Well... I just had to excuse myself to calm down. A customer today made my blood boil!

Had a situation that I thought was going to turn into a stolen valor moment.

Customer came in wearing some kind of "Iraq War Vet" hat. I'm helping someone else at the moment, so I can't get to him. Someone does the normal "Thank you for your service." bit and he decided to regail us with tails of his "daring exploits" and sneered at us poor ungrateful peasants who couldn't possibly understand what he went through. The "sacrifices" he made. He was especially annoyed that I wouldn't react with slack jawed reverence and awe.

The veterans I know personally and the veterans I see in the course of my job don't act like this. I immediately think he's lying through his teeth, but I need to prove it. I can't just throw that accusation willy-nilly. Luckily, I've been around enough veterans of all stripes, I can ask the right questions to tease out the truth.

Long story short, he actually served, but never in combat. He was a desk jockey nowhere close to the front lines. Apparently, he decided to invent some war stories to "pad his resume" and puff himself up.

Once he realized I knew he was a fraud, he shut up quick. He's lucky he wasn't active duty as I would have contacted his CO. He made me that angry!