Magnific/Reddit

Appearances can sometimes lead to funny misunderstandings.

The following story is about a man who was shopping for supplies at a hardware store when customers assumed he worked there.

Even after saying he didn’t, a group of women became rude and demanded help finding some kind of paint.

Frustrated, he decided to play along and teach them a lesson.

Let’s take a closer look! Read the story below and see whether they deserved it or not.

I don’t work here.

I am a managing agent for some apartment buildings.

Sometimes, I head out to a local giant hardware store. I go with an employee or two.

We pick up bulk items like sheetrock, cement bags, sandbags, tools, lights, and fans.

I tend to go while wearing painter’s slacks and shirts.

I would rather not dirty my good clothes for this task.

This man would normally be mistaken for an employee.

Sometimes, other customers ask me where something is.

For some reason, they assume I work there.

They think the guy wearing white must be an employee.

White is not even the color of every employee’s shirt in the place.

I normally just say, “I don’t work here.” Then, I ignore them.

A group of women approached him and asked him to find a certain type of paint.

In this one instance, that did not work. I was in the plumbing aisle.

I was trying to find bulk items of toilet flappers. A mid-forties lady approached me.

She was with family or friends. They seemed to be in their thirties.

They asked me where they could find a type of paint.

I said what I normally say while looking through the shelves. They all got offended.

The women started to get annoyed with him.

Lady 1 said, “Excuse me?” I ignored her. I had not realized she was still talking to me.

I found what I was looking for. I was grabbing a few packages.

Lady 2 said, “Hey! We are talking to you!”

Lady 3 said, “What idiot trained you?”

At that point, I had what I needed. I was backing away from the shelving.

I noticed the ladies were staring at me angrily.

He repeated to them that he didn’t work there.

I realized then that my standard reply did not work. I shrugged.

I said, “I don’t work here. I had no clue.”

Then, I turned around and started to leave.

Lady 1 said she did not care if I did not work in that aisle and that she needed some paint.

She said if I did not help her, she would try to get me fired.

He finally gave them some directions.

Lady 2 said they should do it anyway and that I needed to learn that is not how you talk to a lady.

Lady 3 called me a jerk. We were in aisle 6.

I knew the public bathrooms were located at aisle 23. So I said I was sorry.

I said the paint area was located in aisle 23. I told them to go halfway down the aisle.

I said on the right-hand side there would be a group of people who could best help them.

He told them to have a great day.

Lady 1 asked if that was so hard. I said no, it was not.

I said I hoped they had a pleasant day.

The best part is that the paint aisle is actually located in aisle 3.

Lol. Glad OP was able to think fast and gave them something they wanted to hear. Lol.

Honestly, they really pushed it too far. How hard is it to believe that a person doesn’t actually work there, right?

Threatening to get him fired was honestly ridiculous. Hence, OP’s response was kind of justified.

Let’s check out the comments of other people on this story.

This user shares their personal thoughts.

Here’s a valid point.

Here’s an idea…

Finally, another similar thought.

If only they were kinder, they could have gotten the right directions.