Had my scariest retail encounter today
Right now I'm working at a gas station, and I'm usually by myself for the last hour. It's usually pretty hectic, and there's almost always a line across the store, but that doesn't really stress me because I understand that there's nothing I can do about it. It's crowded and we're a police hotspot, so I'm not that worried about being robbed.
Tonight the rush died down after a while, and the store was almost empty for about ten minutes. Had a customer come up to the register. White guy in his 40s in a hi-vis vest with two gopros strapped to it and a iPad attached to it. He was confidently and loudly telling the only other customer about how he was a "professional homeless guy," saying he used the iPad as a sign to ask for money, and took credit cards. Genuinely couldn't believe what I was hearing.
He was telling the other customer about a time he met an actual homeless guy with a cardboard sign, and asked him why he didn't get an "electronic sign," "like a professional." He said he was a YouTuber, and talked about how he had been filming people in a nearby Buc-ee's.
When it was his turn at the register he tried to continue the conversation with me, in a tone that implied that I was his best friend. He kept talking about how great it is panhandling. He said he made $1,200 a day, and asked me how much money I made here. I muttered "enough," and he asked if I wanted to be in a YouTube video with him. I think he was trying to get a filmable reaction out of me too, so ignored the more fucked up things he was saying. He was obviously loving every second of it.
I kept trying to end the conversation, and he started asking personal questions. He wanted to know how long I'd worked here ("not too long..."), and where I live. I told him "not far from here," and he named a city. I said yes, and he grinned and said "I wouldn't tell the truth if I were, either."
For context I've worked in retail for a few years, and I'm not a stranger to intimidation. I've had people scream at me, and make physical threats, implied or explicit. When I was newer that made me pretty anxious, but it's been a pretty long time since a customer managed to actually make me afraid. I was scared shitless tonight. I believe he is a genuinely dangerous person and I am scared of what he would have done if I'd answered his questions. He was grinning the whole time and obviously getting a kick out of it, so probably he was just tried to scare me and get attention.
But for whatever reason my heart is still pounding thinking about it. I'm scared that he's going to keep coming back, and that I might have done something to make him remember me. And I'm fucking angry that he is able to make me feel this way, and that there's nothing I can do about it.