To ask what's the rudest thing a stranger has done to you?

[YoungScrappyHungry]

Inspired by the lovely thread about kindest thing strangers have done for you, and also a chance for me to share this horror.

When I was 19, I worked on the tills at a supermarket in my holidays from university.

A woman I was serving was staring at me, trying to get my attention as I scanned her stuff. I looked up at her and smiled. She said, in still the most condescending tone I've ever heard:

'Don't you wish you'd studied now?'

I was so floored and ashamed, I didn't say a thing back and just carried on scanning her things. Fact was I was actually at university, but even if I hadn't been....aghh!....still gets me.

What are yours?

Cartford, not carnforth...

This is tame compared to most of these stories but...
I was in Morrisons, looking at one of those standing cages that contain produce (reduced bread). I'd been there for all of 10 seconds when a woman rammed me hard in the back with her trolley. I turned round in shock and asked her what on earth she thought she was doing. She replied 'well you should move out of the way then'.
I told her to f*%k off and left.

@Ffsseriously

All the people saying how customers were rude saying you will end up like this if you dont study. They then gleefully point out they were studying. You really are agreeing with the rude people. You are quick to point out you are more than just bar staff or shop workers, so you are just as rude. Its no come back or challenge to the ingrained snobbish in the remark.

I was just thinking this @Ffsseriously. There is nothing wrong with working as a waitress or on a till even if you aren’t studying. There are no lowly jobs, no one is better because they went to university or ‘Cambridge’. People saying ‘but they never knew I was really studying’ are basically also being dicks.

Somebody called me a fucking moron for wearing a mask in a park at the height of the pandemic; I’d just got off the bus where it was obligatory and was heading to my kids school where it was also obligatory and didn’t think it made me a moron to leave it on in between! Was also working on a covid ward at the time so yeah, you probably don’t want me breathing on you

I parked up at the supermarket in the parent and child space to do my weekly shop with 2 DCs. I got out of the car to quickly grab a trolley before loading the kids in and a man said loudly to his two friends he was chatting with “She doesn’t look very disabled, does she?” I smiled and said “Oh, it’s actually a parent and child space.” He responds in a nasty tone “Well, where are your kids then?” It was at this point that I realised that he just wanted to have a go at me, for whatever reason. He and his friends stood and watched me lift 17 month old DC1 into the trolley seat and strap 2 month old DC2 to my chest and glared at me as I walked past into the shop. It bothered me so much I had a cry once I was in the shop, the female friend of the man saw me and just looked away.

I’ve had physical grabbing, unkind comments re my thick hair, ugly face etc but for some reason the scenario above always sticks with me. The man and his friends were all old enough to be my parents. I was just a mum, minding her business doing her shopping, struggling with 2 under 2. Taking them shopping was a mammoth enough task without some dickhead scrutinising my actions.

I used to work for a holiday company and dressed up in the mascots, during one 'character breakfast' a guy who owned a caravan on site decided to grab the character to see if it had any balls! Unfortunately there wasn't much padding at that part of the costume so you can imagine exactly what part of me he grabbed!

We weren't allowed to talk in character so I was trying to point out what he had done to my manager who was with me at the time but they couldn't work it out, I avoided him like the plague from then on.

My daughter has asthma and was having a flare up, she was on steroids and had a negative pcr. We had to go to the shops and she started coughing, a woman called me a dirty cunt for taking her out in public.

@FridayNightAtTheBronze

This was more a rude thing done to my daughter, but it still affected me hugely.

My daughter was 3 at the time, and we were watching my son at his swimming lesson. An older lady (potentially another students grandmother) was sitting opposite, and had been staring at my daughter for a bit. She then walked over, grasped her by the chin and said "What's wrong with her face?".

My daughter was born with a cleft lip and palate, and although she has had 4 surgeries it is still fairly obvious.

I was so shocked that I froze and said nothing. I pulled my daughter away from her, and she walked away and I have always felt ashamed that I didn't have the courage to say something at the time. But it was so unexpected and awful.

I don't think my daughter remembers (I hope!) but I'll never forget it.

People can be cruel.

Bloody hell that's horrible. Think I'd have shoved her in the pool!

I was dancing in a club when I was about 19 or 20. Some random guy came over, started dancing with me, and then pulled my skirt up in the middle of the dance floor.

I shoved him, hard, and told him to fuck off but he just laughed. I wish I'd punched him in the face.

Two girls in a shopping centre

“Look at the state of that”

“What does it thinks it is”

Another shopping centre to my friend
“She’s like a little dolly isn’t she”

Erm I can hear you!?

I was regularly shifted at "Zombie" when I was in Africa. People were scared of me at times.

My dental hygienist is vile. I think she thinks it will make her patients try harder but it just makes me feel like a failure. Lots of huffing and puffing and showing me in the mirror how terrible I look and chatting to the assistant loudly about how she doesn’t know if she’ll be able to make me look ‘presentable’. Horrid woman.

The ones with nurses being unkind sre absolutely horrendous! They are in a position of power over vulnerable patients and it’s sick/has made me fume just reading

When I was a student, I was looking at the fruit in Waitrose and an older man pushed me out of the way with his trolley I was too shocked at the time and didn't say anything. I would if it happened now!

@wandererthroughwildforests

I was a very young-looking 28, eight months pregnant and had removed my wedding ring because of swollen fingers. A total stranger stopped me on the pavement and upbraided me for being a feckless teenager getting pregnant so young.

I appreciate that your post was a year ago but just wanted to say that I had the same thing.

I was in the latter stages of pregnancy, on a bus, and the upright post with the bell was in front of me. I had taken my rings off due to swelling and when I pressed the bell , the elderly lady next to me had clocked my left hand and said " ooh that's disgusting, you should be ashamed."

I knew that times had changed but had hoped that elderly folk would just tut quietly, to themselves.

Can't believe all the stories from people working in supermarkets. So rude .

I worked part time at a supermarket while I was at uni and I never experienced that. I did however get a few much older men telling me that they had money and that they could take me away from all this 🤮

Worst part I'd had lost a lot of weight, very demoralising to go through crap like that. Never said anything back as I was scared and shocked, also because I'm overweight I didn't feel I could respond as they're right. Just stood there wishing the ground would swallow me and not to start crying.
They're not right. Please don't ever think you're somehow worthy of this sort of abuse, they're not right at all.

When I was 7 month pregnant, a middle aged man sat next to me and started elbowing me with force. I promptly changed my seat, I was too scared to confront him.

On a bus ( forgot to mention).

One of my mystifying encounters was at Morrisons cafe. I got there early for breakfast. Ordered and took a seat in the empty cafe. There must be 30 tables so 80 ish seats. 79 of them empty.
Woman comes in behind me, orders and then takes the next table to me. But also chooses the chair that it back to back with me.hurumphs and complains and tuts and sighs because its a squeeze to get in.
Her other half turns up and they spend the next 10 minutes talking about me!
I guess it passes the day

@YoungScrappyHungry

Inspired by the lovely thread about kindest thing strangers have done for you, and also a chance for me to share this horror.

When I was 19, I worked on the tills at a supermarket in my holidays from university.

A woman I was serving was staring at me, trying to get my attention as I scanned her stuff. I looked up at her and smiled. She said, in still the most condescending tone I've ever heard:

'Don't you wish you'd studied now?'

I was so floored and ashamed, I didn't say a thing back and just carried on scanning her things. Fact was I was actually at university, but even if I hadn't been....aghh!....still gets me.

What are yours?

A woman (with teenage daughter) said something similar to DD when she was scanning items in River Island and chatting to her customer “I can’t believe you’re only working in River Island, I’m sure you could do more if you tried”

DD said “I’m at university studying *” Woman quickly backtracked with “oh I thought you were too good for this”

I’m pretty sure it was a passive aggressive message to her daughter.

When DS was little he had a very big tantrum in a park and was hitting his head on a wall and kicking metal play equipment. DH and I had been trained in safe holding and I was holding DS to get him calm. A woman came over and screamed at me that I was abusing my child (er, no, just trying to stop him from breaking his skull or toes) and that she had taken pictures and was going to call the police. I told her to call whoever she wanted but it really shook me and I avoided taking DS out for a while. Thankfully he doesn't do it any more.

What annoys me about these threads is the people who say they hate that they were judged for being in a service job, but promptly advise how they have X degrees or had an offer from X uni. at the time.

The offensive part in these stories, is that people look down on those working in these jobs and think it is ok to say it out loud. This is then reinforced because you are not offended by what they said about people in that job, it's that they tarred your with the same brush and you think you are better than the role too!

As someone who has chosen to work in customer facing roles throughout my very successful career, some of us prefer those roles and you can be very well educated and well paid for them too!

I work on a checkout in a well known store & definitely have respect for anyone working in retail. It’s definitely not a case of just scanning the goods. You often have to think on your feet & do at least 3 or 4 things at once. Also you sometimes have to deal with rude customers. My colleagues on Customer Service have had things thrown at them. Really shocking.

Argh some of these are boiling my piss.

I am Cabin Crew and have been for a very very long time. You do grow a thick skin quickly but I'll never forget the time I was briefing passengers sat at an emergency exit (which was also extra leg room) You know, telling them when and how to open a door if we crash. As I began a man said 'oh go away I'm not a child' He was sat with his wife. It made me cry (my dog had just died, I was a bit fragile)

You do also gain the skill to be quick in your response. So, because he wasn't compliant and wouldn't engage with me i deemed him unfit to sit at an emergency exit and take responsibility for it. As back up (because I knew that he'd tell me to go away again) I fetched the pilot and took her down to the passenger with me. She didn't say a word to him but he didn't argue with me when I said I was moving him to another (less legroom) seat.