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“A Free Bagel”: 90 Of The Most Simple, Mundane And Insignificant Things That Caused Adult Tantrums
Anyone who’s spent time around kids knows exactly what a tantrum looks (and sounds) like. It’s loud, messy, and all part of being little. And the reasons don’t always make sense to the rest of us. Case in point: My friend’s two-year-old once had a complete meltdown because she moved a craft knife out of his reach. I mean, the audacity!
As we grow up, we learn to keep our composure (mostly) when things don’t go our way. So when a full-grown adult completely loses it over something seemingly insignificant, the results can range from hilarious to genuinely unsettling. The people in this thread have seen it happen firsthand, and they shared all the details about the ridiculously petty things that set these adults off.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
A free bagel.
My mom's uncle came to visit, and my family took him to a small family run bagel shop. The uncle made a huge deal out of picking out his bagel, loudly weighing the pros and cons of his top two choices before picking one.
When we got home, we discovered the bagel shop guy tossed in the uncle's second choice bagel for free. This caused my mom's uncle to lose his ever loving mind. We better not have been charged for it! Why did he think we wanted an extra bagel?? How dare he?? He brought up this extra bagel at least once a day for the rest of the trip. I'm pretty sure he's the only person who has let a free bagel ruin his vacation.
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#2
I wouldn't let him cheat on exams.
I'm an adjunct instructor at a community college This semester I had a student in his late 20's throw a fit when he learned I used lockdown browser and demand I make an exception for him. He sent me a scathing email, and filed an official complaint with my department chair... Who said he should drop the class if he didn't like it.
nottheactualphoto 44 minutes ago
I had to look this up... apparently "lockdown browser" is a web browser that is highly restricted, and designed for classroom situations. It is only available for two platforms.
#3
I pulled over to let him pass me.
I commute between two small towns multiple days a week. On those days, I leave at the same time every day. I drive a 12 year old Prius. It doesn't go fast. I don't speed anyway, because who needs to get pulled over.
So last winter, over a period of several weeks, every morning when I left one town for the other, a white VW with a black roof would come whipping around a corner behind me. They then preceded to ride my bumper the entire 15 minutes to the next town.
The route is along back roads. They are windy, with nowhere to pass. For whatever reason, me driving 60 in a 55 was never good enough. Multiple times a week, the white VW was raging on my tail. Miles and miles of aggresively trying to push me faster. It was happening so often and for so long that I was considering taking a different route.
Then there was the day they caught up to me late. I managed to leave town without them riding behind. I thought I was good. Then I saw them in the rear view, coming up fast. Really fast. I honestly thought they were going to plow right into me. So I slammed on my breaks and pulled over.
Apparently, getting out of his way wasn't possible. This jerk screached to a stop in front of me, angling his car to block me like a cop. This guy in his 20s jumps out of the car screaming and swearing, charging at my vehicle like he's going to smash something.
I threw my car in reverse and backed up so I could get around him. Then hit my gas as hard as that little engine could muster. He tried to kick my car as I drove off. But then he was back in his car speeding after me again. Passed me. Cut me off. Slammed on the breaks in front of me again.
At this point I was scrambling for my phone to call the cops. I slammed on my breaks and pulled over again. He sped off, only to get to the next intersection and sit there. He drove a mile down the road, and then just stopped at the intersection and waited for me to get there. I pulled over again and waited. I was a couple hundred yards away, just parked on the side of the road. I watched as he gunned his engine at the intersection and flashed his break lights over and over. My phone was in my hand ready to dial 911.
Then he just drove off. Like, he suddenly has enough scaring me and left. I broke down for a minute and cried from the panic and stress, then went on my way, still traumatized.
I changed my route after that. I left a little earlier each day. I don't know if I've seen the same car in my b rear view since, but every time I see a white VW with a black roof, my heart jumps into my throat.
As amusing as the otherwise sweet two-year-old’s craft-knife tantrum was for the rest of us to witness, Maria Baratta, Ph.D., L.C.S.W., is right in writing for Psychology Today that “Tantrums are never pleasant to be around.” Of course, when it’s a child who’s throwing their toys (sometimes quite literally), it’s excusable. We might even feel empathy, both for the distressed child and for the sometimes embarrassed parent.
#4
We were going out to a restaurant for my sister's birthday. It was a Friday night and my father outright REFUSED to make a reservation at this busy restaurant. He claimed he went there all the time, and he could simply walk in and get a great table. Everyone know if we made a reservation without him knowing, he'd lose it, so we let it happen.
We all arrive, and miraculously, there was. Table that just became available that could seat eight people in this busy restaurant - amazing! But my Father didn't like the location of the table and told the waitress it was "Totally unacceptable!"
Cue a few minutes of my Father losing his mind in the restaurant, attracting a lot of attention and making the waitress cry. He made sure to add in some racist comments to the Mexican waitress while wearing his #54! Gulf of America!" T-shirt.
My sister arrives in the middle of this, puts a stop to his shenanigans and goes to speak with the owner who she is good friends with to apologize. I have no idea how we didn't get kicked out, but I've seen him do this so many times. I proceeded to have seven or eight drinks, as I typically do when I visit that side of my family.
When my partner saw the family photos of us from that evening, she said "You have this way of smiling when you're with your Dad. You wear the exact same smile he does, but all the light has completely gone from your eyes."
#5
I was at my parents’ house for a visit last year (for context they are 71 and 80, in in my 40s)
I started cleaning the kitchen after so my mom could relax. My 46 year old sister legit had a fit that I was cleaning. Why you might ask? Because it would make her look bad if I was cleaning and she wasn’t. So she felt like I was forcing her to clean.
#6
Bc their father decided to buy/get food and beverages (like water) for the adults who were at my nephews birthday party one year, at one of those jumping/trampoline places.
My nephew's birthday a few years back, A bunch of us had to go but we weren't allowed to participate in the jumping because of how it was booked unless we paid separately. But the parents couldn't just drop off their kids and leave they had to stay. My sister's husband is a man child, he is a spoiled brat who hasn't really ever had to work for anything in his life ever. Anytime he messes up with drinking and driving or whatever it may be, his parents have always bailed him out so he never ever learned lessons.
His father actually paid for the party, but left his son in charge of the arrangements. Then they actually flew out from where they live to our state and attended. When we got there, my sister's husband made it clear that if the adults wanted water or juice or food that we would have to pay for it. They also placed our room upstairs in a building w no elevators. There were 3 elderly people who could not use stairs.
His father managed to get us moved to the ground floor room, and then ordered an additional couple pizzas and drinks so thr adults forced to sit and watch the kids eat and drink, could also eat and drink. Mind you, we were there for hours and no one was made aware prior to coming.
My sister's husband was furious and threw a tantrum like a child in front of an entire crowd of strangers and children. How dare his father provide food and drinks. How dare he change the room too! (when his own mother w Parkinsons wouldn't be able to get up the stairs)
I've never seen a man, nearing 40, throw such a tantrum. People were staring at him, he was LOUD... I don't go to those types of bday parties anymore. My nephew and I do something separately now.
But as much as we might like to believe we grow out of them, adults have tantrums too. “When it’s a child,” Baratta explains, “there is a plethora of reasons behind the tantrum, including poor frustration tolerance, a missed nap, or hunger.” For adults, the reasons can be even more complicated. As Crystal Raypole writes for Healthline, “Angry outbursts in adults can happen for a number of reasons.”
#7
Lady wanted to be first in line to board a United flight. She was told that her group number was the last one. She threw a hissy fit over it and security took her away. Chicago O'Hare airport be wild sometimes.
#8
Other people in the office were going to look at his files. He wasn't hiding anything, he just didn't want anyone else to touch anything he worked on...like ever. He screamed and yelled and threw a tantrum. He had not used any vacation time in the preceding several years so the week after that, they made him.
#9
My 7 year old was the center of attention at my 7 year olds birthday party. My brother - my son's uncle - stormed out because no one was paying attention to him.
There’s also a difference between a tantrum and a meltdown, even though we often use the words interchangeably. According to Baratta, a tantrum is about getting what you want, right now, whether the demand makes sense or not. A meltdown is more of an emotional overflow, “a heightened upset about something.” Raypole describes adult meltdowns as what happens when someone has simply run out of capacity to cope, rather than an attempt to get their way.
#10
My mother when I said she couldn't turn the rehearsal dinner into a family reunion with just my side and not include groom or the rest of the wedding party that wasn't related.
#11
I used to work at KFC in the drive thru. Had a woman order chicken strips. Cooks told me they were out but would make more so I told her the same. She got mad waiting and after five minutes came inside to demand an update.
That's when the cooks told me they hadn't defrosted any and we couldn't make more. That would have been cool to know five minutes ago guys.
I went up front and explained the situation, apologizing profusely because I knew it was a lousy situation, ready to offer a discount on something else.
I was sixteen. About 80lbs.
This woman three times my size lunged across the counter and tried to grab me, screaming that she was going to beat me. Over chicken.
#12
Watched my FIL have a full blown temper tantrum on Christmas because we didn’t get him the remote control boat he asked for— little did he know we had actually gotten it for him just hid it in the bathtub with a bow.
Adult tantrums, in Baratta’s view, tend to come down to wanting things on your own terms. She gives the example of someone who flies into a rage at having to wait in line at the theater because they feel they shouldn’t have to. Sound familiar? Chances are, you’ve met at least one person with that kind of entitlement.
#13
On a road trip, my dad was using his new GPS. While my mother was talking, it spoke to give directions. She had an absolute melt down and accused it of interrupting her and tried to rip it off the dashboard to throw it out the window. Fortunately it was still plugged in so it didn't go far.
#14
My ex went to the wrong end of the baggage reclaim conveyor at an airport so when it started up, instead of being the very first to see the cases coming through, he was at the every end. Absolutely incredible hissy fit ensued.
#15
We didn’t have stuffing bread in the bakery at Walmart. It was Easter time. This lady threw a huge fit and told us we’d ruined Easter for her and her whole family. We could hear hear ranting aisles away.
Meltdowns are a little different. Sometimes, the thing that finally sets someone off isn’t even the real problem. According to Raypole, some people struggle to manage difficult emotions like anger or disappointment and push them down instead, until they eventually boil over. So when a grown man in a tailored suit screams at a self-checkout machine over an “unexpected item in bagging area” like it’s “personally insulted his bloodline,” the scanner probably isn’t the whole story.
#16
A self-checkout machine politely repeating 'Unexpected item in bagging area'. Watched a grown man in a tailored suit scream at the scanner like it had personally insulted his bloodline.
#17
Guy I worked with had a full 20 minute meltdown for rice in his burrito, at one point he threw the burrito into a garbage can beside his work space, then started to trash talk said burrito. I don't mean he was ranting about the burrito, or he was talking to any person about the burrito. He was literally screaming at the burrito, telling it how lousy of a burrito it was, for 3-4 minutes.
#18
I accidentally blew a handful of leaves from my yard into my next door neighbors (he has a chain link fence in that area and while I tried to be careful, a few got through). He hadn’t dealt with his leaves yet, they were deep enough that you couldn’t see his grass or his paths but apparently the few I blew into his 100’s of thousands were just too much for him. He went into a full on rage that ended with him blowing mountains of leaves into my freshly cleaned and mowed yard.
Sometimes there’s more going on beneath the surface. Raypole points out that depression can make people unusually irritable, and that conditions such as intermittent explosive disorder, autism, and Tourette syndrome can involve outbursts or meltdowns the person doesn’t choose to have.
#19
At a Starbucks in Lower Manhattan, a man misplaced his gloves. He threw an absolute tantrum. He accused other patrons of stealing them, demanding that they empty their bags and pockets to prove their innocence. He screamed at the baristas to lock the doors until his gloves were found. The woman he was with just sat at their table and rolled her eyes, as if she had seen this a million time before.
After about five minutes of him stalking around, yelling his head off, he stuck his hands in his coat pockets … and pulled out his gloves.
The man’s name is Jesse Waters.
#20
My ultra traditional and conservative Mexican Dad totally lost his mind when my sister came out to him. He happened to be at my house for a visit at the time. She called me and said she was going to tell him and that since he was with us (my husband and kids) that he wouldn't freak out. Well, he freaked out. And then I lost my mind in response to his losing his because my sister is an amazing person and didn't deserve the disrespect he slung her way.
#21
Working in a restaurant in a resort where we are full up on reservations almost every day but we do have additional seats in a counter style seating for walk-ins, but there is still a wait list. Guest get the standard SOP spiel but was displeased that he couldn't just sit where he wanted. Comes in with family and take up seats at the counter (displacing another guest to do it) and refused to cooperate. Just stated that " I'm here now so take care of me or call security." Security was called, he was removed from the restaurant, and kicked out of the resort as well.
Still, there’s a reason these moments stick with us. We expect adults to be able to hold it together in the checkout line, the office, or a restaurant. So when a grown-up has a full-blown meltdown over something most of us would simply shrug off, it’s pretty jarring. Sometimes it’s funny, sometimes it’s uncomfortable, and often it’s a bit of both.
#22
A kid put too many napkins on the table and her mother started crying and saying that she can never have a nice time because her kids ruin everything. It was an awkward dinner at Wendy's, lemme tell ya.
#23
A car appeared behind us so he could no longer turn around, and that meant we were going to be late to a house viewing and that was all my fault...
Screamed at me to get my phone out to get maps up, then screamed at me because I was taking too long and grabbed my phone and threw it behind the seats.
Got to the house viewing and it was like it never happened.
I still stupidly bought a house with him. Left him eventually a couple of years later after many ridiculous melt downs.
The one that got me to leave was him losing it because I told him I wanted my phone contract to be in my own name when my current one finished. I was working full time and could afford it, and I was sick of him using it to confiscate my phone when he was angry at me. He lost it and pinned me up against the stove while I was in the middle of cooking. I left a month later.
#24
He didn’t have his parking ticket to prove when he entered the parking lot. It wasn’t in the usual spot he put the ticket, so clearly he never got one. Instead of paying the max day or going back to park to see if he could find his ticket somewhere, he moved his car as close as possible to the parking gate without hitting his car (it probably scratched his hood a bit), and then just laid on his horn. Took like 20 minutes for campus security to respond.
The max day ticket charge would’ve been $10.
But it can be pretty scary, too. So what should you do if you’re on the receiving end of someone’s meltdown or tantrum? Baratta and Raypole agree that safety comes first. If things start to turn aggressive, verbally or physically, get out of the way and give the person space. “They are temporarily out of control, and your safety comes first,” Baratta says, adding that trying to reason with someone mid-tantrum is a bad idea, since it rarely works and can make things worse.
#25
I was the first person ever to tell my adult father he was being a jerk an acting like a child. Full blown tantrum and meltdown. He refused to speak to me for the rest of his life (which ended up being another 8 years). Things were never great between us before that - it's very tedious being the child of a raging narcissist - but this one thing turned off what little was left of his rational mind.
#26
There were no more steak pies left at the cafe. I just don’t understand why he had to be so rude to the people working there.
Maybe they were having a bad day too and his ridiculous pie outburst made their day worse.
#27
The guy that threw a fit because Blizzard added multi-tagging across the whole game. Apparently he got a lot of enjoyment hanging out on low-level areas and just tagging mobs so players couldn't make quest progress. So yeah because they took away an avenue for him to be a total jerk he thought he was the victim.
Instead, wait until they’ve calmed down. Raypole suggests staying calm yourself, then asking what upset them and actually listening once the moment has passed. It’s also fine to set a clear boundary, like saying you’ll talk once they’ve cooled off. One thing to avoid, Raypole says, is calling the outburst a “tantrum” to the person’s face, because the label can feel demeaning.
#28
Me when something says it will assemble in about 20 minutes with no tools required then you open up the package and tools are indeed required and 5 hours later I’m finally finishing it because the pictures of the assembly were not very good and it isn’t until after that I realize something is backwards and have to essentially take it all apart back to step 2 just to reassemble it again.
#29
Roommate was not a handy guy, he struggled to put up curtain rods and was already pretty stressed. He didn't know curtains came individually wrapped sometimes. Flipped out when he opened the bag to find only one. In his rage, he called Martha Stewart an inside trading jerk.
Anyway, he was a pretty good roommate, so I'm not mad.
He had a flair for the dramatic but it was never an imposition. Hi Harri-San hope you're doing well:).
#30
A coupon for a free item and we ran out of it, due to an unprecedented response. This woman arrived as we were down to our last jars and had not left the registers for hours.
She stared at us, stiffened her entire body, screwed her eyes shut as she screamed, and stomped her feet. She then waved her arms, while screeching, "I WANTED IT!!!! We had contingency items to choose from, plus a raincheck and an apology item, ffs. Not good enough. She wanted it then, there and now. We finally calmed her fury and she left.
There was a short but widespread silence in the store as we dealt with her fallout and then everyone else geared up for their performance. Every single person knew we were out, announced "it was a sore subject" and demanded. Over and over until we closed...
If the outbursts keep happening, it may be worth looking at the bigger picture. Baratta suggests checking whether giving in to someone’s demands just to end the scene is reinforcing the behavior, and notes that a therapist can help. Raypole also recommends encouraging professional support when outbursts are frequent.
#31
My work (travel industry) used to distribute information to customers about their trip they'd purchased in a (cheap) felt pouch that came in the mail.
Around covid, they switched to your basic recycled reinforced cardboard esque product.
A lady had a full blown meltdown right when we made the switch because her friends had gotten the cheap felt and shed gotten the cardboard. Full screaming, crying, because "what will everyone think?" Shrieking "get in a drawer and get me a felt one!"
#32
He disagreed whose turn it was next to shuffle cards.
So there were four of us at the table: my friend, her husband, my husband, me. That's going clockwise around. After each round of a card game we would shuffle to the left who the dealer was and who started next.
Well, my friend and I couldn't shuffle as well and my husband is really good at shuffling, so he was shuffling for the three of us during our turns.
Somehow, her husband lost track of that and so us other three knew whose turn it was next, and it became friend's husbands turn to shuffle. He says no it should be mine because [my husband] has just shuffled. I say he actually just shuffled for [my friend]. Argument went back and forth for honestly only a short while, my husband even offered to shuffle for him as well, but that didn't settle him down. Friends husband immediately flew off the handle freaking out, yelling, and stomped off. Literally didn't see him for the rest of the night.
All because he didn't think it was his turn to shuffle.
#33
Someone put a small, empty, box on top of the trash can in my parent's kitchen one afternoon.
My dad had a full-blown meltdown over it and only shut up when I (in my early 20's at the time) questioned him about whether he thought his reaction was justified when he could have just moved the box off the trash can and gone about his day rather than stomping around the house yelling about it and making everyone uncomfortable.
That said, not every outburst calls for a therapist. We’re all human, and even the most level-headed among us have had a moment we’d rather forget. But there’s a difference between having a bad day and holding a grudge against a free bagel for an entire vacation.
#34
I’ve worked in a restaurant (FOH and BOH) for 35 years. I’ve seen a person have a mental breakdown over the temperature of the ketchup served.
#35
I was inside a McDonald's eating and a lady in the drive thru threw a milkshake back through the window at the person who hands out orders. Apparently they got her order wrong and she was pissed enough about it she whipped back around into the drive thru. Then she proceeded to throw a fit which resulted in a person that had nothing to do with her order preparation getting absolutely baptized by strawberry milkshake.
#36
My mom threw a full tantrum and grounded me for the only time in my life, because I threw away her McDonald's cup and she wasn't finished with it. I hadn't thrown mine away yet, so I asked her if she wanted it. She got offended.
#37
Little bit of gravy dripped off the edge of my dad's plate, went into a rant about "flat plates."
Dad had another rant about the holes of the pepper shaker were too small.
Meltdown over turning the clock back, every year.
He never puts his tools back, meltdown when he can't find what he wants or finds it in the yard.
#38
My ex had one in a walmart once because he wanted an Nintendo Wii and we didn't have the money for food nevermind gaming consoles. He started yelling to anyone that was in earshot that he never gets anything he wants and is always the one to sacrifice everything for everyone else. I refused to touch that wii for 8 years.
#39
I worked retail and a woman full on ugly cried because the shower gel she wanted wasn't on sale.
#40
I worked as a bartender for 15 years! At one of my last bars, we had a massive turnout for a big rapper coming into town. The bar was completely packed, and we were telling anyone who ordered food, "once you get your food, please move to a table, as the bartop is STRICTLY for drinks only!" (There was literally no room to even put a plate).
Chick comes up and orders a few drinks and wings. I put in her order, give her the drinks, explain the policy, and we're good. She comes up a bit later to grab her food, asks for a to-go box, dumps it all in there, then leaves it on the bartop. I try to ignore it for a couple minutes (people are silly, they forget stuff while going to the bathroom or chatting to a friend) and I'm like okay, whatever. Right before the rapper gets on stage, we get a massive rush of people trying to get drinks before the show starts. This is why we instated the policy of food at tables only, because the bartops are only a couple feet wide and can only hold so many elbows.
Her food got lost in the elbows. 35 minutes later after boxing up her own food and leaving it on the bar with strangers, this woman storms back up to the bar in the middle of the show screaming, "where are my WINGS??!! I LEFT THEM RIGHT HERE!" I was in the process of making 12 lemon drops, and that jerk tried to yank the bottles from my hand so I would pay attention to her.
I am half yelling over the music, she's SCREAMING back at me, her friends are surrounding her like, "what's going on?" And this absolute jerk is screaming and pointing at m. Her friends also ganged up on me. In the midst of the chaos, I'm slightly crying (because who expects to be berated so abhorrently in such a random situation?) and calling security over and over because these people are quite literally ruining the show (security never showed, as they were ALL on a smoke break?). This jerk ultimately tried to come behind the bar, lunge across, and even attempted to push her drunk friend across the bar. The show had finally ended, she's still giving me threats, and then all of a sudden remembers her husband is a lawyer? Then she starts ripping into me about that, how she's going to sue the place, how she's going to sue me, and ruin my life.
All over chicken wings and her unwillingness to accept responsibility over said wings.
#41
Too much mayo on a subway sandwich. Made the guy making it use a sponge and take it all off and do it a second time.
#43
Children’s sports games.
My daughter plays competitive soccer. It really shows you which adults are living life vicariously through their children AND who can’t control their fragile emotions. Constant meltdowns on the sidelines. It’s actually depressing, I’ve started watching among the other team’s parents usually, or standing really far back from the field. A couple weeks ago several of the girls were literally crying because they were so stressed and embarrassed by parents on the sidelines screaming at the ref, h the players, and the other team parents.
#44
I saw a lady throw her order at a taco bell employee because they didn't put sour cream on it.
#45
My ex had a full blown meltdown cos I asked him to wait putting the washing on til after 4 cos it was cheaper.
#46
I used to work at a bar & grill and we stopped serving cinnamon buns because they weren't selling well. This grown man threw a huge fit about it when I told him. Should've bought them more.
#47
Call of Duty vs. A kid.
My ex - 40 year old man, ex military, body builder jerk type, completely crashed out because a 12 year old called him names and beat him on call of duty.
I just hear screaming and crashing in the next room. He threw the controller, which broke the tv, and snatched the disc out of the console and broke it into pieces.
#48
My mother. She wanted to wear this fancy all in one playsuit to my wedding but couldn't get the zipper up and down by herself. She wanted me to be her "toilet buddy" on the day, to help her when she needed to go.
I told her no, i would not be her "toilet buddy". and i was not spending my wedding day at her beck and call to help her every time are needed to go.
So there was screaming, shouting, crying, name calling, throwing things...
Then there was the sulking and silent treatment for about 4 days.
Then there was more crying and manipulation, trying to get my dad, brothers, aunties on her side for about a week.
Complete meltdown. Despite the fact all my bridesmaids had immediately said they would be happy to be on hand to help her throughout the day/ night. But that wasn't good enough.
Maybe it was me having acting like a toddler though because I absolutely refused point blank.
Ahhh fun times.
#49
Some people will get worked up about anything. I once worked for a week with a man who got worked up, as in almost screaming about it, about how I made my own mug of tea for myself.
Mug with teabag in it then add boiling water. It was the fact I used to use boiling water that got him to go so nuts, I in the end had to have a word with him and point out it was my drink and it harmed no one.
It turned out he's one of the odd people who for some unknown reason thinks it's "Boiled Water" and it had been boiling at some time in the past. It was too cold even for an instant chocolate drink that only needs hot water.
Even if I was doing it wrong it was my drink how I wanted it.
I hate to think what he'd be like if he'd seen my chicken and apple sauce Sandwich, I like them that way, I was having with my drink.
#50
I worked at a Porsche Audi dealership and we had free loaner cars for customers who had cars in the shop. 50 something year old woman had a full on melty because we ran out of Audis and gave her a Corolla. She had a late model base A3. The Toyota was actually nicer.
#51
When i was a teenager (probably 14 or 15 during this particular event) i worked at a fast food restaurant and a woman screamed at me for 15 minutes threatening to have me fired, personally insulting me, and also threatening to call the police because her onion rings were going to be two minutes to cook.
#52
Someone who is related by marriage. He is almost in his 50s and locked himself in the bathroom and was screaming, crying, vomiting, and throwing things because his AI chat “therapist” wasn’t working. Didn’t see it personally, but was told about it.
#53
When someone mentioned that someone else's taste in decor reminded them of Sadam and the cheesecake factory.
#54
I used to be in an IT Manangement role where our 24 hour Operations team was required to escalate specific incidents to me if the went beyond a specific time.
So, it went like this. At 2am, Ops would see an alert of a problem. They'd call the on-call, who worked for me. If the on-call didn't resolve the issue in the pre-defined time (or if the on-call decided that they couldn't fix the issue) Ops called me.
Usually, the call went, "This is David in Ops. I'm calling to let you know that service XYZ has been down for 90 minutes. We are currently engaging Steve as on-call." I'd have them patch me into the standing call, I'd ask Steve, or whoever, what was up, and if they needed anything. If he did, I'd go get whatever he needed.
Other managers would be getting similar calls at the same time (usually because of issues caused by dependencies) and so many of them would get on the call and just curse and scream about getting woken up at 3am,
It was unbelievable. I always made a note of the managers who were jerks at 3am, and made sure to remember it when they asked me for something during the day.
I guess the Operations guys got a fair bit of jerk, too. I rarely saw them in person, but when I did, they'd often say that they were always glad when my systems had an issue, because they knew I wasn't going to scream at them.
Let's try to be professionals out there, everybody. We're all doing our best.
#55
Roommate took the last Pepsi and left the box in the fridge. She didn’t realize there was 0 Pepsi until her food was ready and she was gonna go sit down. That jerk raaaaged!
It was me. I was that jerk.
#56
Some lady at the mall threw a tantrum cause she demanded items she picked to be on sale. Huge amount of yelling, talking over people, assuming she deserved special treatment. It also reminded me to just buy stuff on Amazon after that.
#57
A few times that stick in my mind...
1) Guy's girlfriend gave her bags to the skycap and thought that her luggage tag was her boarding pass. It wasn't and she wasn't checked into the flight. When she tried to check in, there were no seats (flight was oversold). The guy had a full-on toddler tantrum, he was literally SCREAMING at the gate agent like up in her face and insisting that she "kick off" a person who paid less money for their ticket than his GF because she was SO VERY IMPORTANT and had to be in NYC for a meeting the following morning. Well, it went as well as you'd expect. The gate agent shut his tirade right down and, after that performance, no one was willing to be bumped for any amount of money. Girlfriend did not get on the flight...
2) Was at a Home Goods. The young woman working the register was very surly, but not outright rude. She pretty much didn't say anything at all, which wasn't great, but wasn't horrible. Well, the woman she was helping took great affront to this and started giving this girl attitude for "being rude." Well, the floodgates opened and they BOTH start screaming at each other to the point that we all thought it was going to devolve into fisticuffs and backed up accordingly. Manager comes over and eventually quells the situation, but talk about making a huge f'in production out of NOTHING. I swear, some people wake up in the morning and choose DRAMA.
3) Worked in a department store many years ago. It was part of a chain of about 15 stores. The registers were operated from a central location and I literally had NO control over when they shut down, which was EXACTLY 5 minutes after close. At that point, I couldn't ring out any customers, I could ONLY close out the register. As I mentioned, I literally had NO control over this. Because of this, we would do about 6-8 announcements for store close to be absolutely sure all customers made their purchases before this. At least once a week, some customer would have a full on meltdown because they couldn't purchase their items 10-15-20 minutes AFTER close. We'd offer to hold their items until the next day at opening, let them rant, proceed with register close, let them continue to rant and then get security if they were still there ranting (which did happen a ridiculous number of times). SMH. People think "Karens" are a recent phenomenon. They are not - they were alive and well in the late 80s/early 90s back when I worked at this store.
#58
At LARP this guy just lost it because things weren't going his way. At the Horror Survival LARP. Made one of the volunteers cry. I almost slapped him, because we're playing adult pretend adventure camping.
#61
Today a man crashed out at the shoplifting self checkout machine because it asked him to review a video of him moving an extra can over (to be fair he ran one can twice and moved both over). Instead of pushing the button to say he reviewed it, or call an attendant, he chose option c
He
Lost
His
Mind
Started screaming it was a lie, he was being framed and started shrieking. Threw a can on the floor. The attendant sauntered over calmly, and blamed it being “early tech”, cleared him, and said she’d clear it if it happened again.
Every scan was another swear word and a stance looking at the monitor which can only be described as defiant and challenging the checkout machine to fight. It didn’t. He wished it would have though.
#62
We have a guy at work who's creeping up on retirement (not fast enough). He throws a fit basically every day over some small perceived inconvenience or slight. Just in the past week, he was legit angry because:
The boss asked me to come in an hour early and not him. He shows up at least 30 minutes early anyway.
Someone put an order on the wrong shelf. Which hardly impacts his work.
Someone forgot to box some small stuff. It's 5 steps from his station and he wasn't busy.
One of our coworkers whipped past him after he was obviously walking in the middle of the road.
#63
Screaming fit with foot stomping at the pharmacy because her insurance would only cover her birth control if she got it by mail order.
Lady, it’s your insurance. You’re welcome to pay out of pocket if you need it now. No? Maybe if you scream a little more your insurance coverage will magically change!
#64
Guy at Costco tried to pick up 10 pizzas for a party. He wasn't a member. Proceeded to scream and rant for 10 minutes before management just gave him the pizzas to get him out of there.
#66
My cousin got married and they had a slideshow from their childhood up until the wedding. My stepmother was furious that her children weren’t in the slideshow. My cousin was grown by the time they came into the picture. I’m not sure they met my cousin more than once prior to the wedding. Yet there she was swearing and carrying on.
Another time was when my sister gave me the language she wanted on her bridal shower invitations. She used her last name and her fiancé’s last name. My stepmother was incensed that the last name she used with her previous husband wasn’t on the invitation. She refused to go to the shower. We were okay with that.
#67
40 year old male didn't want help putting up his new sun shade. Legit balled his fists at his side and shook them as he whined "but it's MINE!"
#68
My mother is an aging fragile narcissist and I have seen some stuff, let me tell you. I think a standout incident was a screaming tantrum in the McDonalds drive-thru because she got sweet tea instead of unsweet tea.
#70
She got a ticket for 10 over when she was actually going 20 over. Screaming, crying, property destruction.
#71
He asked for something above my set responsibilities. I said “I’ll do my best” which is apparently a phrase he does not like so he spent seven entire minutes red-faced and yelling about how he wished i would just say “yes”.
#72
I was in charge of the department in a company and I was forming my team this was before AI back in the pandemics, the first wave were many people lying on their resumes making themselves look like the last coming of Christ.
Then I implemented a filter system with a practical excersise and a questionnaire and I chose a girl that did the better in the practical test and answered almost everything well.
In the last day of her onboarding week I was explaining her what she would do for a small brand (out of 8) which had all the processes that she’d be doing in other 4, as I was managing the full 8 brands and that’s why I was looking to expand.
She begin to yell at me and lose it on the call, fortunately I had my Apple Watch and was recording the whole session but she berated and claimed she wouldn’t be doing all that and that it was too hard and she quitted on the spot.
#73
Had a colleague who'd have toddler-like anger tantrums when she didn't get her way. Nobody likes her because she has a horrible attitude (refuses to do her job and still won't get fired).
I didn't get to experience this incident, but I sure as hell had a good laugh about it when I was told:
When our workplace was under construction she called dibs on a marble slab without asking other colleagues if they were interested (and then lie about that - claiming she had asked other people). So two of my colleagues decided that during her day off they'd hide the marble slab in a completely unrelated person's office (who was fine with that, lol). When she came back from her day off and the slab was gone, she lost her temper and "went home sick". And then she'd come back to work the next day and cry behind her desk, get into a fight and then disappear.
#74
Energy drinks. My buddy's sister threw a complete tantrum because her bf bought 2 energy drinks before work every morning. It escalated until cops were called and told her to calm down or they would take her to jail.
She Crazy tho. Thinks her bf is cheating on her all the time. Has used voice changing apps and number spoofers to call and make threats to women she thinks hes cheating on her with. Has stalked his work to see if his vehicle is parked close to a woman's car. Has called multiple b**b threats to his work to see if he would run out with his pants down.
Why hasnt she been arrested you ask? Oh she has. But shes super model level attractive and an expert manipulator. A few tears, maybe a suggestion of some "fun" with the arresting officer, and shes back on her BS.
#75
One day, I was about 14 when we were out and driving back home; my mother asked me randomly about how great our relationship was and how good a person/mother she was.
She's not.
She's a full blown narcissist.
She wanted me to flatter her ego.
Me being me; proceeded to point out her flaws as well as any incidents that happened that day.
Well, she aggressively steps on the gas an pulls in sharply on the pavement, gets out and slams her car door as hard as possible before storming off into the house, I followed - she made well sure to slam the door in my face and then storm and stomp around the house, slamming every door everywhere for the next hour.
She continued for at least an hour so I just left her to it and listened to the carnage from my bedroom.
#76
I worked graveyard at a gas station and would not sell a 20 year old cigarettes after CA changed the smoking age to 21. Our company required an ID to be scanned for all tobacco and alcohol purchases.
Full on screaming and pleading devolved to throwing things and breaking stuff.
The worst part was after the cops showed up he ended up being a Marine.
#78
I was working as a Background Actor (fancy word for Extra on movies and TV) and was driving onto the studio lot but was held up from entering because the car in front of me wasn't moving and guy inside was yelling at the Security guy in the booth.
He was told he wasn't allowed to enter. This sent the guy into a fury!
Never in my life had I ever thought I'd hear the phrase, "You'll never work in this town again!!!" in real life but the guy in the car was yelling that phrase at this poor security guard who was probably just doing his job. When other guards showed up they forced him to turn his car around and leave.
Was he an actor? No one I recognized. Was he a fired exec, agent, publicist? I'll never know. It was funny to see however.
I don't know the reason but the meltdown was surreal.
#79
Bought a stick-shift because it was the cheapest in my area. It was a Saturn sport. I don't know if you all are familiar, but Saturn's sit so low to the ground it's insane. And the sport version is pretty much the opposite of Saturn's typical long body. So anyway, I asked my brother-in-law to turn the car around for me because I wasn't good at stick-shift yet. He's about 6' 2" & a fat man. He gets in the car & after just a minute I see him absolutely flipping out. Just thrashing his body about in the drivers seat. After just a minute of that he finally gets the seat pulled back enough to drive. No idea how he wasn't so embarrassed. I was embarrassed for him. Such a stupid thing to do.
#81
Today at our local science center, they have a space where kids can throw bouncy balls into a sort of pit so they can learn about acceleration etc. Well obviously little kids just love tossing their balls and racing them and bouncing them etc. Anyway there was a dude who you could see was getting exasperated and then started going off about how he couldn't play, there were too many kids in this area, he can't get a bouncy ball etc. At one point he also said "stupid toddlers". Real loud too. My mom friend took her kid away at that point cause it was getting a bit scary. Then whoever was with that person got him to walk away and they went over to the elevator and left... Id never seen an adult get so worked up over bouncy balls lmao.
#82
Couldn’t check into a hotel 12 hours early.
Full-blown must-be-mental-illness level meltdown right in the middle of the lobby.
#83
My coworker told a lady at the deli that we were out of fried chicken and the customer got really heated, threw her container of (premade deli) bbq chicken at her, and told her she was going to burn in hell.
#84
When I arrived for a sleep study, a woman was running across the lobby near the location. She was clearly in meltdown mode and ran across the streets, which forced a few cars to brake to a stop. The lady had to be at least my age, I'm in my 40s, BTW.
A few people, including a security guard, members of her what assume is her family, and a doctor. An alert went out at the facility. A few others who came to for their sleep studies including a small child were asking the same questions I was asking myself. Never knew what it was all about.
#85
I was at a family style dinner at botanical gardens. There was plenty of food to go around but one woman started freaking out that her and her family should have all the sides because they were vegetarian (this was over $100 per person dinner). When someone told her there was plenty to go around and they would ask the caterer to bring more over, the woman yelled that she just wouldn’t eat, grabbed her plate, and went outside (where no one was).
#86
I had an awful landlord, who when we moved in wasn't supposed to be living with us, but of course who changed his mind about that.
He left a saucer in the driveway, and it was covered in dirt. Not just cover, caked to the point where it took a lot of elbow grease to clean. My bf at the time put the effort in to do so.
Then - for reasons I still utterly fail to understand- the landlord got pissed by this and barged into my bedroom to scream at us about this. For five or 10 minutes straight. He had previous decided soaking dishes in the sink wasn't allowed, even though the saucer would never be cleaned without being soaked to remove the caked in dirt.
He was on ambien (which I gather played a factor in his behavior), and he cooked ground beef and left the greasy leftovers in the pan overnight. For the record, I don't eat beef. This did not stop him from screaming at me about his pan that he left on the stove.
#88
McDonald’s being out of Diet Coke. We were inside a Walmart McDonalds… Another patron told him to shut up and go buy a Diet Coke from Walmart.
#89
Dad had a massive tantrum because he misplaced some Tupperware containers and blamed us. Usually when he did this sort of thing we would leave the house, so he took everyone’s car keys. I had a spare set so I escaped. I slept in my car for three days.
#90
The other day a patient was mad there wasn’t cranberry juice on the unit. My coworker was the one talking to the person. The patient proceeded to throw a cup of water at the coworker; however, it ended up going all over me and the paperwork I was working on.
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