Have you ever made a scene?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have, and I’m now too ashamed to go back to the place where I made the scene.

Here’s the story: I had to get my car inspected & registered in July. Being me, I naturally waited until the last minute, and took it in on July 30th (okay, almost the last minute). It failed inspection because it needed a new gas cap and a replacement seat belt casing for the driver’s side. The gas cap was easy enough to replace, involving only a trip to the auto parts store. Getting the replacement seat belt part was a little more difficult, and Mr. C4C went to a junkyard and picked one up for a few bucks.

Yesterday I went back to the place, where they told me they didn’t have any mechanics who could install the seatbelt part. So I went to a different auto place, got the seatbelt part installed, and went home for a little while. Then about 6, I left the house and went back to the place where I got the car inspected (as they had told me they were open until 8 p.m.). As I sat in my car waiting for someone to come up, I watched one worker close up one of the bays, get in his car and drive off. At which point another worker came over and informed me that the inspection person left every day at 6. Yep, you guessed it, while I sat there and watched.

I lost it. :mad: I said something extremely rude, in a loud tone of voice, as I was turning my car. My tires squealed as I drove out of the parking lot, still saying extremely rude things, until I got home and told my husband that he was going to have to go the next day [today] to get them to okay the gas cap, seat belt, and give us our inspection sticker.

He has to go. I’m too ashamed to show my face in there again. :o

Please, please, please, somebody tell me that I’m not alone!!

2

I’m certain you are not alone. I see people “lose it” all the time. Often on freeways. Sometimes in stores. I think you can show up at the auto place again because it’s probably one of the more likely “lose it” spots. You can always apologize.

3

Years ago I stopped in a McDonalds for lunch. It was a cold rainy day and I had been working outside. The place wasn’t to busy and I was in a hurry. There were 2 fish sandwiches under the heat lamps so I ordered 2 fish sandwiches, and order of fries and a drink. I paid for my order and thought the young gal would get my order right away. Nope. She took the order of the folks behind me in line, 3 adults and about 5 kids. She then started getting all the stuff for there order, basically ignoring mine. The kicker was the 2 fish sandwiches sat there for 10 minutes then another worker took them for a drive up order. The gal finished to other order while I waited a stewed. She noticed me than asked me if I was ready to order. Uh, I all ready ordered and paid, remember?

She ran to the back and came out with my order a couple minutes later. I sat down to eat and took a bite of a fish sandwich. It was still cold in the middle. I took the tray and went back up to the counter. I asked the first employee I saw that I wanted the manager and I wanted him now. She asked what was wrong and I told her that she was not getting the manager. And I was getting louder the more I talked. The manager came out and I told him my story of woe. I also told him that is was a racial thing, the employee that took my order and the folks after me were not the same race as me. The order area was getting full at the time and everyone was listening to me rip into the manager.

The manager offered to replace the food and I would have to wait about 5 minutes for the order. I told him I didn’t want any of their food, picked up the once bitten fish sandwich and threw it at the menu sign. It hit the prices for the breakfast items, knocking off some of the numbers and leaving a splat of tartar sauce on the sign. I walked out and I was half way across the parking lot when the manager hollered at me through the drive through window to come back. I did not eat at a McDonalds for many years after that.

4

Gee, a scene at a McDonalds? Gosh, never woulda thunk it.

The last time I ate at a Mickey D’s was about 10 years ago and this is the incident that got me to stop going (well, this and my expanding waistline…)

At the drive-up (notoriously bad with McD’s anyway) I pull up and order. It takes three tries to get the order right. What’s so tough about 2 basic cheeseburgers, a small Coke, small fries and an Apple Pie? I don’t know - but it took three tries to get it right. Then of course, the obligitory question - “would you like fries with that?”

Um, I’ve already ordered fries, remember?

Now, pull up and pay at the window. OK. Get handed the cup of Coke. OK. Now sir, please pull up and wait, your order’s not quite ready. Grumble Grumble Grumble - OK.

So I pull up into the handy “wait here” parking spaces. 5 minutes passes. 10 minutes passes. I go inside the store to find out what’s up with my order. It’s been sitting on the counter getting cold for about ten minutes… “We can get you another if you’d like to wait.”

No thanks I say, and proceed to unwrap the now cold cheeseburgers and take them and the fries and wipe the counter with them while the manager is yelling at me to stop that - WE’LL CALL THE POLICE!! Once I was done with that little display, I left the store, got the Coke that was in my car, came back in to the store, calmly took the cover off of it and threw the contents of the drink at the Manger who was now actually on the phone TO the police department.

I left. Never got arrested. I wouldn’t have anyway. The chief of police in that particular town was my best friend’s father and hated that Mickey D’s as much as I did…

All I can say is that it felt really, really good. Even though I felt like a complete idiot 2 hours later, having let these idiots get the best of me. Since that day, the McDonalds Corporation has not gotten one penny of my money.

Wanna hear another - I’ve got a million of 'em:D

5

That was beautifull TVGuy. I’m still laughing !

6

Aha! So here’s the other side of all those awful customer pit threads… :eek:

I’m too shy usually to make a scene…

Carry on.

7

TV guy, I would love to hear the rest…

8

The only time I really made a public scene was just before my wedding. I had already done all the traditional first-time bride duties - picked out a site, picked out a dress, picked out a cake, picked out food, picked out invitations, and picked fights with my mother, my sister and my maid-of-honor. My dear husband-to-be was a rock throughout - very patient, extremely understanding and logical and I tell ya, he was really starting to get on my nerves.

We went to get the guys measured for their tuxedos, and I thought the clerk at the fomalwear place was rather rude and abrupt, but I kept my temper. She told us the tuxes would be in two days before the wedding. The day arrived, and we trekked to the formalwear place, me already fizzing with fury over yet another argument with my mother. They did not have our tuxedos. In fact, they couldn’t find us in the computer. After much eyerolling and sighing on the clerk’s part, she finally figured out the problem - she had transposed the date on our order, so instead of getting tuxes for 7-16-89, she had ordered them for 7-16-98. But, she could rush the order and have the tuxes there by the next day - 12 hours before we were to get married. I said, “How do I know you won’t f**k this up and we’ll end up with jackets with no sleeves, or purple shirts or something??”

She snapped, “Don’t be ridiculous. We wouldn’t make a stupid mistake like that.”

(Hello?!?! You just ordered my tuxedos for my NINTH ANNIVERSARY!)

I calmly turned to my fiance and said, fairly loudly, “If you do not smack this f**b in the mouth HARD, and RIGHT NOW, I will know that you do not love me and I will not marry you.”

Fortunately, he really IS that patient, understanding and logical, and he was able to make me see that I was being just a little bit unreasonable.

9

I made a scene at the MVA last month. I was trying to do two things at once, one get the new registration for my cars and two get my wife’s name taken off the car. They gave me two different numbers because it’s two different things. I ended up getting something like D53 and F53, the numbers were the same but the letters were not. I did my new stickers first and handed them the wrong number, partly my mistake but they didn’t say anything about it.

Well I had to sit back down and wait. I waited for two hours, until after they closed. Then when I got called I gave them my wrong number, the woman said, I’m sorry but this is the wrong number. I said yes I know but I’ve done a couple of things today and told her what happened. I even said look we can wait a minute and if no one else shows up then it doesn’t really matter anyway. She still wouldn’t do it so I asked for the manager. I was still calm when I talked to him and he said ok. Then when I tried to have my wife’s name taken off the car she said I need proof that you are married. WTF? Why? I had already been through one line where the paper work was checked and oked. They never said I needed proof. I argued that my wife had already taken my name off without proof and I asked how do I prove it anyway if we were married in another country? I lost it because I had wasted so much damn time. I didn’t throw anything but I was pissed. I had to go back later, they told me then that I had filled out the paperwork wrong. I didn’t do it one of the MVA workers did. They didn’t ask for proof then. Morons.

10

Wow. My little stories don’t compare to the ones already here, but they deserve an airing out:

I was about 6 years old when this happened (Doper Parents, you know the awesome power of children to do embarrassing things). My parents and I were at an oriental-type restaurant, and there was a large bowl of noodles on the table. I stuck my fork in to get some noodles, but for whatever reason, I pulled the wrong way and couldn’t get my fork out again. So I pulled harder. Straight up. A clump of noodles went flying over my head and landed on someone a few booths back. We have never been back there since.

I was even younger when this one happened (think 3 or 4). I was in a high chair at another restaurant and had managed to make a royal mess of spilled food around the chair. When a busboy came to clean it up, I began patting him on the head. With my hands. Which were still covered in food. I don’t know if we’ve ever been back there either.

Finally, at the age when I had just mastered potty training, I was given to loudly announcing, in restaurants, my need to . . . well, deposit some human waste in the restroom facilities. Only, not in so many words. Specifically, I would shout: “I HAVE TO POOP!!”. My poor father, all eyes suddenly on our table, would then have to stand up and escort me to the restroom.

And that’s what I did in public.

11

When I was 18, I was madly in love with the bad boy boyfriend from hell. I worked in a clothing store on Hollywood Blvd. that closed around 8 PMish. As we shared a car, I depended on him to pick me up when my shift ended. I could’ve walked home but Hollywood Blvd. was not a place that you wanted to be after dark.
One evening he failed to pick me up. I stood on a street corner for half an hour wating for him, getting more worried by the minute. It didn’t help that every 3rd car stopped so that the driver could ask me to blow him for $25.00. Finally, I began to walk home. Halfway there, I saw our car parked outside of a bar.
He was sitting at a table with an old friend and 2 strange woman. I walked up to him. and, without saying a word, picked up the pitcher of beer and dumped it on his head. Felt great.

12

I swear, the embarrassment thinking back to this (even 15 years later) still makes me, um, embarrassed.

I was taking a commuter rail to work that was limping along for some reason. At the second to last stop (still about 10 miles away from my destination) it had its final limp and came to a halt for good. We all had to get off the train and wait for busses to come and pick us up to continue on.

Now, this was back in the day before cell phones, etc., and I had just started a new position, and it was in very bad form to be late – I had to at least call to let them know what the deal was. Of course, everyone else on the train had this idea and there was, literally, only one payphone that was anywhere near where we were going to be picked up.

So I go over and wait in line with everyone else. People are being pretty curteous – calling and cutting to the chase and getting off the phone so others could call. I, however, get stuck behind PHONE HOG (PH from now on) who, I kid you not, is all but talking about the weather to whoever was on the other end. It was truly surreal. She must have noticed that there was a long line of commuters behind her (after all, there was a long line in front of her before she got to call), but PH still just gets on the phone and chit chats. Everyone is sort of rolling their eyes and looking at their watches, but I was positively steaming.

The next thing I know, I see the bus making its way toward us, and PH is still yakking away. At first, I tapped her on the shoulder intending to ask if she could hurry it up a little. PH didn’t even look at me and just turned more towards the phone. This next part is when I lost my mind and started yelling/chanting:

GET OFF THE PHONE GET OFF THE PHONE GET OFF THE PHONE

She actually covered her ear and kept talking. But I kept up the yelling/chanting. She wound up the conversation and scurried off, just as the bus was pulling in. I shouted after her that she was an “Unconscience F****** Idiot”.

It should be noted that I don’t think her initial intent was to antagonize me specifically (i.e., ha ha she’s pissed so I’m not getting off), I think she really was an alien from another planet.

But I’m still embarrassed by my behavior. It was the most unglued I’ve ever become in public.

13

in childhood…busy restaurant…two kids head off to the bathroom…parents remain at the table.

I’m sure I don’t need to give details, but I came out of the bathroom and yelled across the restaurant:

“MOM!! Terri went runny pooh and she needs you to come wipe her!”

My mother was mortified! I can not imagine how she felt walking through the restaurant with everyone looking at her, knowing what was in store for her.

In adulthood I did cause a scene at a softball game and the police needed to come out. All I did was make a (sound) when a guy was whining at the ump and this guy friggin lost it!

14

Mine took place a few summers ago when my father, mother and I went to Navy Pier in Chicago to see the Tall Ships.

There were Trolleys going around and taking people to parking lots, etc. A trolley stopped and my mother started to get on. A woman who was standing next to her pushed her back and screamed that she was cutting in line. My mother felt sooo terrible because she didn’t know there even was a line. She was getting ready to apologize but I was so furious that this women screamed at my mother and had the gall to touch her, that I got in her face and said, “Get on the Goddamn trolley, you piece of white trash and shut the fuck up!!” I swear, my father about died. I was so furious that someone would treat my mother like that when she made an innocent mistake.

I tend to come unglued far more loudly in private which is a habit I would like to break. :stuck_out_tongue:

Tibs.

15

Oh dear. Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever come that badly unglued in public. However there was one time when I was at a friend’s house for a party, and my fiance and I had brought one of our mutually owned stuffed animals along (long story- we’re practicing for having kids)- a small hippopotamus named Augusta (waits for someone to get it…)

Anyway, just before we left, one of the guys at the party decided it would be hilarious to insert the hippo’s limbs inside it- you can kind of invert some stuffed animals. I’d had a bad day, and I get a little protective of my belongings sometime. I grabbed him by the collar and snarled up at him, “If you ever do that again, I swear I will kill you.”

I don’t often lose my temper. I never threaten people. I’m not sure what came over me, but at least he’s never done it again.

16

I was thirteen, and at the hormonally cranky age where EVERYTHING was a BIG TRAMATIC EXPERIENCE!!!

My mom wanted me to dry the dishes. I said no, I wanted to go up to my friend’s house. I walked out and went to my friend’s and we hung out or whatever-I don’t even remember.

It was a school night and I broke curfew. My dad came up in the car to get me and I refused to go. He had to drag me into the car.

:o

17

Many MANY years ago I dated a man who was a good friend of my brother’s. We were all part of a group of friends, and one of my best girlfriends and her husband {within that group} “double dated” with this man and I a lot.

I told him after the first few dates that I just didn’t think we were meant to be anything but friends…I just didn’t feel attracted to him in “that” way. He said no problem, he enjoyed spending time with me and it was fine with him if we were “only” friends, he liked having someone to spend time with one on one. I had my doubts, but my friends all told me I was being stupid and after all I HAD been honest with him, and I DID enjoy spending time with him (he had a marvelous sense of humor, and was a very good person) so I said okay.

Well, I think that he thought if I spent enough time with him I would fall in love with him (he was a notable hunk, BTW, intelligent and so forth…probably he had never had this reaction from a woman before) so after awhile, I think he finally got the picture…I am a very honest woman, and really MEANT what I said…and he felt sort of “disgruntled” about the whole thing…so he started making these little “digs” at me. I called him on it, and he said he was just kidding. Okay. Well, I asked him if he wanted to quit spending so much time together, and he said (emphatically) NO! I enjoy spending time with you, why would you say THAT? So I distrusted my gut feeling and we kept spending time together.

So one night, we were playing pinochle with my good friend and husband, and he kept making these little digs. Finally he said something that WASN’T a little dig, it was a BIG one…and I asked him to kindly tell me why he was being nasty to me, did he want to go so we could discuss it? He replied…well, let’s just say he said something so NOT nice that when I dumped a beer over his head (in my good friend’s LIVING ROOM, for heavens sake :rolleyes: ) both she and her husband applauded! Of course, then I felt terrible and ran to get something to clean up the carpet. His head I didn’t worry about.

I am embarrassed even now. He deserved it, all right, but you don’t go dumping beer on purpose in someone’s living room. I’m STILL appalled that I did that.

Oh, and BTW…I told him that night that it was best if we just see each other in our “group”…this obviously wasn’t working out to anyone’s benefit. After that he kept making these “little digs” in front of our whole group of friends, which included my big brother. One day he just…quit doing it. I was SO happy! It had been upsetting me a great deal. I found out YEARS later from my SIL that one night my brother (bless his heart) went over and said “You know, I love you like a brother. But if you keep “trashing” my sister, I am going to have to smash your face in. So I suggest you stop.” Or something along those lines. [sub]I LOVE LOVE LOVE my brother![/sub]

Time is a wonderful healer…he is now happily married to a wonderful woman and we are all the best of friends. And my girlfriend is STILL one of my best friends. All ends well.