We sometimes find ourselves in the middle of situations where we react and sometimes, we may even overreact. Although justified, we may still wonder if we took things too far.
Some people who find themselves in these situations share the information online on Reddit, using one of the boards, AITA. Essentially, people are wondering if they are being a jerk for what they did and they get a lot of feedback.
In the following 12 stories, you get to hear some of the best of the best of those who are wondering if they took things too far. The best part about it is, it’s okay for you to judge because that’s exactly what they are asking for.
1. AITA For Not Letting A Woman Cut In Line At The Grocery Store?
Hi Reddit. I need your opinion on grocery store etiquette and not letting someone cut the line. Tonight after work I stopped by my local grocery store to grab a handful of items to make dinner. 5 items in total. I maneuvered my cart behind an older woman who was slowly navigating putting her groceries on the belt to be checked out. She was the only person I noticed in front of me.
A few minutes later another woman tries to edge her way in line in front of my cart. I gave her a quizzical look and she said “Oh, I was here before, but I went to go and see if the other line over there was moving faster.”
I said, “Okay, but you weren’t here when I arrived soooo (shrug).”
The woman proceeded to inform me, she was here first and that she should be let back in because she only stepped away to see if the other line was faster. I replied that I did not see her here before I joined the line, so, she could get behind me or go back to the other line.
At this point she showed me that she only had a few things and was shocked that I wasn’t going to let her back in (she had 4 packs of jello). I pointed out that I too only had a few things and I wasn’t going to move because I did not see her in the line in front of me when I joined.
Now this is where I may be the a**hole. At this point we’re both getting frustrated in this grocery store pissing match for pole position. She says “So you’re not going to let me back in? Where’s your Christmas spirit?”. I’d had enough of her entitlement at this point and I shot back “Don’t pull that sh*t.”
Honestly, if I had been behind her in line, I would have happily held her place if she has asked. But she wasn’t there when I arrived and she just assumed she could cut back in line after a few minutes. Using Christmas Spirit as a means to get what she wanted was the last straw for me.
In the end she, glared at me and said “I hope you have a Merry Christmas” her voice dripping with sarcasm. And she left to go back over to another cashier.
The irony is, we both left the store with our items at the same time.
So Reddit, am I the A**hole for not letting this woman cut in front of me and calling her out when she tried to use “Christmas Spirit” to get her way
2. AITA For Telling An Employee She Can Choose Between Demotion Or Termination?
I own a vape shop. We’re a small business, only 12 employees.
One of my employees, Peggy, was supposed to open yesterday. Peggy has recently been promoted to Manager, after 2 solid years of good work as a cashier. I really thought she could handle the responsibility.
So, I wake up, 3 hours after the place should be open, and I have 22 notifications on the store Facebook page. Customers have been trying to come shop, but the store is closed. Employees are showing up to work, but they’re locked out.
I call Peggy, and get no response. I text her, same thing. So I go in and open the store. An hour before her shift was supposed to be over, she calls me back.
I ask her if she’s ok, and she says she needed to “take a mental health day and do some self-care”. I’m still pretty pissed at this point, but I’m trying to be understanding, as I know how important mental health can be. So I ask her why she didn’t call me as soon as she knew she needed the day off. Her response: “I didn’t have enough spoons in my drawer for that.”.
Frankly, IDK what that means. But it seems to me like she’s saying she cannot be trusted to handle the responsibility of opening the store in the AM.
So I told her that she had two choices:
Go back to her old position, with her old pay.
I fire her completely.
She’s calling me all sorts of “-ist” now, and says I’m discriminating against her due to her poor mental health and her gender.
None of this would have been a problem if she simply took 2 minutes to call out. I would have got up and opened the store on time. But this no-call/no-show sh*t is not the way to run a successful business.
I think I might be the AH here, because I am taking away her promotion over something she really had no control over.
But at the same time, she really could have called me.
So, reddit, I leave it to you: Am I the a**hole?
3. AITA For Leaving A Bad Review On A Small Store?
So my boyfriend and I have a tradition for our anniversary that we each go to a store and separate, and after we buy each other gifts we exchange in the car. It’s silly and cute.
We walked into this new mom & pop anime store (I am a huge anime nerd and my boyfriend likes video games which they also sell)
We separate and I go look at stuff for my boyfriend. A worker walks up to me and starts chatting, then points at my leg. I have a pretty big tattoo of Kakashi from Naruto on my thigh, among other anime tattoos.
He asks if I got that for my boyfriend and I said no, I’ve always loved Naruto and then showed him my other tattoos which included the leaf village symbol, Gaara of the sands gourd, and a piece on my arm of Asuma Sarutobi.
He started quizzing me on the lore of the anime and I told him I wouldn’t have spent $1000 on tattoos of an anime I didn’t know about, and I didn’t appreciate him trying to catch me in a “Gotcha” moment.
He told me he didn’t believe a girl could ever fully understand the real story of Naruto and the depth behind it (lol)
I told him I didn’t need his services and he can go back to the front desk. He told me I was a “rude wannabe b**ch” and walked into the back and I continued purchasing my items.
I left a review later, TLDR: if you’re feminine presenting enter with caution, one of the employees will call you a b**ch when you don’t want to prove your “nerd cred” to him.
The owner left a comment on my review asking for an email conversation and asked that I take down my review because people have started complaining about this employee as well and his sale revenue has dropped.
I told him I wouldn’t and maybe he shouldn’t hire misogynists if he doesn’t want bad reviews. My friends tell me I’m over reacting.
AITA?
4. AITA For Snapping At This Lady In The Grocery Store?
My son’s (7 months) been cranky all morning because he’s teething. I (27m) had to go grocery shopping and since it’s just me taking care of him he came with me. Normally he’s calm when I have him in his baby carrier because right now he just wants to be held by me but I forgot that at my mom’s yesterday so went in with his stroller to the market.
The plan was to be in an out in under 5 mins because he really wasn’t having it today. This lady kept popping up at every aisle I was in.
Well it’s a small market too so not like she was intentionally following us. He wouldn’t stop crying then she’d say “he’s hungry why didn’t you bring his bottle” and I would tell her no he’s not hungry he just ate 15 mins ago. Then it was “uh oh sure hope your daddy remembered to change your diaper this morning” (diaper wasn’t dirty).
At some point I picked him up for a little bit, he calmed down when I rocked him then lost his sh*t again when we got to the check out line because I needed to put him back in his stroller so I could put everything on the counter and pay. It was already a stressful day for me, I’m overwhelmed trying to hurry up putting everything in a bag while my son’s crying.
This lady is at the checkout line next to mine and she says “maybe next time he should stay at home with mommy don’t you think?” Normally I’m not a confrontational person but this one really got to me. “Well his mom passed away so why don’t you just mind your d**n business already and go.”
She looked at me a little shocked and then there was other people there too so she was red. The lady didn’t say anything to me at all but then at the parking lot she apologized about his mom but she didn’t think I needed to be rude and throw that at her face because she didn’t know what happened. I really didn’t wanna get into it anymore I just told her to get the hell out of my way and leave me alone. Got in my car and left. I’m home now more calm and wondering if she had a point. Because like I said normally I’m not like that with people but since it was already a hard day and stuff it infuriated me so bad. Was it an overreaction though? I get sometimes people think they’re helping when in reality know nothing when it comes to calming a baby and usually brush that off. AITA?
5. AITA For Buying The Last Of An Item That Someone Else Hid In The Store?
I was shopping the frozen foods section of Costco. I stumbled upon a bag of frozen soup dumplings (Mila) that were not in the section they were supposed to be in. They were peeking out from behind boxes of Corn dogs. I had been looking for these soup dumplings because FB ads has been bombarding me with them for weeks. So when I saw the one bag behind the corn dogs, I grabbed them and put them in my cart.
A couple seconds later, some woman stops me and says, “Excuse me, I was saving that bag to grab after I finished the rest of my shopping because I didn’t want them to melt.”
I told her I didn’t understand what she meant.
She reiterated, “That was the last bag of dumplings, so I hid them so I could do some other shopping and come get them later. So can you please give them to me?”
I replied, “Sorry, no. I Found them, and I want to buy them. You are welcome to another bag if there are any left. But this bag is mine now.”
She says, “You’re a real jerk, you know that?”
I replied, “Yeah, I might be. But I’ll be a jerk eating some delicious soup dumplings when I get home!”
Am I the A**hole?
6. AITA For Leaving The Thrift Store With The Item I Paid For?
I went into my local thrift and immediately found a piece of furniture I wanted. In the past, I’ve been through the furniture section and seen receipts attached to items saying that they’ve been sold already and are no longer available. That was not the case with this table. Stoked, I ask an employee to help me move it to the register so I can pay for it. A nice dude helps me out by putting it on a dolly and rolling it up front for me. I pay for it, and he starts pushing the dolly out to my car.
Lady comes out of the store behind us and she is PI**ED. She comes up with a temper, yelling that it’s her table that we’re wheeling out to my car. Confused, because there was no sold tag on this thing, I ask her if she also paid for it. She says “No, but I told the manager I wanted it and she set it aside for me.” I feel awkward at first and just kinda freeze there for a minute while she goes back in to get the manager.
I considered going in and refunding it and giving it back. I did think about it. I actively decided that since I paid for it, I had essentially called dibs, and that the store manager should’ve had the woman pay for the item and put a receipt on the item as they’ve done in the past.
So I look at the dude helping me lug this thing out to my car. He looks stunned and clearly is gonna wait to see what happens. I decide not to wait. I tell him I’m not gonna make him be any more involved and I just pick up my furniture and start walking to the car.
As soon as I’m finished loading it into the car, the manager comes out with the woman. The manager asks me expectantly if I’m going to give the furniture back to the lady. I ask the manager if the lady paid for it. She says “No, but we did put it on hold for her.” I told her there was no signage indicating it was sold, it wasn’t moved off of the floor, and no one stopped me when I asked for help moving it and checked out. The manager then tells me that if I don’t go back in and return the table, that I’m banned from this thrift store and to never come back.
So I told her I’m sorry that her staff had made a mistake, but that I had no intention of returning the item I paid for, got in my car, and nope’d out.
I clearly upset this lady by not refunding and giving “back” this table. I feel bad that she was upset… But I did it anyway. I know I didn’t commit a crime by taking a table I paid for, but AITA? Should I have just given it to her?
7. AITA For Telling A Stranger At The Store That I Am Not Her Therapist?
I was at a bookstore last night after work. When I got to the register, it was empty. A moment later, an employee came back around with another customer. The other customer got in line behind me, while still chatting with the employee. I could tell the employee was a little uncomfortable as she called me forward. The other customer stood literally right behind me as the employee kept doing the brush off of “yeah” “oh really?” “Wow”.
The other customer was talking about how she had recently been diagnosed with cancer, going into details about the treatments she’d need, etc. Finally, she was quiet when it was clear the employee was focused on my transaction and trying to ask me the whole “do you have a rewards card, do you want one, etc.” spiel. That’s when the other customer turned to me and started giving the same story. I said I was sorry to hear about her diagnosis and went back to speaking to the employee. The customer still kept talking, right in my ear, saying “yeah, I’m so pi**ed, why’d this have to happen to me?”
Finally, I told her “you need to back up and give me some space. Stop interrupting our conversation.” She started saying “I have cancer, I need to vent”. I said “again, sorry to hear that but we are not your therapists, back up”. She backed up and went silent. Employee looked relieved.
I told my wife what happened and she told me I was rude. The woman was clearly going through something. I said as a former retail worker, I despised people who unloaded their days on me and she was clearly making the employee uncomfortable while also standing right next to me. Wife said I was still wrong.
8. AITA For Being Acting Like A Karen With Retail Workers?
I’ve worked my whole life, mostly in service industries dealing with customers.
I was raised by people who worked in service industries.
So I ask this because I don’t want to be the a**hole. I have worn the other shoes.
My side.
I was in a store in what locals call the mall of the dead because it’s mostly barren, the store was not an exception.
After finding the department we needed the wife and I waited looking around for employees. The only one we had seen was the cashier out front.
After 10 minutes of waiting and seeing no employees my wife went and asked the cashier to send someone over. She paged and my wife came back.
15 minutes later I went and asked the cashier the same thing, just send someone to help us, she got on the walkie and asked for help in the department. I heard someone respond with an affirmative response so I went back.
There was always someone waiting, my wife or I, and after another 10 minutes I went in search of any other employee. Finding a different one I repeated the request, out of breath from walking the store so much I have back issues and a bum knee, only to be told someone was there. I went back and again nobody.
By now I am getting pretty pissed off, walked back to the cashier to find the other employee there as well, when I repeated myself again only to be told rudely that someone was there it took all I had not to scream.
The pain in my back and knee was blasting me and I was angry. I went back and finally a different employee. I showed them what I needed, their website on my phone, I was out of breath and didn’t trust myself to talk at the moment.
I would have been fine and finished my business and left at this point, I was being quite waiting for the clerk to find my item, but the other employee came over and started making BS excuses, saying they were there the whole time and never got asked for help.
I, loudly and probably using profanity, detailed the last hour I had spent in the store as I was asked to leave and threatened with police.
The whole thing could have been avoided by a little responsibility and common courtesy. If, instead of calling my wife and I liars, they had said, sorry we didn’t see you, or any even half believable reason, I would have been fine. I understand sh*t happens, but don’t blame me when I have been cool.
TLDR: I got loud after employees told me lies that implied my wife and I were liars.
9. AITA For “Yelling” At Someone Who Entered My Obviously Closed Store?
My store on Christmas Eve, closed at 8pm. The internet had the hours, we’d been answering the phone all day with “Hello, this is *my store, we close at 8.” and our doors had BIG signs with the holiday hours. On Saturday we usually close at 10.
So, 30 mins past 8, our door security gate is halfway down, and the automatic doors are turned off, and 1 is locked. For “safety reasons,” one was left unlocked.
I’m halfway across the store finishing up stuff with my 3 other workers. The door suddenly opens. I make it across the store in 10 strides (not a small store) and firmly tell the guy making his way inside. “EXCUSE ME! You can’t be in here. We’re closed!”
He stopped shocked and told me, “I thought you were open.”
I stand in his way and tell him, “The safety gate is halfway down, and you had to pry open my auto doors. I’m obviously closed. You need to leave. Now.”
He got mad and said, “I thought you were open. You don’t have to yell at me, but dont worry, I won’t be back!” He backed out, ducking under the gate and left.
I may have been a little forceful, but he literally had to pry open a normally automatic door.
I told my family when I got home, and they’re all like, “Wow, no customer service at all.” So, maybe I could’ve been nicer? Idk.
Am I the a**hole?
10. AITA For Buying All The Red Gatorade At A Store?
I’m a big fan of Gatorade, and I have a specific reason for buying it. I have low blood sugar and dehydration issues, and my doctor recommended that I drink Gatorade to help keep my electrolytes in balance. However, I’m also neurodivergent and its hard for me to change things up and try new flavors, so I only buy the red kind as it’s the only one I like.
Yesterday, I went to the grocery store on their stock day, and I saw that they had a fresh shipment of Gatorade. I was so happy, because I had been running low at home. I grabbed the bottles of the red flavour and put them in my cart.
As I was walking away, a mom with two kids approached me and asked if I could spare a few bottles of the red Gatorade. She explained that it was her kids favourite flavour, and that they were out of stock at their local store. I felt bad for her, but I explained that I needed the Gatorade for my own health reasons, and that I couldn’t spare any.
The mom got really upset and started to yell at me, saying that I was being selfish and that I should think about others. I tried to explain my situation again, but she wouldn’t listen and kept telling me I could just take the blue Gatorade instead. I just started to ignore her after a while, and eventually, she stormed off.
Now I’m wondering if I was in the wrong. Should I have given her some of the Gatorade, even though I needed it for my own health? Or was I justified in keeping it all for myself? AITA?
11. AITA For Refusing To Allow A Store To Search My Bag?
I was shopping at a dollar-store type place. I was carrying a medium size canvas bag full of binders and stuff for work (I was coming home from work and don’t have a car).
I didn’t find what I was looking for so I decided to leave. At the exit, an employee said “you hiding something in that bag?” and I said “no”. Then she asked if she could search it. Again I said no. She blocked the exit and said I couldn’t leave until I opened my bag. I said you have no right to search my bag. She called the manager on the radio while still blocking the exit.
The manager came out and was more polite but still insisted on searching my bag. He said that “there has been a lot of theft lately and we are just trying to reduce it”. I said that is not my problem, you have no right to search. So he said that he was detaining me until police arrive. I said fine.
I stood there waiting for about 5 or 10 minutes until the police arrived. The police officer asked for my bag, and I handed it over. He quickly flipped through it and then gave it back and said you are free to go. But then he started telling me that I was being difficult and wasting his time and I should have just showed my bag to the employee in order to avoid creating hassle for everybody. I didn’t answer and just left.
12. AITA For Telling The Cashier That A Girl’s Credit Card Wasn’t Hers?
Throwaway because husband told me I was TA and want to know before I get home and argue. On phone format is bad.
I was in a higher end department store today (rhymes with loomingtales) and happened to end up next to two teenage aged girls while shopping. One of the girls had picked out a pair of VERY expensive boots and they were both fawning over them. Second girl must have looked at price tag and asks boots girl if she’s really gonna spend that much on boots. Girl with boots says something along the lines of “it’s fine I have my dads credit card I’m not paying ” which instantly caught my attention because THATS NOT HER CARD. I’ve told my son multiple times he’s never allowed to use my card so I’m interested to see how this girl thinks she’s going to get away with fraud but had split up from the girls at this point because they had found something else.
We end up at the same register (me behind) and I see her total hit well over four digits. The girl is about to swipe her card when I decide that I can’t let her get away with something like this and someone has to parent this kid if no one else will. I tell cashier that isn’t her card but her father’s and I’m not sure she has permission. Girl and friend turn and glare at me giving me possibly the dirtiest look I’ve ever seen. I swear this girl was going to throw a tantrum right there, I don’t think she was ever told no.
Girl tells cashier her father gave her the card to shop with because it’s the stores credit card and it gives him the points. Now that I’ve pointed out it wasn’t hers cashier tells her she can’t use that card. Girl tries to show ID to prove they have the same last name ( yeah that will help) and I tell her it’s still fraud. Girl says it’s not fraud because she has permission and tells me to mind my own business. I tell her that it is my business that she’s doing something illegal she needs to pay with her own card or I call the cops. Girl is pi**ed now and people are glaring at me. She uses her own card and leaves crying. Cashier looks mad at me and I tell my husband when I get home only for him to agree I was in the wrong.
So Reddit, ATIA?
