done all that stuff and has also been to an Apple Authorized Service Provider who said they identified an issue but didn't know how to fix it. There were no notes from the service provider so I needed a second opinion, so I sent him to a local Apple Store. He needs to get this fixed because he's going back home to India in a few days.

He called me back angrily, saying that the Apple Store reinstalled the OS and did nothing else, so I gave the Apple Store a call. They found nothing apparently wrong with the machine but they reinstalled the OS anyways to be sure. Now, I still want to help this guy out, he's only got a couple of days left on his warranty and I want to make sure his stuff is fixed, so I grant warranty exceptions to force the replacement of the main board, HDD and RAM and send him back to the same Apple store. The guy tells me he's pushed his flight to India back a few days to get this fixed.

He calls me back the next day, angry again. He’s outside the Apple Store and says the Apple store people wanted to charge him even though I had granted the exceptions. I talk to the genius that spoke to this guy and she tells me that they were happy to repair the machine at no cost. He stormed out when he heard it was going to take overnight to complete.

I tell the guy the way it works but he refuses to go back to that Apple store. After 30 minutes of arguing, I got him to go to another Apple Store to get the work done that day. He calls back again, the machine hasn't been repaired, unfortunately, I can't remember why. I'm just about to give this guy a new computer when I decide to call the last Apple Store to tear them a new one.

They tell me that he never entered the store…at all…his genius bar appointment was marked as unattended. WHAT?! Then it clicks, this guy is lying to me. The guy has obviously played the game before and knows we'll give him a new computer if he gets screwed around enough. I call both Apple stores again just to confirm their stories.

I track this guy down on Facebook. It's active but mentions nothing about going to India. I call the original service provider he apparently went to and they had never heard of him. I can't tell him he is lying to me, so I send him an email stating that a fault MUST be found before I replace the computer. I fill our case notes with a point form version of what's occurred and I stop returning his calls. Luckily for me, I left Apple two days later. Apparently, he never did get a new computer.

DigitalJesus

29. Travel Perks

I used to work as a housekeeper/maid in a hotel (not a particularly fancy one, about £110 per night), and we'd frequently have people whine and moan about something. We've had people switch rooms six or seven times during their three-night stay because "it's too hot", "it's too cold", "the bathroom's too small", "the bed's too small", etc...

We had one man and his dog stay in the annex building (the three smallest, coldest, worst rooms), and I had to service the room. I did. The next day, I see a small dog running around the main building and ask the receptionist why. When she told me, I was furious. He'd complained bitterly about there being no tea, coffee, spoons, towels, or toiletries in the room. I got the blame, and he got the biggest room free of charge for an extra week. Of course, he didn't think to shut his suitcase, so we quickly worked out that he had taken everything. He still got the room for free.

Quepster

30. Free Ride

ferris wheel beside green treePhoto by Luiz Guimaraes on Unsplash

I work at an amusement park-type place that uses a system of cards (like credit cards) that we swipe at each attraction. You can pay by the hour or by the attraction. As long as it flashes green on my scanner you're good to go. We regularly have customers that buy a one-hour pass and then try to share it with five people. So five people get on the ride at the same time for the price of one.

They usually by sneaking the card through the bars and back into line. Luckily, our scanner flashes red if any time limit cards are scanned more than once in five minutes, so as to stop the sharing. Then we have to explain to the often adult people that this is wrong and they can't ride, usually causing a fuss and threats and name calling towards me or my coworkers. Fun times.

Misguidedvision

31. Price Match

We had some people pull into our car park one summer. A guy comes to the till to buy two patio kits at £50 each. I tell him the total is £100 and he says he bought one for £50 the day before in another branch. I say, “Yes but you're buying two, so it's doubled”. He then starts to argue that I'm overcharging him.

This went on for ten minutes with me explaining that he was buying two so it was more expensive than one. That’s when I realized his big idiotic plan. His entire scheme was to attempt to hold up the queue to a point where I'd give him one for free by acting like a dumb jerk. Once he realized the queue had disappeared, you know, due to it being a huge DIY store with multiple cashiers, he suddenly clicked and paid up, never to be seen again.

Knut_Sunbeams

32. Stick To Your Ribs

I used to work for Outback Steakhouse. One time, a gentleman came in and ordered Prime Rib. Now, it is store policy to remind people that "Prime Rib" does not constitute a rack of ribs, because people are stupid. This gentleman proceeds to become incensed that we would dare question his intelligence, and haughtily orders "the best prime ribs you have”. Facepalm.

A runner subsequently brings out his "prime ribs”. Sure enough, about 15 minutes later, he begins protesting aggressively that he ordered RIBS and demanding that an order of ribs be prepared for his obviously refined palate. However, as if that wasn’t bad enough, this gentleman had actually eaten about 3/4 of his "prime ribs" before staging his con.

goirish2200

33. Taste Test

brown bear plush toy on pink chairPhoto by Davide Carpani on Unsplash

I had a woman outraged that I made her pay for a stuffed toy that she had given to her baby, who was strapped to the front of her, and then watched him stick the whole thing in his mouth. When I caught her trying to put it back, I told her she had to purchase it. First, she told me she thought our merchandise was there just for kids to walk around with. No.

Then she told me it was ridiculous because he's just a baby. I said that is why adults need to supervise their children. Then she said that the policy was outrageous and there were no signs posted saying that she had to buy it. I told her there were no signs because, for most people, it's common sense. Then she told me she had never had this problem before.

At that point, I told her that other stores had probably never seen her do it. I asked her if she would give her child anything that had been in a stranger's mouth and that there are no stores that allow this kind of behavior because it's a health hazard. Five dollars later (I wasn't letting this woman go), I wanted to follow her to the next store and lick every shoe she wanted to try on. After all, it's no big deal, it's just a little saliva!

BrilliantHamologist

34. Wired Up

Years ago I worked at a small hardware store where they were constantly getting huge rolls of copper wire taken. One day this guy and his girlfriend come in to return a roll. I was a few months in on the returns counter. They had no receipt and when I scanned the item for the return it was only doing the price per foot.

I couldn’t figure out how to get the SKU or the price for the whole roll. I called the manager and he comes out and right away knows something is fishy. There’s no way these people bought a roll and returned it. So he asks when they bought it and they say two weeks ago—the common response—and my manager tells them, “Oh really, because the last time we sold an entire roll was over three months ago”.

The guy starts to get brave and tells him, “So you’re saying I took it”?! And my manager says yes. They end up leaving and they leave the roll behind. Before they leave the store the guy says, “I’m coming back and bringing the authorities”. My manager says, “Go ahead, that way you can explain to them how you took the roll in the first place”.

celesticaxxz

35. Free Pass

So I worked at this parking structure near Disneyland. It was for this mall that was mostly designed for tourists, but now just idiots going to the club show up. Well anyway, this convertible pulls up to my booth and these two jerks pull up with two girls in the back and hand me their ticket. I take it, it's a three-dollar charge, so he gives me $20. I open the register and the gate opens.

Just as I am about to give him $17 in change, he tells me he has exact change. Delighted (because I hate giving change for twenties…it depletes my ability to make change) I hand him back his 20. He takes it, looks at me, and says "Suckerrrrr”! and drives off. I just stood there, motionless, wondering why me.

Then I pulled out my wallet and put three dollars in the drawer. I didn't want my bank to be short. Working at a parking structure, people treat you like scum, but that was one of the worst days at work.

permalink

36. BOGO Froyo

four assorted flavor of ice cream on white wooden tablePhoto by Dan Gold on Unsplash

I used to work at a froyo place, where you're charged by the ounce. I've had a lot of customers "happen" to try to lift the scales while I'm weighing the cups. The craftier ones would try to push their bags next to it and cover their hands.

The thing is, the cups the customers typically get average about to $4-$6, so when I suddenly see a whopping full cup, filled to the brim with peanut butter cups, ring up to $2, it was all too obvious.

Permalink

37. Can’t Compute

A pretty common thing when repairing computers was for customers to bring in a fried computer for an easy upgrade and then try to blame it on us. Generally, we were pretty good about catching it beforehand. But one time when I was fairly new, I made an embarrassing mistake. A guy pulled it in the middle of an evening rush with his whole family in the store (seriously) and it completely slipped my mind to actually boot the computer before trying to install the new ram.

Long story short, the processor was fried and we wound up having to swap it too. When I figured out what was going on I mentioned it to the managers, they decided not to call the guy a liar in front of his family or other customers and were nice enough to not dock my pay the $100 for a replacement processor for the guy's piece of junk computer. I'm pretty sure this is common in just about every service industry too. It's enough to make me never want to do customer service ever again.

Lgroeni

38. Book Exchange

Our store had a line of books at $25 each…they weren't cheap. One Christmas, the publisher decided they were going to sell them at Costco in a gift set—without our store's knowledge. This jerk publisher even prints a price on the gift set packaging ($130) then labels the shrink wrap with the $30 it would sell for at Costco. Of course, the $130 was made up. The gift set never sold for that much because it never existed outside of Costco. In fact, the "original" price didn't even add up properly.

Out of the woodwork came every dishonest guy in the city who would separate the books and try to return them to our store at their individual prices in an attempt to make $100 at our expense. Luckily we quickly noticed a small difference in the printing on the books that made them easy to identify. I'd ask them a few questions to figure out who was trying to scam us and who just had a deceitful mother-in-law.

rutefoot

39. The Italian Job

goods on shelfPhoto by Nathália Rosa on Unsplash

I used to work at a large supermarket chain with stores all over the world. My particular store was in the middle of a massive tourist district, and for some reason, a LOT of older Italians lived there. Anyway, every day I would be at work, one lady would come in, and sometimes her friends would do it too, and they would have this massive smile on their face.

Then they would come up and explain that something was wrong with a particular product they had bought. They did it every day, and it was always the same deal. She would come in, buy something, take it home, eat half of it, then come back the next day and try to return it. Bread, cereal, cigarettes, fish, fruit. And if something wasn't refundable, like a half-eaten fish or chickens, or fruit or something, the one making the return would get furious then storm off, only to come back the next day to do it all again.

And there was NEVER anything wrong with anything she brought back. Everything was always way before the best-before date, and there was never anything wrong with any of the items. Then more and more of these Italians came in and did the same thing. One man always brought something to me and asked how much it was, and when I told him, he'd say "Too much too much, make it lower", and when I told him I couldn't he'd curse and leave.

I put up with all of this, until one day, I couldn’t take it anymore. The original lady came to buy cigarettes. I sold her the packet and broke a $100 bill for her. She came back five minutes later with the money in her hand and said I still owed her $55. I kicked her out and banned her, and was subsequently reprimanded as she'd complained to the store manager. I quit about a month later.

Kyoukan

40. Language Lesson

I work in a restaurant that sells chicken, turkey, and meatloaf primarily. You pick your meat and pick two sides and cornbread. You figure it out. So the woman has sort of an elaborate order, no big deal. I turn around to tell the meat carver what I need but I talk to him in Spanish. He's Mexican and his English isn't too good so everything moves faster and all around more pleasantly if I ask him in Spanish. I also speak it fluently.

So I get the meat, get the sides etc. She pays and goes on her way. The next day or so my manager says that corporate received a complaint and is requesting her next meal be free. I ask, "What was the complaint”? She said you were speaking in a different language while handling her food". If someone is truly offended or uncomfortable by my speaking Spanish then say it upfront. Don't go calling. Everyone I ask usually just says that she was trying to get a free meal. Which she did.

burman26

41. Brown Bananas

There was this old lady who would buy some fruit and veggies, then about a week later she would come back into the store and complain about the quality of the fruit and veggies saying that it had gone off. The type of thing she would complain about was that the bananas she brought had gone brown. The worst of it was the manager of the fruit and veg section of the supermarket would give her replacement food.

Ogrinal

42. It’s In The Mail

File:2009-03-20 Papa John's Pizza out for delivery in Durham.jpg ...commons.wikimedia.org

I used to work at Papa John's. One day some lady called in asking why she was "receiving mail with the wrong name on it and if we could change the name". I told her that we were just a delivery store and didn't deal with the mail that got sent out. Her answer was unforgettable.

She said that she "suffered a great amount of distress" because Papa John's didn't recognize her as a loyal customer by sending her mail with the wrong name on it and she wanted a free pizza for her grief. My manager let her have it. (The pizza that is).

BananaMoustache

43. The Breakup

I was a waiter in college. A young couple comes in, eats, and the guy goes out to have a smoke. Twenty minutes later, the girl is still sitting there. I asked her if everything was alright and she started getting choked up. She says that she has been trying to call him and he is not answering. She thinks that he might have left her there and she doesn't have any money.

Feeling bad about this, I tell my manager that I would like to pay for their meal, and he tells me not to worry about it, he will comp it. I go back and tell the girl and she is so happy, she actually gives me a hug. As I am walking outside to seat some people on the patio, I see her get into the guy's car, who was waiting for her in the parking lot. It was a great ploy, and because we comped the meal, she technically didn't take anything without paying.

DrRocksoo

44. Reverse Psychology

I work in a bar. A lady sat on one of the stools and a screw came through the covering and scratched her leg (enough to make it red and scrape some skin, but not enough to make it bleed). She kind of kicked off about it so we apologized profusely, removed the stool, and gave her and her friends a free round of drinks. They seemed happy enough with this, but when they next came to the bar they demanded more free drinks saying the manager had told them they could drink for free all night.

He'd definitely not said this and would never say this to anyone (a group of six, drinking for four or five hours for free, you're losing some major $). I told them they couldn't drink for free, an argument ensued, and threats of lawsuits were given, so I came up with a plan.

I told them they could drink for half price. They were too wasted to realize their supposedly £30 round that I was “letting them have” for £15 only cost £15 in the first place. And I only gave them half measures.

B9_

45. Paper Money

white and red sony ps 4 game consolePhoto by Batu Gezer on Unsplash

I used to work at a game store a little more than ten years ago. Once, a woman came in dressed fairly trendy and asked for two PlayStation Portables (PSP), two Xbox 360s, and a handful of games and accessories. My store was pretty slow so this would be a pretty big sale for the day and I was excited about it. She goes to pay and hands me a credit card which was not laminated and appeared to be printed out on a home color printer.

I told her it wouldn’t work and she said just scan it anyway. So I scanned her fake credit card which clearly did not have a magnetic strip and it didn’t work (of course). She told me to just “put the numbers in” on the computer. I refused and she asked why, seemingly legitimately confused. I told her I just couldn’t. She told me she would be back with cash. I put everything back on the shelves. She did not return.

RudgerZ

46. Tools Of The Trade

This happened on September 12, 2001, in the States. A guy in Spartanburg, South Carolina calls and says that his weed trimmer was in the twin towers in New York City the day before, and it got destroyed when the airplane hit and the building collapsed. He then demanded I replace it under warranty. I don’t understand some people…

Nightmare_Gerbil

47. It’s Not Delivery

We don’t deliver the pizzas we make, it’s carryout only. I had a customer call and have a long/angry conversation with me because I wouldn’t deliver to her. She proceeds to say (a couple of times), “you must be new here. I know the owner personally”, to which I responded, “Well, I’m the owner's daughter and we don’t deliver”. Can’t beat that.

schweinerneer13

48. Marked

UNKs coffee shop signagePhoto by Ismail Hadine on Unsplash

I worked at Burger King in Hamburg, Germany while I was studying there. We were slammed at lunch with people backing out the door and this guy paid for his lunch with a 20-mark note. He waited 20 minutes, then came back in and demanded another 30 marks in change claiming he had given me a 50-mark note. I had no way to prove to the customer or my manager what he had paid with, so I had to give him the 30 out of my drawer. At the end of my shift, my till was 30 marks short. The same manager who made me give him the money docked my pay 30 marks. It took me six hours of work to earn that.

fietsvrouw

49. Bad Credit

I work in a major electronic retail chain. Two construction workers walk in. They see the most expensive laptop, look at me and say, "Hey you, get me two of these", while his friend is hitting him saying "No no no stop man don’t". I knew something was weird but I got the laptops and they went to pay. One hands me a prepaid Visa card. I knew that it was fake or something but I tried it anyway. It doesn’t go through.

So I called the credit card company and asked them for the name that should be on the card as well as the amount. Turns out the card had $6.78 (They tried to buy $2,000 worth of stuff), and belonged to a woman named something or other. I decided to have some fun. So I said, "Sorry I just had to get authorization. It's been approved for $3,000. I just need to confirm the balance is $4325.46” I made something up while my manager was calling the authorities.

"Oh yeah, that's correct". "Alright I just need to get your name and phone number as the account information has been lost. This is your card, correct”? "Sure, yeah it is, here's my driver’s license". (He hands me his driver's license). I was laughing so hard in my head thinking that these two guys were that stupid. When the five-o finally got there, the guys broke down and started crying, saying, "He's lying I don’t even have a gift card". I showed the authorities the card, and the guy said, "That's his, it's not mine”!

Finally, we got the video of it showing he gave me the card. I watched him cry as the fuzz carried him out of the store. Oh good times.

BestBman

50. Seafood Surprise

Being a klutzy server, I once dropped a stack of oyster plates on my first day. My table joked that oysters came on their own plates anyway. As I was laughing it off with them, we heard a shriek from a few rows of tables over. A woman insisted some rogue sharp piece had ricocheted over and cut her leg. I see her pinching her cut to "drain the blood". Her husband has her elevate her leg onto a chair and she starts deep breathing.

My manager rushes out with a free bottle of wine and to gauge the wound. The woman isn't in my section, but when I go to check in on how she's feeling, her response was unforgettable. She responds, with wide eyes, "I FEEL LIKE I'VE BEEN SHANKED". Shortly after comping her meal and 20 minutes into over-apologizing and babying her, my manager realizes she is displaying a shard of glass as the culprit. The plates were ceramic.

vamosvamos

A black and white photo of a couple kissing
Photo by Pablo Heimplatz

Let's talk about sex, baby.

I love that song and that phrase.

Yes, sex is natural and fun.

It can also cause a colossal amount of drama.

But does everyone always do it for the right reasons?

Redditor Environmental_Log257 wanted to hear about all of the wrong reasons people used for shacking up with others, so they asked:

"What’s the worst reason you hooked up with someone?"

I like to think that all of my sexual choices were thought out and wise.

But who am I kidding?

I'm no better than the rest.

I did the deed

"My first long-term gf cheated on me when she went off to college. We broke up. About two months later she got hit by a transportation bus and lost her leg. We had seen each other a couple of times after her recovery and hooked up. Years later I meet another girl with the same first name through a different ex and she had lost her leg too. I was thinking what are the odds of someone else being able to say they slept with two girls with the same name with both missing a leg…. So. I did the deed."

Justsittinghere25

I hear you

"We both had the same name and thought it would be fun to call out our names in the heat of it."

RayRayJones

"Ok, this is like… the BEST reason to hook up with someone. That sounds hilarious."

hashtagsugary

"Honestly that sounds so fun. Too bad I’ll probably never meet anyone with my name since it’s not technically a real name and I’ve never HEARD of another person being called that. My middle name is Ashley, though, and I tend to go by that in professional settings (I’m a guy, by the way) so I probably have a decent chance of trying that."

___sephiroth

That Night

"Almost dated in high school. Had a falling out in college and didn't talk for years until we both attended a mutual friend's wedding. We were the only single people there and neither wanted to go home empty-handed. So we didn't. That was about four years ago. We talk sporadically but we've only seen each other in person maybe once or twice since that night."

Current-Revolution-4

"Interesting that you’ve never developed it. In my personal experience knowing myself, if this were to happen to me, I’d so relive the moment in my mind and want to be with that person forever, assuming the action was good and the person is happy with me."

HamaDDisco

Wingman Issues

Barney Stinson Wingman GIFGiphy

"She was hitting on my friend and he wasn’t down, so he said 'save me.' Reverse wingman lol."

SmokeAbeer

"Falling on a grenade for your comrade."

magcargoman

Bad ideas

Oh No Facepalm GIF by AminéGiphy

"My best friend (I'm Male she's Female) hadn't had sex in a year and asked me."

"We stopped being friends in any capacity after that."

cgulash

Feeling Unpretty

"I felt unattractive after my ex cheated on me and I needed someone to tell me I wasn't."

totalanomie

"Same-ish. Had a rough and very confusing breakup."

"She found me attractive and clearly was just looking for a little fun, with no attachment. We talked a lot and had a good time just being together, but we didn't really date. Just talked, sex, talked. It made me feel wanted again. She seemed to enjoy it and was clearly not interested in anything more than that. We parted as friends."

FaliedSalve

AOL Days

"Because she asked. I was visiting a friend in a different part of the state and she introduced me to one of her friends and she gave me my AOL username. This was back in the late 90s. 😉 A few days after returning home I received a message from that person asking for a one-night stand."

AnimeJoex

"A man has to comply to the AOL lady, it’s just sound reasoning."

hayitsnine

Truth

"I was emotionally compromised and wanted to use a person that I cared nothing about to make me feel better about a situation that I couldn’t fix."

Rounder057

"I appreciate your honesty. Honestly, 99% of people do this at one point in their life whether they admit to it or not. You're admitting to it, even if it’s anonymous, which says a lot Or maybe I’m just like you and want to feel better about myself and I’m just a crazy rando. Therapy here I come!"

dl-__-lp

Gotcha!

Wave Goodbye GIF by Beauty BrandsGiphy

"He cheated on me with his roommate’s girlfriend. So obviously his roommate and I hooked up for some revenge. It was excellent and I regret nothing."

HighQueenMarcy

Might as well

"We were bored. This was in the mid '00s when smartphones were not a thing yet and people still used CD players and DVDs. We both had no money or place to go and after doing nothing but talking with each other for 3 days we felt like we knew each other pretty well. I remember her complaining that 'there's nothing to do out here.' So I jokingly said back 'Well we could always do each other.'"

"Expecting her to punch me in the arm like she did when I made a comment about her boobs growing when she was talking about needing to go bra shopping. However, instead, she just sighed and said 'We might as well.' Before getting up and going inside her grandma's apartment. At first, I was a little confused and thought she misheard me so I followed. However once I was inside and saw her taking off her shirt I knew she heard me perfectly well."

alanalot

Wow. Sex has people doing crazy things.

It maybe a wiser choice to think things through sometimes.

Or at least get a hobby or two.

We've all heard of Thomas Edison's process of inventing the lightbulb and the Wright Brothers' many attempts at inventing the first flyable airplane. We've even heard of the ridicule they heard of their ahead-of-their-time ideas.

But there are so many other examples of major scientific findings that were heavily argued against when they were first presented.

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