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Convenient store workers, what's a memorable customer you've had?

posted 10 years ago by Occult_Detective
22 replies | jump to latest

About eight years ago I worked a stint at 7-11 and had my share of weird customers, but one day a guy came in that has always stayed with me.

The guy came up to me to buy some coffee and when he went to pay, I noticed he was missing all four fingers on his right hand. I didn't say anything about it, but I guess he noticed because he held his hand up and said, "Oh, yeah. I have an ex wife." To which I was just like "Oh yeah? That sucks. I guess."

He then went into this huge story about his life, as if we were old buddies catching up on everything that had happened to him in the last decade. Other people would come in and buy things, and he'd just step off to the side, wait for them to pay for their items and then step back up to the counter to continue where he left off.

We talked for about a good 45 minutes, though I didn't really contribute a lot to the conversation short of nodding and a few agreeing responses here and there. It turned out he was collecting disability after the elevator accident and his wife left him for being "a cripple" after about thirty years of marriage. I felt for the guy and I didn't even know him.

Not really a comedic encounter but he left soon after that and never came back in, but I stood there just thinking "... well, damn." Definitely one of the most interesting customers I ever had.

Then there's the construction worker who didn't crap in the toilet, but right on top of the lid. But that's a different story altogether.

[–] tsaintx 10 years ago

Dude, I hate people that sit there and tell you their entire life story. It's called "Ear Rape." They forcefully shoved information - that you didn't ask for - and you don't want, into your earhole. No means no.

[–] Occult_Detective 10 years ago

Lmao! Isn't that the truth. See, in cases like that, I almost wanted to be more like Randal. Just buy your crap and move on. But no, I was definitely the Dante of my store, I'd stand there and listen to customers go on and on and did so with a smile so I wouldn't have to worry about getting fired. Which I ended up quitting anyway, so I should have left in fashion...

[–] RecordBreaker84 10 years ago

I had a regular customer who, for whatever reason, started telling me stories of his early life in the military. He explained how he did Special Ops work during the Reagan administration, talked about how he went through a peculiar recruitment process, and even went on to show a row of scars where he supposedly was sprayed with an AK-47 during some mission, even pulled out some purple ID which he explained was for seriously wounded soldiers or something. He seemed believable, didn't look like he was on crack, but he never came in again after that.

[–] Occult_Detective 10 years ago

Doesn't that just leave you totally puzzled? Not that their stories can't be interesting, they certainly can be. But the fact that they had to spill their guts to a random clerk. I guess they wanted to talk to someone and maybe had no one else to listen, I don't know. I met quite a few of them. I have funnier stories than the one I posted that I may get around to telling when I have the time. Here's a quick one - some obnoxious little skate-rat was in the store with whom I assumed was his grandmother, because she looked way too old to be his mom. This was during the Beavis and Butt-head craze, so he was doing the little "I need TP for my bunghole, heeh, heeh" schtick. Not as funny in real life, tell you that much. Anyway, the older woman got pissed off and yelled "QUIT IT BEFORE I SHOVE MY FOOT IN YOUR BUTTHOLE!" I'd literally been sipping on soda when I heard that and spit the hell up everywhere.

[–] michaelward15 8 years ago

I worked with a guy at a convenience store who was always telling stories about how he'd been in some super secret elite military until his unit had been exposed on some super secret extralegal mission and the military disavowed all knowledge of them, and he'd supposedly lost his right to vote. He'd tell stories of his missions in far flung jungles to everyone, and then we'd compare the versions he told us with others and they always got more extreme every time he told them to someone new. I remember he'd go on and on about he was trained to kill, and it was just instinct to him now, and he had to be careful to never get into a fight because he wouldn't be able to control what he would do. He wasn't even very old. I thought he was under 30 at the time. He could have been a youthful 35 I guess.

[–] kmags84 10 years ago

We're like Bartenders in many ways, I've said it many times. If the situation is right, the person will tell you they commited Murder just to tell SOMEONE lol... I've come to enjoy alot of it, i run my friends store and i deal with people 40hrs a week. Its just part of the job. My neighborhood is very densely populated. It's diverse and it's definitely strange what some people will tell you. Sex stories and marriages, this person sells drugs, that person does drugs etc etc lol... Idk, I've just gotten past the part of getting angry or irritated. I've become really good at nodding my head and saying "Yup."

[–] Elephantlips 10 years ago

You'd think that someone who worked in a 7-11 would know that it's called a "convenience" store.

But, I guess... Nevermind.

[–] Metsiavelli 9 years ago

I worked for a 711 when I was 19. All kinds of stories. A guy nicknamed Listerene man came in every day and bought a pint of listerine. I was off one day and.when I came back my co-workers told me Listerine man was found on his lawn passed out w a bottle od listerene in his hand. Later that day he came in wearing a hospital gown and bought another bottle of listerene....a lot of cops also hung around because they get free stuff because 711 wants.police presence. One came in in plainclothes once and was BSing behind the counter when a guy comes in and starts asking people.if they want to buy this stolen jewlery he just scored. The plainclothes cop thentold the guy he was definitely interested in buying some stolen jewlery. I don't have to tell you what happened next.....A guy tried to walk in, try to put the ATM machine on a little cart with wheels. Bad idea.

[–] JohnSmythe 9 years ago

I worked 6-7 different jobs in my teens and early twenties and the people you meet are just incredible, like straight out of a movie.

I had some guy in come in to a burger shack and ask for pizza and then get offended we didn't sell any.

One guy came in to a bar I worked in and asked to watch the game. I turned the channel over and waited for him to order something. About 10 minutes go by and he's still 'deciding'. Another 10 minutes pass and now he's 'waiting for friends'. I tell him straight up, 'order something or leave' and he says 'I'll have some peanuts and a glass of water". I just asked him to leave.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] PopperTheKungFu-Dragon 9 years ago

Some people are just lonely and though I never worked in a convenience store or a bar, I think I would like listening to some interesting stories.

Poorly Lived and Poorly Died, Poorly Buried and No One Cried

[–] mark.waltz 9 years ago

I worked in a video store, and heard a lot of excuses of damaged tapes. Other than ones crushed after the Northridge earthquake, the only one I couldn't help but discount was one which contained a huge cockroach stuck inside. The worst experience was returning adult tapes covered in alleged lube. At least I think it was lube.

"Great theater makes you smile. Outstanding theater may make you weep."

[–] JohnSmythe 9 years ago

The worst experience was returning adult tapes covered in alleged lube. At least I think it was lube.

He must have had to take the tape out in a hurry lol

All joking aside, that's pretty f@cking disgusting. I would have complained to the manager and asked him/her to cancel that guy's membership.

[–] michaelward15 8 years ago

I had this one guy who was always telling me about his role playing characters. I remember he was telling me he had one who had a semi-automatic crossbow. It wasn't just, "He has a semi-automatic crossbow." It was a detailed description of how the thing worked and how it was actually realistic if you understood it yadada yadada yadada.

[–] Ultrashiver 8 years ago

When I worked at 7-11 back in 1998, "Discount Charlie" was a WW2 veteran and regular customer. He always talked about how his head was nearly crushed by an anti-aircraft gun.

[–] PreachCaleb 8 years ago

Whoa. That actually sounds like a good story.

Seize the moment, 'cause tomorrow you might be dead.

[–] krypton_son 8 years ago

Yeah it does.

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dies ist meine unterschrift

[–] BurningSun (717) 5 years ago

One woman came into our business complaining about a “scary black guy” who was harrassing her and making weird faces at her. She seemed like a few screws were lose but we took it seriously. Later in the day she came back and was livid that we hadn’t taken care of the “crazy black guy”, going into a tirade about how blacks should be shipped back to Africa since they can’t control themselves and explaining a conspiracy that black people were going to launch a suprise invasion against America in some sort of new civil war. Obviously she was cuckoo, but we decided to look into this potential harrasser who was in our business.

Security cameras were pulled up to reveal that the woman had been starring at a life-sized cardboard cutout of Ice Cube. She was staring at an advertisement for the movie Are We There Yet? The woman thought the cardboard Ice Cube was a real person trying to harrass her.

[–] manwithoutaplan (227) 5 years ago

That's hilarious!