Late Night Convenience Store Workers Share Their Creepiest Customer Stories

Posted by u/IAmWorkingAma:

I had a guy come into the gas station where I work. Obviously on drugs, but I have a lot of regulars that are addicts, and most aren't violent, just weird.

So he wanders around the aisles, occasionally looking over and staring at me for 10 seconds or so each time. After the last customer leaves, he comes up and pulls out a small pocket knife, the Swiss Army knife kind. Looks at me and say, "I was supposed to do something very bad to you, but I decided not to, I think." All while opening and closing this knife.

Robbing me is one thing, but this guy just directly threatened my life.

He gives me the knife... just hands it to me. Tells me to "hold onto this for me." Looks around for about 15 seconds, and asks for it back. Obviously I shouldn't give it back to him, this dude just threatened to murder me, but this guy is huge. About 6'3" ~200 pounds lean muscle. He could've killed me with his bare hands, so I just gave it back to him. He tells me to "keep my eyes open" and leaves.

Posted by u/Morthern:

I work night shifts at a gas station. During the weekdays it's pretty quiet, usually only the truckers and taxi drivers who pop by for coffee and the sandwiches we have.

But one night I was talking with one of the cab drivers, a car drives into the lot, parks and it sits with its flood lights on bright aimed towards the glass front. Kinda weird but maybe the guy forgot what light he got on, it happens.

The guy finally enters after maybe five minutes of flooding the store part with light, and its obvious hes on something.

Hes jittery, wide eyed, looks dishelved, paces around before he buys a coffee and stares intensely at me throughout the purchase.

Worth mentioning: I'm a 5''2 chick and I smile friendly to everyone. But I work alone for eight hours in the dead of night. Eerie guy pays for his coffee without a single word, so I continue talking with the cab driver, but I still feel this guy staring at me. It was very intense and unsettling.

Cab guy probably notices this and leans on the counter, slides his card over while talking a bit hushed that I should call him when I get off work if this guy sticks around, because he's getting creepy vibes from him.

Cab guy was right. This guy stuck around the shop for about an hour 'til closing, staring at me. Until some truckers arrived, then he left and sat in his car, parked up against the window staring until closing time. I called the cabbie and he gave me a free ride home.

He later told me this weirdo had been driving behind his taxi with his lights on full power.

Posted by u/kane55:

I worked at a small convenience store in the early 1990s. They had one of those fry delis that had chicken, corndogs, burritos, etc. This particular night, I had run out of burritos and chicken. I also shut the thing down and cleaned it all out about an hour before closing.

About 5 minutes before I was closing up, a guy walked in and asked for some burritos. I told him I was out of them, and that I was just about to close and the fryer was shut down. He walked around the store for a minute (I assumed he was looking for something else to buy) and then he came up to the counter, pulled out a knife, and told me if I didn't cook him some burritos he was going to stab me.

I freaked out, but told him I had none to cook. I showed him the freezer and told him I would happily cook anything he wanted from it, but I was out of burritos. He looked in it for a minute, turned to me and said, "You really are out." I replied, "Yeah."

He then put the knife away and left the store.

Posted by u/skeever2:

A friend of mine found out during a robbery that the emergency button under the counter actually just LOCKS YOU IN THE STORE WITH A NOW PANICKING ARMED ROBBER.

His boss later told him it was to "prevent people from getting away." I mean, it did also put in a call to the alarm company, who eventually called the police, but for a good 25 minutes he really thought he was going to die there.

Posted by u/PopeIxI:

At a Missouri based convenience store. Had a guy in our parking lot, doing what looked to be Tai chi at 1:00 am. He would do the motions, then kick flip off the side of the building and go back to doing the motions.

We told him he needed to stop doing that. Goes to the pumps, takes the nozzle off, buzzes for inside pay, chooses a grade of fuel, and splashes it in his mouth. He spits it out, chooses another grade, and does it again. This is the point where we called the cops.

After he decided he was done mouth washing with fuel, he comes in and just starts loading up with bags of chips, candy bars, a single 12 oz. Bud Light from a six pack. Half of the stuff was opened. Cop got there, told the guy he had to pay, then put him in the back of his car.

Word from the cop the next day was that he was an extremely disturbed individual and he was admitted to a mental ward. 

Posted by u/heavyblossoms:

I go by my nickname at work and have my real name on Facebook, a customer found and friend requested me somehow. I used to think it was my name on the receipt, but I’m more inclined to think he looked up the business and went through the members/likes/whatever section (hundreds of people) until he found me.

He sent me a message that said, ‘You work at Business Name, I was there last night.’ I never responded.