"I want to talk to the manager" is not a phrase any customer service worker likes to hear, and it's definitely not fun for the children of those demanding customers to hear either.
Today's burning question came from Redditor Em367, who asked: "Children of 'I want to talk to your manager' parents, what has been your most embarassing experience?"
40. "I was 13 when this happened."
I was 13 when this happened. My mom had made a reservation at a hotel for a trip, but when she got there the lady said there was some error with the reservation and that my mom's payment didn't go through, so the lady offered us a double bed room for a discount.
Rather than just taking the room, thanking the lady, and leaving, my mom decided the best course of action would be to scream, in the middle of a hotel lobby, "NOBODY IS GOING ANYWHERE TIL I GET MY F*CKING ROOM!"
She then proceeded to pester the lady, who clearly couldn't do anything about it, until eventually she called the police on my mom for public disturbance. Mortifying.
39. "Nope."
Not my parent but grandparent. When I was around 10 years old my grandmother went out and got us (her, my brother, and me) McDonald's.
We got home and we didn't have napkins in the bags. No big deal, right? We have paper towels and napkins in the house, also me and my brother are pretty good with not making any messes while we eat.
Nope. Grandmother got us in the car, drove back to McDonald's, demanded a manager, and screeched about how upset she was that we didn't get any napkins. I wanted to just melt into the floor and disappear. It's just napkins, Nanny...
38. "My Mum demanded..."
My Mum demanded to see a café's hygiene certificate when she saw an employee go from cutting cake in the kitchen to handling money at the till, even though the real problem is going the other way.
37. "When I was a young child on a long distance flight..."
When I was a young child on a long distance flight my mother let me and my brother sleep on the floor. For safety reasons the flight attendants told my mother that we were not allowed to sleep on the floor.
She started to argue with the flight attendants who then turned to the pilots. The pilots threatened to turn the plane around unless we get up from the floor but she continued to argue.
The pilots anounced they were about to turn around because of my mother, so all the passengers got pissed. Eventually she caved in when she had all passengers and flight crew on a Boeing 747 against her.
36. "I was with my parents on vacation..."
I was with my parents on vacation and the hotel put charges on the bill by accident. My mom marched to the front desk and demanded to see the manager.
There was a long line, but she cut right in front of it. The manager wasn't very helpful, probably because she was rude.
So my mom, went to all the other customers in line and told them that the hotel was a scam and they were ripping us off with fake charges.
She made a scene. The hotel called the police and we were escorted off the premises by actual cops. I died inside.
35. "I worked at Best Buy..."
Giphy
I worked at Best Buy. I stopped in with my mom one day because she wanted to buy me the Star Wars DVD box set for my birthday.
I had a huge, HUGE crush on the girl that was working the customer service counter. Well, the DVD set rang up $10 more than it was priced, and my mom deliberately didn't say anything until after the transaction so she could claim the effing $5 Michigan Scan Law bounty.
My crush didn't know how to process it and the manager was busy, so my mom tore into her about how it was her job and how she should understand how to do things.
34. "One time we went to Burger king..."
Ugh, my dad. He can be such a prick if you get his order wrong, it could be fast food or a nice sit down restaurant. He often yells at wait staff if they "undercook" his steak. It has to be well done or he claims to have lost his appetite.
One time we went to Burger King when I was younger and we sat down to eat. He took one bite of his burger, spit it out and immediately started bitching about it being under cooked.
He cut in front of everyone in line to yell at the cashier, then he asked who was the cook. when the cook appeared, he launched his burger hitting the poor kid directly in the face with a lidless burger. He's now banned for life from Burger King.
33. "Scene: ..."
Scene: Any fast food drive-thru
Worker: Ma'am, can you please drive forward a little bit while your food finishes up?
Mom: No. *folds arms*
32. "My dad just loved to argue..."
My dad just loved to argue, and he loved a deal.
We were shopping in a department store, and I found a pair of pants I was mildly interested in. The pants were tagged at (let's say) $40, and the sign on the rack was "All pants $25".
I was mildly interested, I asked the salesclerk if they had them in my size, the clerk said "those aren't supposed to be on that rack".
My dad lost it and insisted on getting the pants for $25, and started asking for a courtesy discount on top of that. Escalated to the floor manager and the store manager.
Meanwhile, I didn't want the pants. They were ok pants I guess, nothing awesome, I just didn't care very much about them. I was more than happy to move on.
I told my dad I didn't want the pants, by then he didn't care about what I wanted, he wanted the pants at the better price.
Eventually after like an hour of arguing the store manager said "we're not giving you the pants at that price. Take them or leave them at $40". So we left them. Which suited me just fine, because I didn't want the pants.
31. "Grocery store had this sign up..."
Grocery store had this sign up that said if an item rang up higher than an advertised price it was free. It was the 80s and stores did stupid sh!t like this that I never see in stores today.
Mom was buying a box of Little Debbie cakes and they rang up for $2.85 instead of the advertised $2.50. So now mom wants her free cakes.
Cashier doesn't know what to do, summons a manager. Manager tells her to ring up the sale otherwise and he'll be right back.
Comes back and hands my mother 35 cents cheerfully and says "There you go!" My mother points out the sign behind him and he says "Oh, the last manager put that up, it doesn't make any sense. I'm the new manager and I just haven't had the sign removed yet" (it was a printed plastic sign that was screwed into the wall).
Mom insists they honor their sign, he says nah. Now, up to this point, I as an adult looking back am totally on board with mom's actions.
Mom gathers her things, decides against taking the Little Debbies on principle, and we get in the car. Mom wordlessly drives downtown to the main store of this 3-5 store chain, knowing the office is next door.
We walk into this perfectly 80's wood paneled office where my mother asks the secretary to speak to the owner of the store and is permitted to do so since this is a family owned business and their "corporate office" is smaller than the row of cubicles my staff occupy at work.
Here my mother unleashes a tirade about how she has lost faith in his brand and how his word is meaningless since they will not honor the sign etc.
This guy stands up, profusely apologizes, validates her anger and then pulls out his wallet and hands her a $5 bill along with a promise that he will speak to the manager and the sign will either be honored or removed.
We get home and find that the ice cream we bought melted in the trunk because summer and ruined the cereal and the bread.
30. "My father consistently returns food to grocery stores..."
My father consistently returns food to grocery stores when he is unsatisfied with the quality. The worst is when he returns the 2 lb bricks of cheddar cheese because they went moldy "before they should have."
29. "He continues to scream at the guy..."
Giphy
Not me, but my sister in law. Her step dad and mom took the family out to eat at a Red Lobster. They get there and it is super busy. So the step dad walks up to the host and says "Yes, we have a reservation".
The problem is, Red Lobster (or at least that one) doesnt take reservations. The host explains this and says it is going to be 20 min wait for seating.
Her step dad FLIPPED out and started screaming that he had called 3 hours before hand and made a reservation. The host politely told him this was not possible as they do not take reservations (again).
He continues to scream at the guy, and says he wants to talk to a manager. So the manager comes out and she tells him the same thing.
They dont take reservations, so its not possible that he had made one. He continues to cause a scene and people started leaving just to get away from this toxic guy.
Finally, the manager says, "Fine, we will put you ahead of everyone else that has been patiently waiting their turn". He says "Thank you". They get seated.
Once they get to the table and the waitress walks away, he slyly winks and says to my brother and the rest of the family "THAT is how you get things done. I wasnt going to wait 20 min".
My brother refused to eat or order for fear of getting food that had been spit on.
28. "About my once a month..."
About once a month my dad gets drunk and calls various customer service centers demanding stuff.
Once he finally gets off the phone (frequently 45+ minutes later) he spends the next few days telling us all about how he slew the customer service dragon and boy people sure don't appreciate their customers nowadays blah blah blah. (No duh, dad, you're being an asshole, no one appreciates that.)
If you've worked for DirecTV customer service any time since 1996, I apologize on behalf of my dad
edit Another story for y'all: I also remembered one time McD's was having some kind of 2-for-1 breakfast sandwich deal going on where the total was about $3.
He gets his breakfast, drives ~25 mins to work, realizes he's missing one of the sandwiches...and proceeds to call McD's customer support every evening after work for a week to complain about his wasted $1.50.
They gave him apologies. They gave him coupons. But he just wanted to yell.
27. "When I was 6..."
When I was 6 my mom took my brothers and I out to Golden Corral for dinner. She went up to the buffet, got a steak, and came back to the table. She's an avid A1 steak sauce fan and cannot, i repeat, cannot eat steak without it.
She poured out the A1 onto her plate, tasted it, and was instantly horrified. She proceeded to pour out the Golden Corral Steak Sauce right next to the A1 and it matched perfectly.
Outraged, she called over a waitress and eventually the manager showing them her little experiment and how she exposed the Great Steak Sauce Fraud of 06.
My brothers and I were scarred for the rest of our lives. I still have nightmares about it.
26. "I think they shorted her a couple of bucks..."
My grandmother wasn't only a "let me talk to your manager" type she was a racist and advancing dementia completely turned off her filter for that.
I've blocked out all the context behind it other than I took her to buy yarn and somethingwent wrong. I think maybe they shorted her a couple bucks or wouldn't honor a coupon or something.
Whatever it was ended in a "let me talk to your manager" followed by a tirade to the manager about how they shouldn't be hiring Mexicans.
I just remember having to talk over her and say, "Oh my god you can't talk to her like that. Nothing you just said is ok" followed by me trying to push her wheelchair out of the store as fast as possible with her digging her feet into the ground trying to get me to stop so she could go back to trying to ruin someone's day and me wondering if I'd go to jail for elder abuse if her ankles snapped in the process because nothing was going to stop me getting her out of that store.
I got her into the car and then went back in and apologized till I was blue in the face. I wish I could say it was an isolated incident but it definitely wasn't.
If by any cosmic chance any sales clerks or phone reps that had to deal with my grandmother read this thread I am so so incredibly sorry, I apologize on behalf of my whole family and I'd give you a hug if I could.
As an interesting side effect of caring for her, I have a tendency to wander off and pretend to look at things when we get to the register if I'm with someone and I'm not the one paying. I think she gave me an honest to god phobia.
25. "I found a fly in my soup."
I found a fly in my soup. Just a tiny little fruit fly that I easily could have eaten and have been none the wiser. Since I spotted it, I stupidly dabbed it out of my wonton soup with the tip of my finger, which immediately brought it to my mother's attention.
After she found out that it was a fly she was up and yelling to the owner about how unacceptable it was, making a scene, demanding a fresh bowl for me.
The owner was having none of it, dumped out my soup, and told my mom she 'had none left'. We all left, and she made us all promise we'd never eat there again. Not that I would, since I live in a small town and the whole thing was mortifying.
It wasn't the only occasion she has done this, even now that I'm an adult she feels the need to fight for me when she thinks someone has slighted me.
She's a lovely woman most of the time, don't get me wrong, but she takes the term 'mother bear' a bit too seriously.
.... it was really good soup and I still regret not being able to finish that bowl...
24. "My dad was at a dentist..."
My dad was at a dentist (for me) and they didn't take our insurance and he had a pissy fit and broke their coffee maker.
23. "I was young out at a restaurant..."
I was young out at a restaurant with my dad. He ordered a steak for dinner. After about 10 minutes he starts complaining a steak should only have taken 5 minutes, 2 minutes on each side, and there's no reason it shouldn't be done.
He then asked to speak with the manager... went on a tirade about how it's inconvenient for his family to wait. He ends it with "We've been coming to this restaurant for over 5 years" to which the manager replies, "Sir, I've only been open for 1 year".
Come to find out dude was the owner and the manager, said a few lines in response about my father "being oblivious on how kitchens work" when he demands instant food and we should go to McDonalds if we wanted fast food.
So much embarrassment.... we never went back to that restaurant again
22. "I married into a coupon family."
I married into a coupon family.
Sometimes it is pretty amazing the kind of stuff they can get for free or almost-free, but it also instills a certain amount of entitlement that rubs me the wrong way.
Being frugal and watching out for good deals is one thing, but believing that you deserve to pay less than anyone else for a product has always been hard for me to wrap my head around.
Especially when it doesn't scan, and they have to get a manager involved. I've witnessed an in-law who has hardcopies of their favorite store's coupon policies in their purse, so they can quote it directly to anyone who gives them trouble.
21. "When I was around 17..."
When I was around 17, I went out with my father looking for a new laptop since my old one wasn't really doing it anymore.
I was just walking around the store trying to figure out what I was looking for in a laptop since I'm not actually good with tech stuff, so my father decided to ask one of the shop assistants for advice.
Now, my father is one of those people who thinks it's only natural to demand a discount when you buy at a shop fairly often, since it's the shop's obligation to offer those to what he would call "loyal customers".
So that guy walks up to us, explaining the equipment of one of the laptops I had been looking at and ends with telling me that it had key illumination - and that's where sh!t was starting to hit the fan.
My father snapped and made fun of the shop assistant for claiming that the key illumination would be a crucial factor for buying the laptop (which he never did actually say) and demanded said discount since he was a loyal customer.
The guy got angry and told him that if he didn't want professional advice he should go and order a laptop from Amazon instead.
That's where my father got really mad and started to get really loud, stating how disrespectful he was being treated and ended up demanding to see the manager.
The manager showed up, my father continued his overly dramatic tirade and ended up demanding said discount AGAIN. She told him no and made him storm out of the store fuming and complaining loudly and stating that he wouldn't buy anything from that shop ever again. I was beyond embarrassed and ended up apologizing to the manager on his behalf before I left.
20. Friggin' Karen.
My MIL is truly a Karen. Going out to eat with her is always a nightmare. Her orders have 14 special requests, but she's not at all kind about it, she is defensive from the get go like you're an idiot who's already screwed the order up. "Nooo dressing. Not on the side. Nothing. Completely dry. Do you understand? I will send it back!"
The one I will never forget though was dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. In case you've never been it's one of those places that every so often plays a song that the entire staff is required to drop everything & do a little synchronized dance to.
It's quick, everyone gets a little kick out of it, it's part of the fun. Now my MIL Karen knew this, it's not like she'd never been here. But apparently she was not willing to wait 2 extra minutes for her dry salad, so she starts going off as soon as the dancing starts.
She gets a manager, who clearly knows Karen well & offers a quick apology (for doing their job), a discount & her dry @ss salad. But Karen's not completely satisfied.
She tells us that even though dinner for our party of 8 is on her, she's not tipping the waitress 1 penny. She proceeds to b!tch.....loudly...the rest of the meal & antagonize our waitress over petty sh*t.
I worked too many years in customer service & ya know, I'm a decent human being. I made sure to get my bill separate so I could tip for the entire table.
I wrote a quick note on the receipt, something along the lines of "Way to stay positive even when the customer's a jerk". I was a little afraid of the wrath of Karen, it was one of my first interactions with her too, but when the waitress came & hugged me, Karen & I locked eyes. She knew. I didn't care. Don't be a Karen.
19. Keep the change.
One time I was in a record store with my dad. He bought a record that was 19,99 euros. He paid using a 20 euro bill. The clerk took the money and put it in the register and gave my dad the cd in a plastic bag.
I started walking off when I noticed my dad wasn't moving. As I turn around I hear him say to the record store clerk "You still have to give me my cent back."
The clerk replies that they don't return one or two cents because they don't accept them and as such don't have them in the store.
My dad replies by saying that is "Judicially impossible" and asks for the manager. To make a long story short; one of the clerks gave my dad a cent from his own wallet.
18. This was the *second*-worst?
I had this awful annoying af terrible neighbor who, because I'm a giant sucker, I was kind to.
She asked me to come with her to dinner because it was her birthday, and I knew I was the only person on the planet who would go with her and goshdarnit it's her birthday how could I say no?
So she and I went and we brought our kids (all girls, one mine, two hers). She makes her oldest do her math homework right there at the table.
When the child asks her for help (mind you this is like third grade math) the mom says it's too hard. I end up helping.
The waiter is just fine. He comes by and takes our orders. She is already acting weird but she always acted weird so I didn't think much of it.
Waiter comes by again and asks if we need anything. She dismisses him and waves him off and tells him no. Then like 30 seconds later turns to me and is like "Can you believe how awful the waiter is? He won't even refill my drink!" and just goes on about all these "issues" that literally don't exist.
I'm like "He just asked if you needed anything..." she cuts me off "I'm going to talk to the manager"
Oh God....
She talks to the manager like this is the worst experience she's ever had in the history of her miserable existence. I'm in shock, her kids have their heads down. Mine is oblivious, lol.
The manager gives her like half off the meal. Oh and the kicker? "That's my half so you only need to pay the rest!" OH GEE THANKS!!
I left a big tip and a note on my receipt telling them the waiter was great and apologizing for the complaints that were totally not warranted. It was the second-most embarrassing restaurant experience of my life.
17. At least mom raised you right.
I don't like going to restaurants with her, she thinks that because she worked as a waitress for a year 35 years ago, it gives her the right to act like a complete assh*le to them.
She also thinks not tipping them will encourage them to "get their act together". Jokes on you mom, I always find our server after seated, give them a $20.00 and apologize in advanced for your poor behavior.
Edit: Yes, she knows what I think of it. She doesn't care. She believes she's sticking to her principles, and that tipping poor service (read: never had "good service", something will always be wrong), will encourage thier laziness. It's not going to stop. If you wait on her, I am very sorry.
Edit 2: She waited tables at a pizza hut when she was 20. She looks back at her time through rose colored glasses. "I worked hard, went above and beyond to get my tips" then she yells at the waitress for trying to refill her drinks "Excuse me! Did I ask for a refill?". Obviously logic and empathy are not her strong points.
16. Dad was a good boss.
Not exactly the question, but my Dad was great with those customers. We had a small family business selling and installing fireplaces (for context).
He, on more than one occasion, when getting the customer call or come in, after the installers had finished up and left the job site, to b!tch about one of the men being rude or something, he could get this look of grave concern on his face.
He would then go into a backstory, saying things like "oh no, not again" or do the open mouth, closed teeth inhale thing and just 'tsk tsk tsk' and then start on with some nonsense about having told the guy before that it was his last warning and go on about how he was going to 'have to let them go'.
The blood draining from people's faces or the dead silence on the other end of the phone line was magical - followed by the customer frantically explaining that 'maybe it wasn't that bad' or blaming themselves.
He was never going to fire anyone, but he'd find out real quick who was just complaining for fun. Many of those customers have no qualms about getting the employee in trouble, but in general folks don't want to jeopardize people's livelihoods.
15. She was correct.
Not me, but one that I witnessed:
I was at a cell phone store a few years ago. This was when phones first started to become water resistant.
A kid had apparently gone swimming with his phone all day, and the phone had some discoloration to the screen and the touch screen wasn't working correctly.
The kid obviously knew he screwed up, and he kept asking the mom if they could just leave. That the phone still worked, and he would survive.
The mom didn't even try to be civil. She came in, and immediately started to be an abusive customer. I remember she laughed as she said 'Oh, you're gonna hate me. you should just get your manager now.'
14. You're taking this to go, ma'am.
I was young and my mom and step dad took us to McDonalds. Somehow a nail or something got stuck in the tire which caused a flat.
I'm not sure if it happened in the lot or not, but they were convinced it was. They went to talk to the manager. I don't remember exactly what their demands were, but they didn't get them.
They literally went into the street waving people away saying that they were closed because they were mad. It just seemed like a ridiculously excessive thing to do.
13. I just don't understand.
My mom needed to return some shirts at the mall because they didn't fit right. It was past the allotted time that she had to return them, so the employee said that there wasn't anything she could do.
My mom started SCREAMING at this girl who was probably about 16 or 17 calling her names and demanding to speak to the manager.
When the manager told my mom that they couldn't do anything and that the return policy was on the receipt, my mom threw a fit and knocked over a display that was next to the register and stormed out of the store.
I was probably 6 or 7 at the time and I was mortified. I apologized for her behavior and picked up what I could before she started calling for me to follow her.
The manager was super sweet to me though and told me that I was a good kid and to stick up to my mom when I could get away with it.
12. How about staying home?
My father-in-law and step mother-in-law are the culprits in my case. They are absolute monsters at restaurants towards the wait staff.
They seem to enjoy the game of how many annoying little hoops they can make servers jump through. It's too cold in here. It's too hot in here. the music is too loud.
The salsa is too hot. They've made them do three or four things by the time we even order our food. Then my mother-in-law loves to order something spicy off the menu, but then tell them them to make it not spicy.
And these are not four-star restaurants, just simple diners and so forth. One time my father-in-law was particularly rude over a Coke machine being out of order.
He complained to the manager, and stiffed the waitress. When I realized that he didn't tip, I called back to the restaurant, let them know some of us at the table were happy with the service, and asked them to run my credit card for her tip.
And that was the last time I let him pay for our meal.
11. How much is just enough?
I wasn't there for this (THANK GOD) but my mum once had a LENGTHY email argument of complaints to a hotel's restaurant because their smothered chicken wasn't "smothered enough."
One such email included the dictionary definition of smothered.
10. Shame! Shame! Shame!
I was out to breakfast with my mom, and our waitress straight up disappeared. We sat for a good 30 minutes, after having ordered nothing but eggs.
It was an off time, so the diner was pretty quiet. It was as if our waitress had just evaporated. Naturally, my mom asked someone if we could speak with the manager.
She stops by, my mom lets her know what's happened, and asks if she can check on our waitress, our food, etc. Ten minutes later the manager shows up with our food, and the waitress in tow.
She put our food down, then proceeded to rip in to the waitress. This poor woman broke down in tears, apologizing profusely. We felt awful, didn't even bother finishing our food.
Once the manager was out of sight, my mom found the waitress, gave her a hug, and a larger tip than usual. It was rough, leaving us both sufficiently embarrassed.
9. Well done.
My mom has been this person regularly throughout my life but I do have one positive story with it.
She and I went to eat at Portillo's when I was a teenager and we sat in the back of the restaurant where it was more private so we can eat in peace.
About 10 minutes into our meal two people come into the empty area and sit down two tables away from us. Turns out it was a manager and an employee that was getting written up.
The manager was being a complete @sshat towards the employee criticizing and belittling them. My mom put down her food and walked over and started yelling at the manager for being such an assh*le.
She went on a rant about how rude and wrong it was of him to do this in front of the public two tables away from customers and really let him have it.
She demanded the phone number of the manager above him and we left after she received it. I was pretty embarrassed at the time but as I got older I realized that she was standing up for that employee and how wrong that manager really was.
I'm not a hundred percent sure what she did with that phone number because I lived with my dad and I had to go home after that meal.
8. Build-A-Nightmare.
Okay, so we were going to a theme park in the capitol of the country. I must have been around 19, which makes my one sister 16, and the youngest around 9. My dad had been planning this for a year, and we were psyched to go.
After you go into this place, you see a huge lake, and on each side there are several shops. A restaurant there, a souvenir shop there. And also, there is a Build-A-Bear shop. This shop is NOT a part of the park itself, but it does have an entrance from the park.
Anyway, my dad didn't have custody of my sister at the time, and only saw her very sporadically. This was by his own choice, since his anxiety meant he couldn't care for her properly. She lived with a foster family. This was one of maybe three times a year he got to actually take her somewhere, so this trip was a BIG deal.
He told her she could have ONE thing from the park, whatever she wanted he would pay for it. And, being a 9-year old girl, she said she wanted a Build-A-Bear.
My dad was unfamiliar with the concept of Build-A-Bear, so he didn't know that the price of the bear isn't the total price. On top of it comes the clothes, the shoes etc.
So the shop person takes my sister through the whole thing. You know, stuffing, putting the heart in etc, and rings up the total.
My dad totally lost it. Like, red in the head, screaming at this poor girl in the shop lost it. And I felt SO embarassed. Firstly, this girl didn't make the prices.
Secondly, this was THE trip of the year, it was all four of us for the first time in forever. And thirdly, you don't yell at people like that.
I get that he was angry, since he didn't know the process, and felt cheated. And also, he felt backed into a corner, since he had promised my sister that she could have anything. But you don't do that. Ever.
Luckily, the rest of the trip went by without a hitch, and my youngest sister doesn't remember this happening. She has two Build-A-Bears now, and she named each of them after one of her sisters.
7. Where does the entitlement come from?
I think every memory I have of my mom is her yelling at a customer service employee either on the phone or in their face. I always felt bad for the employees.
I remember at least one instance in which I felt really embarrassed. I did an online program that was geared towards new drivers.
It was all about driving safety and took forever to do. At the end of the course, the young driver had the opportunity to get lower insurance rates.
So I had to call a customer service representative and confirm personal information as well as answer some things from the course in order to get the rates.
My mom kept insisting I put the phone on speaker. Every time I did, the rep would tell me to take it off of speaker. My mom would then try to follow me around the house trying to listen in and the rep could hear her and said she needed to stop.
My mom got mad at the rep and I ended up not getting the lower rates on my insurance because the rep was fed up.
6. What did he do, nothing?
My dad would sometimes do this at restaurants if the server was too slow or the food was wrong (especially multiple times in the same meal). He was totally right in being frustrated, because sometimes this was extreme, but we all hated it.
The worst time was when we were in our favorite restaurant. My mom literally said, "I'm not doing this." And gathered up us 3 kids and we went to the car.
EDIT: You guys seem to have gotten the wrong impression. My dad was NOT a d!ck to anyone and he did this a few times a year at worst.
The incidents I remember warranted him speaking with the manager and he was never rude or insulting. The rest of us just didn't care enough about bad service to say anything to anyone.
5. Don't mess with Domino's.
My mom once called Domino's regional corporate office or some sh!t because a pizza I ordered for her, THAT I PAID FOR, was "too expensive".
She did get 4 free pizza vouchers out of it but I'm so glad I was not around for the embarrassment of it all (I ordered it online from my job in the next state. Why? Because she wanted pizza 😂)
4. Not gonna work.
We travelled a lot when we were younger and would skip lines at the airport since we were kids.
But now we were all in our early teens and my mom faked having a heart condition to skip the long line to get on the airplane.
Flight attendant would have none of it and told us to go back to the end of the line. I still remember the smiles and looks of everyone there.
3. Relatable.
About the only thing my dad and I have in common is we like to go thrifting. Garage sales, estate sales, antique stores, and charity thrift shops.
Thing is, we do it for different reasons. I do it for the fun of finding something unusual and offbeat. Dad does it because he likes to find bargains, to be one-up on the suckers who didn't know what they had.
So I was mortified when dad went to the charity shop checkout and b!tched for 10 minutes about being overcharged 50 cents. Left him in the store alone. When he finally came out, I went in and dropped 5 bucks in the donation jar and apologized for my assh*le father.
2. Going to a restaurant to eat together... groundbreaking.
Not my parents, but I was once out to dinner with my brother in law and his family. Our meals all came out at almost random times instead of all together.
My brother in law demanded to talk to the manager because it was "unacceptable" that food come out at different times and he said something about how he hopes they don't expect us to pay for the meal.
He gave a big speech about how we came out so we could eat together, and he knows this is unacceptable because he used to be a waiter, etc. I was mortified because I didn't think it was that big of a deal.
1. Some people aren't that bright.
My mom constantly does this, but one time really sticks out.
We went to a local Mexican restaurant and as we were paying for the food she tried to use a coupon.
The cashier said they wouldn't accept the coupon and my mom was furious. She demanded that the manager come out and accept the coupon.
She caused a massive scene in the restaurant and it lasted at least five minutes. As the cashier was getting the manager, I decided to look at the coupon...it was for a totally different Mexican restaurant in the area and my mom wasn't wearing her glasses.
The cashier and manager both came back, my mom apologized, and they ended up accepting the coupon.
For many childhood memories are overrun by living nightmares.
Yes, children are resilient, but that doesn't mean that the things we see as babes don't follow us forever.
The horrors of the world are no stranger to the young.
Redditor -2sweetcaramel- wanted to see who was willing to share about the worst things we've seen as kids, so they asked:
"What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?"
Serious Danger
"Me and my best friend would explore the drainage tunnels under the Vegas area where we grew up. These were miles long and it was always really cool down there so it was a good way to escape the heat of our scorching hot summers. We went into this one that goes under the Fiesta casino and found a camp with a bunch of homeless people."
"Mind you we are like 11 years old lol. And we just kept going like it was nothing. It wasn’t scary then but when I look back at it we could have been in some serious danger. Our parents had no idea we did this or where we were and we had no cellphones. We could have been kidnapped and never have been found."
oofboof2020
Waiting for Food
"I was at a portillos once when I was 12 and I was waiting with my little brother at a booth while my parents got our food. This guy was standing with his tray kind of watching me then after a couple of minutes he started to walk over really fast not breaking eye contact with me."
"He was 2 feet from the table and my dad came out of nowhere and scared the s**t out of him. He looked so surprised and just said he wanted to see if I’d get scared or not. He left his tray full of food near the door and left. My folks reported him but we never went to that location again since we found a better one closer to home."
nowhereboy1964
Captain Hobo to the Rescue
"When I was a pretty young teen, my friends and I were horsing around in San Francisco and started hanging out to smoke with some homeless guys. Another homeless dude came up and began aggressively trying to shake us down for anything (money, smokes, a ride, drugs- all of it) and wouldn’t take no for an answer."
"We got in over our heads and could tell this guy was now riling the other 2 guys up and they were acting like they wanted to jump us. Some grandfather-looking old homeless man appeared out of nowhere and yelled at us to get the f**k out of here- nice kids like us don’t belong down here at this hour!!"
"Captain Hobo saved our lives that night. My parents sincerely thought we were at a mall all day lol."
FartAttack911
Survival
tsunami GIF
Giphy
"I was 7 and survived the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Witnessed the wave rise way above the already massive palm trees (approx. 40ft?) and my family and I watched/heard the wave crash into the ground from a rooftop."
faithfulpoo
These Tsunami stories are just tragic.
On the Sand
Scared The Launch GIF by CTV
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"We were a group of kids who went to swim in a local lake. And there was a dead body on the beach with their hands raised and their legs bent unnaturally that local police just took out of the same lake. I've never put my foot in these waters again."
oyloff
Be Clever
"I was walking to school and I was about 5 or 6 years old and some guy pulled up beside me in his car and asked if I would get in. He also offered me sweets to do so. I said no. The creepy bit was when he calmly said ‘clever boy’ to me, then drove off. I’ve never even told my parents or anyone else about this as it would most likely freak them out."
OstneyPiz
Bad Jokes
"Dad's side of the family pranked me by burying a fake body on our back property and had me dig it up to find valuables. Was only allowed to use a lantern for light. They stuffed old clothes with chicken bones. Sheetrock mud where the head was... Random fake jewelry as the treasures... I was like maybe 10 or 11.. I remember digging up the boot first and started gagging because it became real at that point."
Alegan239
YOU
Who Are You Reaction GIF by MOODMAN
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"Woke up to find my little brother staring at me in the dark, asking, Are you really you?"
PrettyLola2004
Siblings can really be a bunch of creepers.
No one should talk to others in the dark though.
Not all pet owners have the same relationship with their pets.
While anyone who decides to become a pet owner, or pet parent as some say, love their pets equally, some never ever let them leave their side.
Taking their pet with them to work, running errands, even on vacations.
Many pet parents even allow their pets to share their bed with them when going to sleep.
For others though, this is where a line is finally drawn.
Redditor Piggythelavasurfer was curious to hear whether pet owners allowed their pets to share their bed with them, as well as the reasons why they do/don't, leading them to ask:
"Do you let your pet sleep in your bed? Why/why not?"
The Tiny Issue Of Water...
"Absolutely not."
"I have fish."- Senior-Meal3649
Everyone Gets Lonely Eventually...
"I adopted an eleven year old cat the day before Halloween."
"She has mostly lived in my closet since I got her, and she hasn’t been too interested in coming out."
"Last night, she came out of my closet and jumped up on my bed, and crawled under my covers and curled up by my feet to sleep."
"I was so happy!"- YellowBeastJeep
The Comforting Reminder That You're Not Alone...
"I recently lost my Greyhound but I used to let him sleep on my bed with me."
"The company was nice and he was no trouble to have on my bed."- HoodedMenace3
Hungry Cookie GIF by De Graafschap Dierenartsen
Giphy
What Do You Mean Allow?
"I have no choice."
"She is a cat, cats do whatever they want."- Small_cat1412
"He lets me sleep in my bed."- Poorly-Drawn-Beagle
Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way
"I carry my old boy upstairs to bed every night."- worst_in_show
Hug GIF by The BarkPost
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Who Needs An Alarm Clock?
"I let my two cats sleep with me."
"They're so full of love and just want cuddles all the time."
"And so do I."
"We've all developed a lil routine."
"Get to bed, oldest sleeps on my feet to keep them warm, youngest lies in my arm while I lie on my side (she the little spoon), then when I snooze my alarm for work in the morning the youngest paws at my face and meeps loudly to wake me up."- GhostofaFlea_
Whose Bed Is It Anyway?
"Yes."
"They're also kind enough to let me squeeze into whatever space they've left for me."
"Although I do get a few dirty looks off them."- Therealkaylor
"I found this tiny kitten screaming her head off under a car."
"Would not come out."
"Got some food and some water in dishes."
"I stood by the tire so she couldn't see my feet."
"She got curious about the food and water and started gobbling it down."
"I thought she would bolt when I squatted down."
"She was too busy eating."
"I grabbed her by the nape of the neck and all four legs went straight out and she tried to scratch me to death."
"I got her in the door and tossed her toward the couch."
"She ricocheted off the couch as if she was a ping pong off a table and I lost sight of her."
"I put out food and water and a sandbox and did not see that kitten for three days."
"On the third day, I came home and she was on my bed pillow."
"I thought she would bolt when I came near, but she didn't."
"I wanted to sleep so I tried to scoot her little butt off my pillow."
"She would not go."
"I put my head down to sleep and that is the way it was from then on."
"She ran the roost."- Logical_Cherry_7588
sleepy kitten GIF
Giphy
Sleeping Is A Prerequisite...
"No, he's a cat and he cannot keep still during the night."
"He walks across the headboard, opens the closet doors, jumps into the windows and rustles the blinds, etc."
"If he would sleep he could stay, but alas, he's a ramblin' man."- Spong_Durnflungle
Saying No Just Isn't An Option...
"'Let'."
"Lol."
"It's a cat's world and I'm happy to be on her good side."- milaren
Felines Only!
"The cat does, the dog doesn't and the horse certainly does not either."- Xcrowzz
Angry Tom And Jerry GIF by Boomerang Official
Giphy
Is That My Hair On That Pillow?
"My dog is perfect."
"She comes up, cuddles til we start to fall asleep, then gets down to sleep on her bed so she doesn't get too hot."
"Jumps back up in the early morning for wake up cuddles."
"The hair everywhere is the only downside but she is so cozy, what can you do."- HoodieWinchester
It is easy to understand how some people are able to fall asleep more easily knowing their friend and protector is there, in bed, with them.
Though we can't blame others who don't want to run the risk of being scratched or bitten in the middle of the night either...