(or, "I'm Taking This To The Papers!")
I can't believe I forgot about this rather overwrought (possibly insane) lady. This happened about a year ago.
So, I'm on till, chatting with a coworker and one of the girls from the Safeway next door. I see a woman with grocery bags rush out of the cooler and out the front door. At the same time, a man starts coming up to the till with some beer.
Me: (To the Safeway girl) "Wow, someone's in a hurry." I said this jokingly, obviously. I suppose it must have come across otherwise.
Random man: (As he approaches the counter) "That was my wife."
Me: "Oh, okay." I didn't know what else to say. I served him cheerfully, he seemed fine, and then he left.
I decided to go do some things in the back, and returned a few minutes later just in time to see a screaming woman leave the premises.
Turns out, it was the woman who had left earlier. She'd come back and started yelling at my coworker and the Safeway girl, going on about how her husband had told her what I'd (she seemed to think it was the Safeway girl, apparently, despite the fact that the girl was in uniform!) said and how offended and angry she was. And THEN, out of nowhere, she adds that we had been making fun of her husband's jeans!
Suffice to say, we hadn't even noticed his jeans. And we would NEVER make fun of a customer's clothes, especially not within earshot. But for days afterwards, we would amuse ourselves by looking at eachother and dead-panning, "Are you making fun of my jeans?"
We were left bewildered, and I wrote a note for the manager, explaining the incident.
The next day, she told me that the lady had called that morning, demanding that I (she still had no idea who I was, by the way) be punished for my insolence. When my manager informed her that she was going to stand by the word of her employees, the woman threatened to 'take it to the press!'
To my mild disappointment, I never did see an editorial proclaiming my great evil. I would have clipped it out and stuck it on the fridge for guests to read.
Now, what I've always wondered is this: was the woman just a bit unhinged, or did her husband (who had seemed normal enough) tell her some completely skewed version of what had happened, and why?
Any insights, or other stories of out-of-the-blue accusations?
I can't believe I forgot about this rather overwrought (possibly insane) lady. This happened about a year ago.
So, I'm on till, chatting with a coworker and one of the girls from the Safeway next door. I see a woman with grocery bags rush out of the cooler and out the front door. At the same time, a man starts coming up to the till with some beer.
Me: (To the Safeway girl) "Wow, someone's in a hurry." I said this jokingly, obviously. I suppose it must have come across otherwise.
Random man: (As he approaches the counter) "That was my wife."
Me: "Oh, okay." I didn't know what else to say. I served him cheerfully, he seemed fine, and then he left.
I decided to go do some things in the back, and returned a few minutes later just in time to see a screaming woman leave the premises.
Turns out, it was the woman who had left earlier. She'd come back and started yelling at my coworker and the Safeway girl, going on about how her husband had told her what I'd (she seemed to think it was the Safeway girl, apparently, despite the fact that the girl was in uniform!) said and how offended and angry she was. And THEN, out of nowhere, she adds that we had been making fun of her husband's jeans!
Suffice to say, we hadn't even noticed his jeans. And we would NEVER make fun of a customer's clothes, especially not within earshot. But for days afterwards, we would amuse ourselves by looking at eachother and dead-panning, "Are you making fun of my jeans?"
We were left bewildered, and I wrote a note for the manager, explaining the incident.
The next day, she told me that the lady had called that morning, demanding that I (she still had no idea who I was, by the way) be punished for my insolence. When my manager informed her that she was going to stand by the word of her employees, the woman threatened to 'take it to the press!'
To my mild disappointment, I never did see an editorial proclaiming my great evil. I would have clipped it out and stuck it on the fridge for guests to read.
Now, what I've always wondered is this: was the woman just a bit unhinged, or did her husband (who had seemed normal enough) tell her some completely skewed version of what had happened, and why?
Any insights, or other stories of out-of-the-blue accusations?

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