Jeez, I guess this is what you get for being helpful, huh?

You get mistaken for an employee.

If you were shopping at a store when you were mistaken for an employee, would you correct the other customer, or would you play along?

In this story, one man with foot pain shares what happens when he goes shoe shopping.

Let’s see how the story plays out.

Only an employee would put shoes back, I suppose.

It doesn’t seem to matter what I’m wearing or what store I go to, but it seems that nearly every time I need to get shoes, another customer thinks I work there.

And I’m pretty sure the only reason is that I try on a lot of shoes and put them all back.

They have a whole process…

I have foot pain (and often use orthopedic inserts), so I need to try shoes out in person to get the exact size and support that will limit the pain.

Whenever I go shopping, I’ll grab like 3-4 boxes at a time, knowing that 90% of the time they won’t be right for me and I’ll have to put them back.

And they’re polite about it!

I know I try on a lot of shoes, but I’m not a menace, so I put them all back neatly in their boxes and return them to the spot I found them in.

I used to work retail as a teen, so maybe I just have a certain vibe when I’m doing that.

At least once per outing while returning a batch of shoes, someone will approach me and ask for help finding something in a different size.

Usually, it’s harmless and I just say I don’t work there and they leave me alone.

One time, however, a man was deeply confused by the situation. He had approached me to find shoes in a different size, and upon explaining that I don’t work there, he looked perplexed.

He stared at my stack of boxes and then back at me. “You DON’T work here?”

“No, I’m just putting back some shoes.”

Oh, boy…

This confused him more.

“You’re just putting shoes back?”

“Yes, I’m a customer who is trying on shoes.”

He looked like I said “I’m building a Time Machine to take your childhood hero on a date to the moon.” Furrowed brow, deep frown, wide eyes. He walked away, but kept glancing at me.

I carried on with my hunt for shoes that wouldn’t make me miserable and he watched me from a distance for a while before presumably feeling satisfied that I was, in fact, a customer.

Here’s another example.

Another time, a woman grabbed my elbow and yanked my arm because she wanted my attention and I had my AirPods in.

I was very startled, but I knew exactly what was happening because-despite not hearing her question-she had a certain tone that could only be interpreted as expecting a retail worker to do whatever it was she wanted.

I popped out an AirPod and said firmly, “I don’t work here.”

She didn’t even apologize, just stomped off.

Anyway, my boots are falling apart, so I have to get new shoes soon.”

That would get really annoying, but it sounds like he handles it well.

Reddit users spoke up.

This person shared their thoughts.

Another individual spoke up.

This reader had a lot to say.

Another Reddit user chimed in.

Here’s an interesting suggestion.

Being courteous might get you mistaken for an employee.

If you liked that post, check out this one about an employee that got revenge on HR when they refused to reimburse his travel.