🚀 go-pugleaf

Today I went to Home Depot and got a two part refund,
part store credit and part cash.  The refund desk lady
handed me both scrips and told me to get the cash refund
at a (regular) cashier.

I did my shopping (for a heavy tarp which I hand carried)
and went to a regular cashier, presenting both scrips.

The regular cashier said I should have already gotten
my cash from the refund cashier station.  She said
to wait (the first of several) while she called a supervisor cashier.

Several waits later, I wound up leaving in frustration,
leaving a note with the refund cashier (who
had gone on break immediately after servicing my refund)
and who had been among several employees who had
told me to "just wait longer" whenever I asked them how long.

Then the refund cashier rushed to me in the parking lot
and told me that both a till count and a video had
confirmed that I had gotten my cash refund from her.

This was after I had emptied all my pockets and wallet
in front of several employees, showing no bills of
the denomination that should have turned up if
I had gotten and kept the cash she claimed to have
given me.

I have had two other similar experiences in the last
12 years.  One was at a gas station (I ended up
driving back and giving someone's manager $10
on their word against mine).  Another was at
an expensive Chinese tea retail store with my spouse,
about 3 years ago.  We also let them go on the promise
they would get back to us (they never did, although
to their credit they would have taken our word over
theirs on it).

OK, what is going on with these experiences??
Admittedly I was not very alert at Home Depot today
(it was in the early morning, or at least what was
early morning for me :-).

I am in my late 40s.  Am I going nuts?  Is there
really an alternative dimension to reality, with
all sorts of evil monsters and bad experiences to be
had, and which conflict with everyday reality
as known in the Age of Enlightenment?

Is there a cashier's equivalent of the "thin blue line"
where truth-bending cops back each other up
whenever one of them does something unethical
or illegal?

If other people are having similar experiences,
I would appreciate knowing I am not developing
some kind of brain tumor symptoms... :-) :-(

Gary in South Bay