Traveling brings a lot of good, and sometimes awkward, surprises.

In this story, a man was on a river cruise who loved getting coffee in the morning from the “Chef’s Table” dining room.

One morning, a stranger assumed he worked there even though he was wearing casual clothes.

The situation became awkward when the woman didn’t seem to believe his response.

Read the full story below to find out more.

I need ice

I was just on a river cruise in the Netherlands and Belgium.

At the back of the ship, there is a small dining room.

It is referred to as the Chef’s Table. It has a tasting menu each night.

My cabin happened to be just two doors forward from this dining room.

This man would go to the dining room in the morning and get himself and his wife some coffee.

Each morning, I would get up and go to that room.

I would use the automatic coffee machine to make cappuccinos for my wife and me.

This was allowed. There is also a more visible machine in the lounge area.

I think I may have been the only person aware this machine exists.

I never saw anyone else there except for…

Another passenger approached him and asked for ice.

On about day five, I was making the coffee drinks as usual.

I was wearing a T-shirt and lounge pants. I still had bed head.

Next thing I knew, a woman walked in carrying a bucket.

She took one look at me and said, “I need ice.”.

I looked up and said, “I don’t work here.”

Instead, he pointed her to where the ice was.

I am not sure she believed me. She gave me a side eye.

It was like I was shirking my duties or something.

Being a polite person, I told her where the ice machine was located.

Hopefully, she did not reduce her tip at the end of the cruise due to me not helping her.

Okay, that was such a random mix-up, especially with the bed head and lounge clothes.

I wonder why the other passenger didn’t take those as a clue. Lol.

It’s funny how just being in the wrong place can make people assume things.

Oh well, at least he still helped her out even after the awkward moment.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman whose HR department advised her to quit if she was that unhappy, so she did and found herself in a role reversal years later.

Let’s read the responses of other people to this story.

Lol. Short but true!

This person chimes in.

This one has a few questions.

Here’s a straightforward response.

And finally, this user makes a quick suggestion.

Apparently, if you stand near a coffee machine long enough, you might get promoted to staff.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man whose friends say he’s privileged for wanting to eat at nicer restaurants.