There’s nothing more annoying than being mistaken for an employee when you’re just minding your own business or shopping for yourself. If you’ve ever worn a red shirt to Target, then you know what I’m talking about.
Luckily, my experiences have been awkwardly hilarious. Unfortunately, for the folks in the r/IDontWorkHereLady subreddit, these rude customers didn’t care to make sure they were talking to an actual employee.
1.
“My friend was a manager at this restaurant, and my other friend was a server. A few friends and I went to visit her and get some good food. We showed up, and while my friends were being directed to a table, I stopped to talk to my server friend for about two minutes, then walked to the bathroom. I walked past a table and a woman was staring me down.”
“I just ignored her and walked to the bathroom. I came out, and the woman was waving at me. I awkwardly waved back.
“She responded with, ‘Hello, can you come here?!’ I awkwardly looked around and walked over. She proceeded to call me rude because I ignored her. It didn’t hit me until then that she assumed I worked there.
“I laughed, and before I could explain, she demanded the manager. At this point she was pretty loud, so another server came up, and without explaining, she demanded the manager. So the server went to get him. He walked up.
Manager: What’s the problem, ma’am?
Lady: [gesturing at me] Your server ignored me.
Manager: Who? Beth? She doesn’t work here.
Lady: But you know her.
Manager: Yeah, but she doesn’t work here
Lady: THEN HOW DO YOU KNOW HER?
“She really didn’t understand how he could know me without me working there. This went on, and eventually, she accepted it.”
2.
“My phone often rings, and people want to talk to the doctor’s office. Usually, I tell them, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, you need to dial XXX-XXX-XX88, but you dialed XXX-XXX-XX68 instead.’ They apologize, hang up, and all is well. Not this morning, though.”
“My phone rings; a woman is on it.
Woman: Hello, my husband is with you. When can I pick him up?
Me: Uh, your husband is not here. Did you want to speak to [doctor’s office], by any chance?”
Woman: Yes, of course! What do you mean he’s not there? Of course, he is!
Me: Ma’am, I’m sorry, but you got the wrong number. You need to…
Woman: What? Of course, I have the right number! When can I pick my husband up? I’m waiting outside and it’s cold!
Me: Ma’am, sorry, but this is not [doctor’s office]. You dialed the wrong…
Woman: I want to speak to the doctor directly. Put me through. I’m gonna put in a complaint about you.
Me: Listen, you are not talking to [doctor’s office]. You…
Woman: I’ve had enough! I’m coming in now. I will complain about you to the doctor directly!
[CLACK.]
“You do that, lady. You do that.”
3.
“My 10-year-old son was in the hospital after surgery. Rooms are shared, and the ward was full. My son was quietly reading a book out loud, and he got a new roommate. I had been coming in and out of the room, and I guess I look like a nurse. Nurses were allowed to wear a variety of clothing (this was pre-COVID). I tend to walk quickly, had my hair in a ponytail, and must have had that ‘bustling nurse’ look.”
“The mother of the new patient was HIGHLY agitated as they arrived from a procedure, and said that the room was too loud and disturbing for her child. The child seemed fine, not bothered, not in pain or looking stressed at all. She insisted on having a private room.
“I was in and out of the room, getting some things for my son. So she cornered me, assuming I was in charge here, and let loose about how the other child (my son) was too loud and her child needed peace and quiet (good luck getting that in any hospital room, haha). HER insurance pays for a PRIVATE room (all great, except it is a full house), and I needed to MAKE IT WORK.
“The look on her face when I told her I did not work here and the child in the next bed was my son! She looked a bit abashed but mostly exasperated. I get that it’s a stressful time, but the entitlement on this lady was ridiculous.”
4.
“This happened years ago when I worked at Taco Bell. It had been a long day. I finally got my lunch break and decided to walk across the street to McDonald’s. I was wearing a very loud Taco Bell uniform shirt and a visor that says Taco Bell on it. I sat down to eat, and a woman a few tables down started venting to her friend that it’s ‘unacceptable that they let the workers eat at the tables with the customers.'”
“This went on for a while and I was trying to ignore her, but I could tell she was working herself up.
“Then she walked up to me…oh boy.
Karen: Excuse me, why are you eating here?
Me: It’s my lunch break?
Karen: You should be eating in the back of the kitchen, where you belong. It’s disrespectful to the customers, and you’re taking up tables they could be eating at.
“I looked around, kinda confused, ’cause the place wasn’t close to full.
Me: What do you mean?
Karen: Look, just eat in the back with the rest of the McDonald’s employees.
“I turned my visor to her so she could see that I was from Taco Bell, not McDonald’s.
Me: I don’t work here, lady, and you’re rude as hell.”
5.
“I am a truck driver. I stopped for coffee in Montana and wore a mask in the truck stop because I still do when inside, even though nobody else does. An older woman rushed up to me as I stirred my coffee and declared, ‘The ladies’ restroom is a disgrace!'”
“I replied, ‘Well, that’s ladies for you. They just can’t keep things tidy.’“She gawked and said, ‘Aren’t you going to clean it?!’
“And I said, ‘No, I don’t give a shit if the women’s restroom is dirty.’
“She went quite red, stared some more, and rushed off to the manager, who had to tell her twice that I did not work there.
“Wearing a mask = working at the business now, I guess.”
6.
“Once, I was on a train home from work. I stepped onto the train with my headphones in and, not immediately spotting a seat, decided to stand by the train doors. About four stops into my journey, this young lady and her friend got on the train from the other carriage doors. She walked up to me and started talking.”
“I removed my earphone, and she was asking me for a train ticket to Brighton. I was like, ‘Sorry, darling, you need to find a train employee. I’m a passenger.’
“This should have been the end of the story, but no, she then proceeded to shove £10 into my jacket pocket and walked off with her friend, saying, ‘Well, we will tell them at the other end that he wouldn’t give us a ticket but they can see from cameras that we paid him for the trip!’
“I spent the next month standing by those doors every day, but alas, no further luck.”
7.
“So there were about three carts in a parking space across from where I parked in the Walmart parking lot, and I was loading my groceries in the trunk. A lady went to pull into the space with three carts and stopped and honked. Waited. Honked again, then got out and shouted at me, ‘Why won’t you just do your f-ing job? Get these carts out of the way!'”
“As she was moving them violently, I told her, ‘I don’t work here.’ She replied, ‘Couldn’t tell, how the hell should I know that? You should have done it anyway.’
“I reply, ‘You should pucker up on my puckered parts, ’cause I don’t work here and I didn’t put the carts there. Find another spot instead of cussing out a stranger.’
“She replied, ‘I’m going to talk to management.’ Have never laughed harder than when I drove past the entrance to see the woman standing there with someone who appeared to be a manager, pointing angrily at me.”
8.
“I was grooming my horse Clyde yesterday when a woman came up to me, tugging along a kid around 6 or 7 years old. The woman was wearing way too expensive-looking clothes to be at a barn. Before I could even get a word out, she launched into a tirade about how terrible the service was and how she had spent HOURS trying to find someone to help her. ‘Oh, I don’t…,’ I began, only to get cut off by her screaming in my face to let her kid ride MY horse.”
“I tried to calmly explain that no, her kid couldn’t ride my horse, and no, I could not let her ride any other horses in the barn.“It didn’t matter what I said, I couldn’t convince her that I didn’t work there and that I couldn’t ‘just let [her] daughter ride.’
“Clyde is not fully trained because I recently got him. He’s still very young and inexperienced. I wouldn’t even let a kid groom him, as he tends to nip at people. The kid proceeded to try to duck past me and pet his nose. I grabbed the kid’s shoulder and gently pushed her back, genuinely worried about Clyde biting her.
“The woman gasped and screamed, ‘My daughter has every right to touch that horse; she’s probably even better with horses than you are! Besides, you’re just a worker, so don’t you DARE push my kid.’
“That made me blow a gasket. ‘Your daughter is NOT going to touch my horse; he is NOT suitable with kids and could injure your daughter. Your daughter does NOT know more than me, I’ve been riding for 15 years, and I DON’T WORK HERE!!! Leave me alone!’ I shouted.
“At this point, my horse was starting to freak out, and I turned to lead him back to his stall and just calm him and myself.
“Some barn staff came running over, trying to assess what was happening. The woman kept screaming at me, but I just couldn’t deal with her anymore and walked away, since the staff had her occupied.
“My friend (who worked there) told me that they had to threaten to call the cops to get her to leave because she kept demanding to have her child ride every single horse she saw. She is also banned from the stable now, so happy ending, at least?”
9.
“I was visiting Austin and staying at a nice hotel. I’m brown and I’m an IT executive. I ordered takeout from a local barbecue place and was going back to my hotel with my food in a large paper bag with the name of the restaurant written in large letters on the side. There was a group of people outside the hotel, and as I approached the hotel entrance, this woman rushed over and grabbed my bag of food.”
“I yanked it back. She went, ‘I’ve been waiting for this!’ It hit me that she thought I was her delivery driver here with her food. I politely told her I was not her delivery driver. With a confused look on her face, she went, ‘Are you sure? You LOOK like one.’
“At this point, I just wanted her to let go of my bag, and a few of her guy friends came over and told me to stop giving her a hard time and to hand over her food.
“So I spelled it out for them: ‘I am NOT your food delivery driver. This is MY food. I’m a guest at this hotel.’ I yanked the bag away from her, and as I entered the hotel, I saw her pulling out her phone and saying, ‘I’m calling [delivery service] and telling them what an asshole you are — and I want my money BACK!’
“Go right ahead, lady. Go right ahead.”
10.
“I was browsing on my phone while having new tires mounted on my car. The club store I was at doesn’t have a waiting area currently, so I found an empty aisle nearby and found something sturdy to lean against while I waited. An older woman was pushing her cart down the aisle. I overheard her say, ‘It’s impossible to get any help here. All the employees are too BUSY glued to their phones.'”
“I didn’t think much of it, since I’m clearly not an employee. The employees wear black shirts, and a blue vest complete with the store logo. I had a gray Guinness beer T-shirt on.
“The lady passed me and made it to the end of the aisle. I’m not sure if she was expecting me to pick up on her ‘hint,’ but she turned around and walked up to me, almost hitting me with her cart, and said, ‘Would it be too much trouble for you to put your phone down and do your job? When you see a customer in need, you’re supposed to help them out. That’s what you get paid for!’
“I begin to tell her, ‘I’m sor—’
Lady: SORRY? Well, you should be. I’ve been walking around trying to find disposable plates and platters, and there’s no one willing to help! Why is it so hard for you people to do your jobs?!
Me: I don’t work here. I’m waiting for my car to be serviced [motioning to the ‘Tires and Battery Center’ signage]. If you’re looking for the plates, they’re two or three aisles over.
“At that point, she actually took the time to look at what I was wearing. Holding back frustration or embarrassment, she said thank you and walked away.”
11.
“I’m a firefighter. One day, my crew decided to stop by the grocery store in the afternoon right after we finished up with a call for a vehicle accident. We were still dressed in our turnouts, the bulky yellow gear we wear for fires and rescues. My partner and I left our jackets in the engine and went inside to buy stuff to make Buffalo chicken salad. While we were grabbing veggies, I heard ‘Excuse me’ right behind me.”
“We get a lot of questions from people in general, so I’m pretty used to being stopped in public while on duty. I said, ‘Yes, ma’am,’ and turned to find a middle-aged lady standing next to the oranges.
“‘Are these the only oranges you have?’
“I was a bit dumbfounded and replied with, ‘I don’t work here, ma’am.’
“Her response, which still baffles me, was, ‘Are you sure?’
“My partner and I just exchanged confused looks. There we were, in T-shirts and hats with ‘FIRE DEPARTMENT’ all over them, bright green radios on our waistbands, and baggy yellow pants with reflective striping.
“She got a bit annoyed at my silence and held an orange up to my face. ‘Oranges? These? Do you have any more or are these the only ones you have?’
“Still somewhat in disbelief, I answered, ‘I work for the fire department.’
“She said nothing but motioned to my partner, who was dressed EXACTLY as I was and standing right next to me. ‘Excuse me, do you have any more oranges?’
“He snorted down a laugh and told her, ‘Yeah, I don’t work here either.’
“She threw her hands up in exasperation and walked the other way. We left the produce department to go get chicken, only to be approached by her again at the front of the store.
‘”Excuse me, when will you have the rotisserie chickens again?’
“Still making an attempt at being polite, I explained (for the fourth time, for anyone keeping score) that we don’t work at the grocery store because we’re firefighters.
“She let out a sigh and snapped, ‘Then you shouldn’t be wearing a uniform in public!’
“My bad, I guess?”
— u/Zerbo
12.
“I worked for a large pet store chain for over three years. I got to know the customers well, but when a new store manager showed up, he destroyed the store. I was one of the first to jump ship after he gave a ‘my way or the highway’ speech. Shortly after I quit, I needed to go to that store for live insects for my lizard (they were literally the only store in town that carried them).”
“I was walking down to the back to pick them up, looking at the disastrous state of the store and multiple people looking for help when one regular customer who used to annoy the crap out of me pointed at me (at least 20 feet away) and yelled, ‘You work here!’
“I yelled back, ‘Noooope,’ and kept walking. It was the best feeling ever.”
13.
“I was working at a bar, and a regular got up to go to the restroom. When she passed a guy sitting down eating, he stopped her and asked for ketchup. I saw the whole thing and laughed (as I picked up a bottle of ketchup to bring it to him), but laughed, even more, when I saw her stop and look at the guy before grabbing fries off his plate and putting them in her mouth before turning around to continue on her way to the bathroom.”
“He was shocked, but I came up a second later, laughing, with the ketchup and told him that next time, he might not want to ask someone who had been sitting at the bar since before he got there to fetch him something.
“I don’t wanna make assumptions as to why he was making the assumption, but I didn’t feel bad about him getting his fries eaten. I think he knew what he had done because not only did he not complain at all, but he apologized.”
14.
“I was done with work early one day. On the train ride home, I figured I’d stop to do some clothes shopping. I was shopping around a store in the business-attire section (in my business attire), and this lady (who only spoke Spanish) asked if I spoke Spanish and if I could help her. I said yes and asked what she needed.”
“Spanish lady: ¿Sabes donde están las maletas? (“Do you know where the suitcases are?”)
Me: Perdón, señora, yo no trabajo aquí, pero creo que están en el primer piso. (“Sorry, ma’am, I don’t work here, but I think they’re on the first floor.”)
“We both laughed, and she commented on how nice my clothes looked. It made me blush a little bit (I’m self-conscious), then she thanked me for helping her.
“Another lady came up to me in a not-so-nice way, demanding that I get her another coat with matching pants in a certain size, asking why we had suits mixed up, and specifically wanting me to get her an f-ing dressing room since she had no idea why we only had two open in the middle of the pandemic.
“I explained to her that 1) we’re in a pandemic, 2) I don’t know shite about suits, I just wear them, and 3) I don’t f-ing work there.
Mean Lady: Of course, you f-ing work here, why else would you be dressed like that?
Me: Because I like dressing nice, and frankly, it’s none of your business.
ML: Well, I saw you helping the other lady! Stop lying!
Me: Because she was nice; maybe you should try it every once in a while.
“At this point, one of the actual workers saw what was going on and intervened. We both happened to be in the changing room (different stalls), and she started going off on the phone about how a ‘rude employee’ refused to help her.
“When I was done trying on new suits, she was talking to the manager about me. The manager was like, ‘Who TF is that dude?’ I just laughed and paid for my clothes.”
15.
“This happened in June 2020 when I was job hunting. My old company (let’s call them Company A) laid me off due to the pandemic. So I applied for a job at Company B. The interview was at 8 a.m. I got there at around 7:30 a.m. I parked in the employee parking lot because I was told it would be fine. Then a guy in suit and tie stormed out to the parking lot looking furious.”
“The following conversation ensued:Angry Guy: Where the fuck have you been?! You were supposed to be here by 7!
Me: Um, I was told…
AG: [cutting me off] I TOLD YOU TO BE HERE BY 7!
Me: [confused] The email stated 8 a.m.
AG: Are you stupid? We start at 7! First day and you’re already late! Get out of here — you’re fired!
Me: [fed up] I don’t work here!
AG: Obviously, since I fired you!
At this point, I’d had enough of him. I was about to get back in my car when another guy and a woman came out of the office building to see what the fuss was about. Turns out he is the CEO and she is the recruiter.
CEO: What the hell is going on here?
AG: This lazy bum came in on his first day over 30 minutes late!
CEO: [looking at me, then at AG, then back at me] This is unacceptable. What’s your name?
Me: *My name*
Recruiter: Oh, you are early.
AG: Early?! HE IS LATE! And fired!
R: He is not. He is here for a job interview. You know the vacant position on your team? He is not even an employee.
AG: Why did he park here, then?
R: Because I told him to. His appointment is at 8 a.m. But we can start now…
Me: With all due respect, I politely decline to work here.
CEO and R: What?
Me: Yeah, I am not interested in working for someone who speaks to his employees in this manner. Also, I don’t want to work for someone who can’t tell who is working for him.
R: I can’t blame you. I promise we will deal with this. Maybe we can reschedule for another day?
Me: I’ll keep in touch with you about that.
“A few days later, I signed a contract at Transport Company for a reeducation program to become a train operator. I called the recruiter as promised and told her that another interview wasn’t necessary. I asked her to please remove me from the list of candidates.
“She did and told me I made a good choice, as her father used to work for Transport Company. She also told me that AG got fired two days after he blew up at me. They did an internal investigation and found out about a lot of misconduct and abuse toward his employees. Karma wins.”
16.
“Last year, my husband and I were picking up our cat after surgery. The vet’s assistant at the front counter said she was listless but okay and wouldn’t get into her carrier. They let me go in the back to try to get her in the carrier, while my husband stayed up front and paid. I got her into the carrier, brought it up front, and gave it to my husband. As my husband and I were trying to soothe our cat before heading out to the car, the next lady in line snapped her fingers at me.”
“She said she was there to pick up her dog and could I go in the back and get it. I said, ‘Sorry, I don’t work here.’ And the assistant behind the counter had gone somewhere after finishing the transaction with my husband.
“The lady said, ‘I saw you give that man his cat; now get my dog.’
“Again I said, ‘Sorry, but I don’t work here, and that’s OUR cat.’
“She again snapped at me and said, ‘Get my dog now!’
“My husband turned to her and said, ‘That’s my wife, and we are picking up our cat. I’m sure someone will be up here soon to help you.’
“The lady said, ‘Don’t cover for her. I saw her come from the back with your cat. Are you trying to score with her? It won’t work; I don’t think a girl like her would go for a guy like you. Now, where is my dog?’
“I took this chance to give my husband the sloppiest kiss I could, saying, ‘You’re just my type, wanna go home with me?’ Just then, a worker came from the back and said she could help the lady. The lady scoffed and said, ‘It’s nice that someone here can. Your coworker here is all over this person and won’t get my dog.’
“The vet assistant simply said, ‘Ma’am, she doesn’t work here, she’s just picking up her cat.’ Then the lady said something that would have set me off if I wasn’t so concerned about getting our cat home. ‘Well, why didn’t she say something, then?’ Had I not been so busy trying to leave and preparing for the car ride ahead, I would have lit into her. The cat is fine, just had a strange growth removed, but she learned some colorful words I let out about the lady at the vet on the ride home.”
17.
“I was in a pharmacy that was having a sale on makeup, with all the sale items together on one table. I had an armful of products and was searching through the rest for particular colors, moving things around, putting some things back when I found something I liked better, etc. A woman came into my aisle and stood a few displays away behind me, complaining to her partner about the pharmacy and how she couldn’t find something.”
“I was focused on what I was doing, so I wasn’t really listening to their conversation, my brain just registering some kind of sarcastic white noise that was getting increasingly louder and more passive-aggressive.“Her partner was quietly trying to hush her as she continued to exaggeratedly sigh and moan to him about how terrible the employees were in the pharmacy, and how she ‘NEEDED hellllp!!’ even though from the time she’d walked into the aisle, she had just stood there and never attempted to go find an employee or whatever it was she was after.
“Finally, she very loudly and exasperatedly bellowed, ‘Does she even work here?!’
“I was startled by the outburst and turned around to look at her, finding her looking shocked and turning red because that was the exact moment she realized that no, I didn’t work there and wasn’t some employee ignoring her, and also the moment I realized that the whole two minutes or so of sighing and nasty comments were actually aimed at me.
“She grabbed her partner’s arm and marched past me without making eye contact, still complaining about the pharmacy and its ‘terrible service,’ though now in the erratic tone of someone trying to convince themselves they hadn’t just done something embarrassing.
“I was dressed in all black (not anything like the employee uniform, but it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that I could work there), and I can understand how she might have thought I was restocking or sorting the sale table, but what a way to go about it instead of just asking, ‘Excuse me, do you work here?'”
18.
“I work in an auto parts store, and my uniform shirt has its logo embroidered on it. I was using the self-checkout at the grocery to get lunch, and the woman behind me in line walked up to my scanner with me and loaded her things onto the little shelf beside me. I rang up my sandwich and paid. As I was walking away with my receipt, she started yelling at me to ring her up.”
“As I kept walking, she started screaming wordlessly like a spoiled toddler. Sadly, I did not see any employees except the one cashier who had about five people in line waiting. The angry lady may still be waiting for me to ring up her items.”
Disclaimer: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
h/t: Buzzfeed