People.

It is... a unique experience working at the Sub.  I deal with all sort of folks.  I had a few recently that were, um, memorable. 

A gent walked in, and tossed 4 life jackets  on the counter.  I said, "is this a donation?"  (We have people that check the jackets for safety, we also have a donation program.)  He looks at me as if I have brayed like a donkey, and pipes up, "Well, you have the boat program, and I don't need these  d*** things." Snorted, and walked out.  I tossed a quick thank you to him for the donation, if not the attitude. 

Another gent came in and needed X thing.  Basically acted as if I was invisible.  He saw one of the plain clothes deputies, who came over to see if he could help.  Well, no more than that, it was, yes, sir, no, sir, I would like this, sir...

Meh. 

I went and sat down, as I knew said gent wasn't going to give me the time of day.  He got what he wanted, I thought, and left.  About an hour later he comes back in, and says, where is Deputy Guyperson?  I tried to be polite, and said, Guyperson went to a meeting, I don't know what time he will be back, but probably more than an hour out. 

"But, Honey, I need to talk to him.  Sweetie, could you call him?"

I tried not to growl.  "No, I don't have his number, and I told you, he's out of the office for at least an hour."

But, Darling, I need this information. 

I looked up, barely managing to be polite, and told him, if it was urgent, he could always call dispatch, or go to the city police.  He waited for a bit, then asked if I had something to eat.  Turns out he was homeless. 

I was still not impressed with the Honey, Baby crap, but I told him that no, we didn't have any lunch service or such.  He then turned to the coordinator that had walked behind me, who is male, and ASKED THE SAME QUESTION.  And received the same reply.  I went back to my desk, and started typing.  He stood there, trying to get me to answer him, Honey, Sweetie, ad nauseum, and I just decided to say Uh-huh.  Finally, after about 15 Uh-huhs, he got the clue, and wandered out.  Didn't see him the rest of the day, don't know if he went to the city police, got the info from another source, or what, but you know... I am not sure I care. 

Meh...

A gent came in and had a big problem with someone, and was shaking.  He was rambling on for a bit, and I finally asked him to stop for a moment.  Do you need some water, or need to sit down?

He actually stopped for a moment, and then said, no, I am okay, I think, but... And was off again.  I stood, while he described his problems in excruciating detail.  When he finished, he was nearly in tears, I am sooo sorry, I must be wasting your time.  I told him, no, that's what I am here for, besides, it sounds like you needed to tell someone.  He leaned over the desk, took my hand, and said, thank you so much, a lot of people just tell me to shut up.  I told him what to tell the deputy, so that is was (a lot) shorter, and he was able to settle down quite a bit by then.

A gal came in, and she was just shy of being in tears.  She was getting harassing phone calls, and there was one that was supposedly from the FBI.  I tried to explain that it was most likely a scam, but she was so freaked out, I don't think she entirely understood me.  I got her a tissue, and she asked if I could get her some water.  I did, and called dispatch.  Turned out, she needed the city police, which I then called.  Her phone was buzzing non stop, and she whimpered, "what do I do?" 

I asked for her phone, and looked.  As I suspected, it was an out of country number.  I hit the "ignore" button, and told her to do that until the city officer showed up.  When he did, he explained to her that it was indeed a scam, and how to delete the number from her phone.  I then explained how she could tell an international number from a US number.  She said, I am not going to be arrested?  We both assured her, no, they were playing mind games with her.  She snorted, then deleted the number, under the officer's watchful eye.  She smiled, and then said, "Thank you, you two just made my day a lot better!", and was smiling when she left.

One thing about helping out here, it's never the same day!