Wayne and his son were watching the Kite Festival in Huntington Beach, California when they noticed these signs outside a shop on the pier. Says Wayne: “It was a cool store.”

related: Just plane rude

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“Personally, I think all places should post this sign,” says Molly in Los Angeles.

These days, it appears a lot of cash register-operators agree with Molly (and the fancy shop in Studio City where she buys her cheese).
To wit: exhibit a, from Betsey in Sumter, S.C.

Exhibit b) spotted by Otto at a sandwich shop in Frisco, [...]

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Our submitter in Denver says his buddy snapped a photo of this notice while she was getting her new military ID. Adds our submitter: “I’ve had success getting a picture retaken at the DMV, but bad photos at the military ID office are usually considered a ‘personal problem.’”

Happy Veterans Day, folks!
related: no washing your ass [...]

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Exhibit a) Spotted at a laundromat in Silver Lake by Jessica in Los Angeles…

Exhibit b) From Ronnie’s Diner, also in LA.., by Valerie:

Exhibit c) From Barnacle Bill’s in Sarasota, Florida:

Exhibit d) From, as Miranda explains, ” the local ‘community thrift store’ in Dahlonega, Georgia, where everything is donated, and all the people who work there…are volunteers. [...]

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Let me stop you right there. Before you say anything else, have you consulted this sign, as spotted on the door of a souvenir shop by Angie in Seattle?

Or this one, as seen by Meghann outside a bar in San Francisco?

Well, then your questions will certainly be answered by my personal favorite, spotted by Jessie [...]

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A message from your friendly fast food worker, Corey in Mount Pleasant, Michigan: “Sometimes, food service customers do not fully appreciate the people/work that goes into making their orders. It’s thought that spitting in someone’s sandwich is routine, but we often find the secret messages to be more satisfying.”

related: this is why your server is [...]

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…well, you know how it goes.

meanwhile, in melbourne…

and in london…

…a saucy variation on a much-photographed placard from london’s soho:

but my favorite sign was spotted by nick at a backpacker’s hostel in rio:

related: the whore of west babylon

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i think we’ve received some of your mail by mistake. just wanted to pass these along! xoxo, PAN

related: arrivederci, asshole

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i recently returned from a few days in san antonio, texas, where my friend matt and i amused ourselves on the riverwalk with a competition to find the tackiest souvenir possible in each store within three minutes or less. (my first win: a “pooping armadillo” keychain.) when we entered this fine establishment, however, i had [...]

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jesse says he spotted this sign at a great mongolian restaurant in the dallas area. “they recently changed their name from ton’s mongolian grill to tao’s garden, but apparently they haven’t figured out how to spell it yet.”

related: best. potluck. theme. ever.

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rodti and laura elizabeth spotted these charming examples of local scottish color outside an internet cafe in glasgow’s west end.

meanwhile, a grocery story elsewhere in glasgow displays a similar plea for clemency…one that seems intended for a similar clientele.

related: blame it on coke
extra credit: buckfast tonic wine [wikipedia]
the worst toilet in scotland [youtube]

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If you’ve ever tut-tutted over the consequences of big-box stores and online retailers overtaking small businesses, you’ll be heartened to hear that some folks have figured out how to bring those old-fashioned mom-n-pop ideas about customer service into the digital age…with the help of a big ol’ corporation called eBay!
While browsing the auction site for [...]

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kendall was waiting for her peach perfection at the jamba juice in elmhurst, illinois when she spotted this note on the napkin-holder. writes kendall: “i guess it’s their passive-aggressive way of saying, ‘take fewer napkins, a**hole!’”

UPDATE 10/12/09: a copycat is on the loose in milwaukee, wisconsin! (as spotted by paul in nebraska)

a tip for would-be [...]

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this masterpiece is a gift from the collection of zedral (morgantown, west virginia, 2008). the original installation also includes a trail of small arrows pointing customers toward the register, along with multiple post-it reiterations along the way.

related: ceci n’est pas une note passif-agressif

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5. Being a stupid, retarded jerk.

4. What, can’t you read?

3. Seriously, are you fucking illiterate?

2. Do we look like the kind of store that sells “I just called to say I love you”?

And last but not least…
1. The Internet (probably)

related: Our customers are always right…except when they’re wrong.
extra credit: thanks, mr. hipster

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after messing up his back, clay in knoxville figured he’d give a chiropractor a shot, but when the doc he saw refused to show him the x-rays he’d taken until after a “seminar” about payment plans — oh, and treatment options — clay decided to take his aching back else where. a few days later, [...]

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as our submitter peter points out, the residents of berlin — with their trademark berliner schnauze — are not known for mincing words. but this sign, found at a coffee shop of sorts in the u-bahn station kottbusser tor, takes that characteristic berliner directness one step further.
peter’s rough translation: “anyone who doesn’t buy anything [...]

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just in case gas prices aren’t hurting you enough lately, tim from madison, wisconsin brings us this stomach-turning (yet impressively restrained) note from a petrol station somewhere en route to green bay.

meanwhile, tonya in oakland passes along a photo taken by a traveler brave/desperate enough to actual enter a gas station restroom somewhere in utah.

and [...]

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this public service announcement is brought to us by tully’s coffee, courtesy of megan in seattle.

related: “if it wasn’t for the toilet, there’d be no books”

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while paying his old office a weekend visit, jimsu from katy, texas didn’t catch the original note (or, perhaps, conversation) that precipitated this huffy screed from the mailman…

…but he did spot the follow-up from the office smartass.

related: this is why your postal worker is disgruntled

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jessica from chicago spotted this gem at a boston-area starbucks.
notes jessica: “i wonder if all that special barista training they had recently included anything about dictating the topic of conversations allowed?”

related: our customers are always right…except when they’re wrong

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Heather says this pizzeria in Victoria, B.C. has been confounding customers with its customer service “policy” for as long as she can remember. (Which I guess means…it’s working?)

related: ps bacon is life

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originally unearthed from outside the hallowed conde nast cafeteria in july, 2001, this digital-age relic provides a quaint look back at those halcyon days among the new york media elite — back when gawker was still just a glint in nick denton’s eye, young anna wintour acolytes were still stuck in the induction phase of [...]

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