In retail environments, it’s not uncommon for customers to confuse fellow shoppers for employees — especially when uniforms look similar.

On one fateful day at a Meijer grocery store, one customer’s confusion spiraled into a series of errors that left one poor guy at the center of it all.

Read on for the full story!

I accidentally initiated the attack

I was at the store today and saw a guy in a polo that matched the store color.

When the customer confronted the guy, confusion ensued.

We made eye contact, he nodded, and I said, “Do you work here?”

He replied, “Does my shirt say Meijer on it? No, I do not.”

The customer played it off, and the two went on their way.

I tried to make a joke at my own expense about how I must need new glasses or something.

Then we laughed, and funny story—the item I needed was directly behind him.

But this wasn’t the end of the story for the guy in the polo.

As I picked out my particular item, FOUR other people approached him one by one asking if he worked there.

Each one had seen the previous person’s attempt—me being number one.

Oof. Sorry, my dude!

Based on his rude response, maybe this guy deserved to be swarmed!

What did Reddit have to say?

Some people appear to be more prone to this phenomenon than others.

Or maybe some customers just don’t pay enough attention.

It never hurts to let someone down easy, though.

This commenter thinks this dude deserved a more pithy response to his rudeness.

He may not have worked there, but everyone else seemed to think he did!

Wearing the wrong shirt at the wrong time had never been so exhausting.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.