Working the late shift at a gas station in Tucson taught me to always keep the panic button under my thumb after a guy tried to climb the counter at 2 AM.

He was yelling about lottery tickets and I had to hit the silent alarm with my knee while pretending to look for change, so what's your weirdest safety trick for when a customer goes off the rails?

3 comments

3 Comments

piper_reed1mo ago

Heard a story from a buddy who tended bar. He kept a super soaker water gun filled with vinegar water under the counter. When a guy started getting aggressive and wouldn't leave, a quick squirt to the face usually shocked them enough to back off. It wasn't enough to really hurt anyone, but it was so unexpected and unpleasant it broke their focus. He said it worked better than yelling and created a moment to get help or have them removed. What would you have done if the guy actually got over your counter?

adam7511mo agoMost Upvoted

Reminds me how a small, weird shock can stop a bigger problem, @piper_reed.

grant.nina1mo ago

Honestly, that vinegar water trick from @piper_reed sounds like a good way to make a bad situation worse. Escalating with a physical attack, even a weird one, just gives an angry person more reason to fight. The real safety trick is keeping things calm and boring until help arrives.