I was just minding my own business, looking at the gaming section. I wasn’t wearing anything special, just a regular shirt and some jeans. I was trying to figure out if a certain headset would fit my computer setup. Then this lady came up real close to me. She had a big purse on her shoulder and was holding a crumpled paper in her hand. My eyebrows scrunched up a little, wondering why she was so near.
She jabbed her finger at a shelf of boxes. “Excuse me,” she said, her voice a bit sharp. “You work here, right? Can you tell me where the extra-long charging cables are? The really tough ones for the new phones.” I blinked at her. My chest felt a little tight with surprise. I mean, it was pretty obvious I was just a customer. I wasn’t wearing a uniform or a name tag. Nobody had ever made that mistake with me before. I took a slow breath to try and stay polite. “Oh, no,” I told her, trying to give a small, reassuring smile. “I actually don’t work here. I’m just a shopper, like you.”
Her face didn’t change at all. It was like she hadn’t even heard me. She just pointed her finger again, this time at a different display. “Look, I need help. I know you’re busy, but I’ve been waiting for ages. This paper has a number on it. It’s for a super-fast charger. My grandson told me I needed the good one. You should know where it is, it’s your job.” My smile slipped. A knot started forming in my stomach. “Ma’am,” I said, a little more firm this time, “I really do not work here. I’m just looking at headphones. You’ll need to find an actual employee to help you.”
She let out a huff, like I was being very difficult. “Don’t play games with me, young man. I know you work here. You’re standing right next to all these electronics. What kind of customer just stands there staring at boxes? Now, are you going to help me find this charger, or do I need to go talk to your manager?” My jaw began to clench. I felt a flush spread up my neck. I just wanted to finish looking at my headset and leave. I tried to just walk away, hoping she would get the hint, but she moved right in front of me, blocking my path.
“Where do you think you’re going?” she demanded, putting her hands on her hips. “You can’t just walk away from a customer! This is terrible service! I’m going to report you.” My shoulders tensed. This was getting ridiculous. “I am not an employee!” I practically gritted through my teeth. “I can walk wherever I want! I’m trying to leave because you won’t listen.” My temples started to throb with a dull ache. This whole thing was making my blood pressure rise.
She stepped even closer, her voice getting louder. “Don’t you dare raise your voice at me! You think I don’t see that little badge you’re hiding? You think I’m stupid? I need that charger for my grandson’s birthday. Now you march right over there and help me find it, or you’re going to be in big trouble. I know the owner of this store, and he’ll hear about how you treat people.” I felt a shiver of pure frustration. The idea that she thought I was hiding a badge, after I had told her twice, was mind-boggling.
I tried to sidestep her, but she lunged, grabbing my arm. It wasn’t hard, but it was enough. “Oh no you don’t!” she shrieked. “You are not leaving until you help me! I pay your salary!” My eyes went wide with disbelief. My muscles coiled. I yanked my arm back and took a big step away from her. “Let go of me!” I yelled, my own voice now loud enough to turn heads. This was way past annoying; it was starting to scare me a little. I didn’t want her touching me. I started backing away, my heart pounding in my chest.
“Help! He’s trying to run away!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, pointing at me with a trembling finger. “He won’t help me and now he’s trying to escape!” A few other shoppers were staring, and I could feel my face burning. Just then, a person in a store uniform, probably a manager, came hurrying over. He looked very confused. “Ma’am, is everything alright here?” he asked, looking between us. She pointed at me again, her voice shaking with outrage. “This man refuses to do his job! He won’t help me find a charger and he assaulted me when I tried to stop him from running off!”
My mouth fell open. Assaulted? This was insane. The manager looked at me with a questioning expression. Before I could say anything, the woman started yelling even more. “He needs to be fired! Call the police! He touched me!” The manager, seeing the commotion, pulled out his phone. I watched, my mind reeling, as he called security to deal with her outburst. I just wanted to disappear. A few minutes later, two security guards arrived and calmly but firmly escorted her out of the store, still loudly protesting and pointing back at me.
