Ahhhh, working in a gas station.

You deal with all kinds of people and you never really know when things are going to take a turn for the better…or for worse.

And I guess that’s part of the fun, right?

Well, that and being able to tell customers who misbehave that you’ll call the police if they don’t shape up.

In today’s story, a worker talked about how they got a rude customer to get in line in a jiffy.

Let’s take a look!

Rude customer asked…and received.

“I worked in a small-town convenience store in the Midwest many years ago. It was part of a chain based out of Ames, Iowa.

One night as it was getting close to closing, a customer who had finished pumping gas came in to pay. He immediately started saying that he wasn’t paying for the last gallon of gas because the pump hadn’t shut off properly.

I looked out and could see a small (maybe 4″-5” diameter) puddle of gas, maybe 4 oz worth. I informed him of all the signs informing the users that they were responsible for what they pumped.

He got asinine and asked me what I was going to do about it; he refused to pay the full amount.

Well, if he wanted to be a jerk about it…

Without saying a word, I stepped out from behind the counter, walked around the pizza cook (the only other employee there – who watched this all happen) and headed for the pay phone next to the door.

Mr. Asinine asked me what I thought I was doing and I informed him that I was calling 911 for attempted theft. He told me to get back to the register and he’d pay the full amount, which he did while calling me every name in the book.

I didn’t respond, which made him even madder. Once the transaction was complete, he pulled a little notebook and pen out of his pocket and gave me a really snide look as he told me “I want you to give me the president’s address, NOW.”

This guy was a total idiot.

Cue malicious compliance.

“Yes, sir,” I told him “It’s 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC. I don’t know the zip code offhand, sorry.”

He is so mad that he doesn’t realize what I’ve given him, he’s just scribbling it down as fast as he can.

Once he finishes writing it down, he closes his little notepad, pockets it and his pen, and tells me that I’ll be hearing from the home office once they receive his letter.

As he’s walking out the door, I raise my voice and say “SIR!”

He stops, turns around, and growls back “What?”

I answer as sweetly as I can, “Have a nice night.”

I could see the vein on his forehead pop up before he turned and stormed across the lot to his car.

Impressive!

The pizza cook, who has watched the whole thing tells me “Dude, you’re cold.”

“Which part?” I ask him.

“Telling him to have a nice night – that was cold.”

I had to explain to the cook what the address was that I gave Mr. Asinine. He had completely missed it.

I’ve often wondered how far that guy made it before he realized what I had done. Still tickles me over 30 years later.”

If you enjoyed this post, check out this story about a hardware store employee who lost his cool with customers wandering around after closing time.

And here’s what readers had to say about this.

This person weighed in.

Another individual was impressed.

This Reddit user spoke up.

And another reader asked some questions.

Now, that was impressive!

Some folks think the rules don’t apply to them, and, if you happen to work in a public place, the best thing to do is what this worker did…threaten them!

In customer service, there’s never a dull moment!