#1

While I'm on hold a grandma of one of the ballerinas comes to the desk and asks if we have any seats left, as she'd been in hospital and couldn't buy them earlier, but said she'd understand if we were booked out. I put the phone with the on-hold music down and sold this old lady the last seats for the show, and gave her a an invite to our next years dance season for her grandaughter and herself, so she'd know exactly when all the important dates were coming. She thanked me over and over, and she's now one of our regulars and brings her grandkids to our shows.
2 minutes after the old lady leaves the jerk on the other end finally takes me off hold and says she wants the remaining seats that we have left, I tell her "Sorry we've *just* sold out while you had me on hold I'm afraid, better luck next next year, anything else I can help you with?". She was choking with rage on the other end of the phone, it was fantastic.
Nowadays, it sometimes seems that being rude has become the norm. Perhaps it began with a few bad apples and spread like a contagious virus we are yet to find a cure for. Fortunately, experts say there are ways to effectively stop rudeness in its tracks, if only momentarily.
Among them: addressing the rudeness; setting clear boundaries of what you're willing to (and not willing to) tolerate; shifting the conversation to something more positive; and, as difficult as it may seem, staying calm and cool.
#2

Just as the car was backing out, after I had waited a few minutes, a car came from the opposite side of the lot, made eye contact with me and then shot right into the parking space. I was so mad because now I would be late after looking for a new spot. As I drove past the woman that had taken the spot, I just shook my head and she responded by shrugging her shoulders, smiling, mouthing the words, "oh well" to me and then ran her finger from her eye down her cheek as if to mock me crying about it.
I continued into work, got in trouble for being late, but had actually forgotten about the incident until who's number gets called to my station, but Miss Spot-Stealer herself! The look on her face was priceless!
Keep in mind that I'm not your average DMV worker, I understand that stuff happens and waive penalties all the time and treat my customers with respect because I believe that what goes around, comes around and I know how annoying it is to wait at the DMV all day! I'm usually so nice about getting penalties taken off of people's accounts that I get in trouble for it at times.
So, I greet Spot-stealer as nice as I would anyone else, in fact it may have been nicer than I normally would be. She may have thought I didn't recognize her. Her registration is FAR past due, with hundreds due in penalties. I let her tell me her whole sob story then finally tell her that she owes in full because she was aware of her due date. She argues it a little until, out of site from my manager, I mouth the words, "oh well" and drag my finger from my eye to my cheek, mocking her tears. At that point she puts her head down and proceeds to take out her card and pay the full amount because yes, we do take debit cards! :)
What goes around, comes around!
#3

"Sometimes people just need a little reminder that they’re actually acting out about something completely different than the matter at hand. And often, getting the opportunity to reflect upon this or talk about it changes the entire situation," reveal communication experts Kathy and Ross Petrus.
They suggest redirecting the conversation with a well-timed question that's aimed at making "Karen" or "Kevin" do some much-needed introspection. You could say something like, "You seem frustrated, is something wrong?" or, "Are you going through something right now that’s affecting you like this?” You could also simply ask, “Have I done something to upset you?”
#4

You have to know in Germany always the one who hits another car from behind will be blamed if he cant prove that it wasn't his fault. So we have a classic insurance fraud.
The poor guy at the back was realy worried cause he knew he couldn't prove it. I just sit there in my car ant waited for the police. Than i go outside and the police started to get the story's...of course they were 4 against one guys. I just stood there and listen the woman complaining about who this idiot hits her from behind and her brand new car is now damaged.
After the police took the statement from both sides and even take my statement they said there is no chance that 2 vs 4 could proof that he didn't do it.
2 of the guys at the BMW said they didn't know the girl and were pedestrians who saw it. That would increase the credibility.
So they made all false statements to the police and exactly that's the thing i wanted to happen. I than told the police "oh wait there is just one thing" like Colombo style and said that i got a video of what happened. I showed them to the police and the women and the drivers just stand there with mouth open...you could not only see how she hits HIS car but also that the "Pedestrians" where with the women in the car.
The guy than hugs me and we became good friends. Turns out he lives near me and we spend the evening drinking and gaming.
Sry for bad englisch im german.
#5

#6

She came up to the register telling me she'll probably return all the things shes buying and is just trying to impress her friends. So I took all the tags off the clothes when i was bagging everything. I bettered the world that day.
One study found that reminding someone that they’re being rude can make them realize they need to correct their behavior.
"Addressing someone’s rudeness head on is a key component to dealing effectively with incivility," say the Petrus'. Do this by using a phrase like, "I'm surprised you're comfortable saying something like that." You could also ask, “Are you listening to yourself here?” or "Do you realize what you’re saying, and how you’re saying it?”
Asking these questions tells the rude person that what they’re saying is unacceptable, say the experts. It also reminds them to check themselves and reassess their words and behavior.
#7

When I went to go pick up the car a couple hours later, I am treated to a woman SCREAMING at the guy behind the counter- she's positively foaming because she has been waiting nearly 30 minutes for her car to be fixed. She even goes so far as to call the guy an "INSIGNIFICANT LAZY IMMIGRANT".
Guy looks at her- looks at me. Throws me my keys- "Here you go, your Magnum's ready- no charge."
Looks her directly in the eyes. "Looks like it's going to be more expensive than we originally thought. Would you like us to call you a cab?"
I returned shortly afterwards with pizza for the shop.
#8

This Wednesday there was one particular customer who was being a huge pain in the neck from the moment she walked in. She was tall, blonde, high heels, very made up, and dressed to the nines. She was probably late 30s to early 40s. She came storming up to customer service, "There are NO parking spots. This is ridiculous. I'm going to request to corporate that you expand your parking lot, since you don't seem to have the initiative to request that yourself." Off to a great start, lady. She comes storming back up about 45 minutes later. "I am in a HUGE hurry, and every line has someone in it. I need to check out here." We had three lines open, and each one had ONE single customer. ONE. I say "No problem, but I'll get you at a checkout. You have too many items to get here." She has a HUGE hissy fit. "I don't have time for this. Let's GO."
As I'm checking her out, it is constant complaining. "You only have one brand of makeup? That is ridiculous. I only wear MAC, but I was going to settle for Revlon, but you don't even have that. Now I have to make a whole separate trip." "Please don't put my bread on top of my eggs, the eggs could roll over and crush the bread." "Please bag my avocados separately; I need to use those for a face mask tonight. They need to be perfect, I have a photo session for work tomorrow. I'm in a magazine." She was unbelievable. Finally, at the end, I had enough.
As she's about to pay, I say, "Don't forget today is senior discount day! You get 5% off!" She just stared at me. "What?" I smiled broadly. "Every Wednesday, senior citizens get 5% off their bill. I'll go ahead and take it off. You are 55-60, right?" She is staring at me, debit card in hand, cheeks getting red. I lose my smile slowly and say "Oh, you don't qualify? Sorry about that. Maybe next year! Thanks for your honesty."
I haven't seen her in the store since.
#9

TL;DR Slapped some teen bullies, became action hero.
Saying something like, "Could you repeat that?" tends to work as well.
"Phrases like this stop the conversation in its tracks and force the speaker to rethink what they’re saying, while also making it clear that you won’t allow it to continue," the Petrus' told CNBC.
But, when dealing with a complete rude stranger, some experts believe it's best to just walk away...
#10

Where the glasses and dishwasher are, you can't buy drinks because it would interfere with a fire-exit. A woman and her husband came up to where I was and ordered. I told them politely that if they would like drinks, they need to go around to the bar. She got upset and started swearing at me. I nodded, took two steps to my right as they walked around the pylon to order their drinks from one of the girls.
I smiled and told the girl who was about to serve them that I'd take it, they looked confused and ordered their drinks. I said that I was cutting them off. The woman blew up and asked why. I said that if she couldn't treat the people who make her drinks with respect, she didn't deserve to get drinks to begin with, and that she had 10 seconds to leave the bar before I called security and had them escorted out.
I don't consider it my job to be pleasant to people who aren't pleasant to me. If you're downright rude, you're out and we don't want your business.
#11

#12

Dr. Gail Saltz is a psychiatrist and clinical associate professor of psychiatry at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Weill-Cornell Medical College. She believes that people are ruder to strangers nowadays than they once were because we are living through stressful times.
Saltz's advice when dealing with crazy and rude behavior from someone you've never met is to not say anything, and rather get away from the scene.
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#15

I used to work for a major bank and while doing my stint there I came across a ton of jerks. I was taking a deposit for a lady and her daughter and I heard them speaking a Middle Eastern language. At first I wasn't paying attention but when I realized they were speaking Farsi, I was all ears.
Reason: I speak Farsi.
They were talking about how much of a loser I was, how this job as a teller was the only thing I had in my life, that I probably didn't have a girlfriend and didn't attend school. Throughout this conversation I spoke only English to her and every time she responded to my requests she would smile and then say something nasty about me in Farsi.
At the end of the conversation, I switched up the language and said, "Just because I work at a Bank doesn't give you the right to say things about me behind my back. I'm in grad school to become a Psycho Therapist and this job is for spending money. This isn't how Persian people behave and you should be ashamed. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Her daughter snap left the building and her mother was beat red, embarrassed, apologized profusely, and left. I never saw either of them again.
“This person’s a stranger and you could escalate the situation in some way that will be worse for you,” she told SELF. "You could try to confront and reason with them, but unless you’re likely to see the individual again, the juice just isn’t worth the squeeze."
Saltz says engaging with the person could put you at risk. They could be at their breaking point, and might be making headlines tomorrow for doing something crazy, dangerous or violent.
#16

Edit: This lady is a regular and a known seat hog. I've seen her get into arguments before with people because she wants two seats to herself. Everyone pays to ride the train so if there is a seat open then it's up for grabs.
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