Night shifts can get kind of creepy. People have shared horror stories of working alone at night and seeing all kinds of spooky ghosts or phantom spirits. But sometimes the creepiest thing you can see while working at night is a person.
Not just any human being, but an individual who doesn’t leave you alone and insists on asking odd questions. A gas station worker found herself high on alert and decided to keep her camera rolling after a weird man approached her during her night shift. The interaction was bizarre.
More info: TikTok
Man strikes up an uncomfortable conversation with lone gas station worker late at night, says he dislikes police and keeps hitting on her
Image credits: 67street. art (not the actual photo)
Tiktoker recorded her conversation with a random man who approached her while she was doing the overnight shift at a gas station
Image credits: Sami Jean
The guy began the conversation by saying how he didn’t like that his car’s front plate was visible. When she questioned him why that was a bad thing, he brushed it off. Commenters said he probably didn’t like it because he didn’t want to be identified and maybe had some nefarious plans.
Even though the woman seemed uncomfortable and hesitant while speaking, the guy felt that she was being flirtatious and asked her out on a drive. She kept rejecting his advances, and he pushed on. Many women have had experiences where their friendliness or politeness was seen as “flirty.” In fact, a study found that 88% of women had been through at least 1 incident where a man misinterpreted their friendliness and that, on average, it happened around 3.5 times yearly.
Image credits: Erik Mclean (not the actual photo)
During their conversation, the guy also mentioned that he was looking out for someone he called “Robocop.” He said that Robocop likes to clink shackles on him for doing things that are against his moral values. The man was likely talking about a policeman who had arrested him more than once. We can probably guess why.
The TikToker got noticeably uncomfortable during the interaction and tried to end it by saying she had work. Unfortunately, the guy didn’t pick up on her cues and kept hitting on her until she mentioned she had a boyfriend. He also made it clear that he distrusted law enforcement and didn’t want any cops around. He said things like, “the police make me nervous. Law enforcement might come in here and get free drinks and donuts and [stuff] like that.” Luckily, the employee shut him down by saying they liked having the police around. But gosh, talk about a whole bunch of red flags!
Image credits: Sami Jean
You can check out the creepy interaction here
Image credits: Ron Lach (not the actual photo)
It’s unfortunate that many women have experienced similar forms of harassment from men while just walking, working, or going about their lives. There is a lot of data to show how much additional “safety work” women must do to protect themselves from such threats. Especially at night, there’s an added worry of being alone with nobody around to help. You can see this happen in the video made by Sami, the TikToker.
It’s no secret that even when women try to say no directly or through their body language, men persist. The customer who approached her asked her out thrice, and though she kept fobbing him off, he didn’t stop trying. Studies have found that men interpret even silence as consent. In this case, since the employee was being polite and smiling, the creepy dude thought she was flirting back.
The worst part is that some men might even interpret this kind of behavior as “playing hard to get.” The media has taught people that even when a woman says no, it might not actually mean no. This is why creeps like the guy in the video might try harder even when the woman constantly rejects them.
Sami said that she kept printing the same receipt over and over in an attempt to make herself seem busier so that the guy would go away. Netizens told her that she should start concealing and carrying a weapon so that she could be safer during the night shifts. But in an update that she posted, she said she was too clumsy to handle one and that it would not be to her advantage to do so.
Image credits: Jordan Koons (not the actual photo)
Apart from all the advice that the woman got, some commenters even told her to stop being so polite to the man. One person said she should be “less customer service Sally and more lunch lady Mildred.” The only problem with a woman being abrupt or not so polite to a persistent man is that, sometimes, it can lead to aggression or a violent reaction. Psychologists say that dominating men may get angry at women and blame them for not consenting instead of realizing that they may simply not be interested.
Another thing to be aware of is what sociologist Mitchell Duneier refers to as “interactional vandalism.” This is a technique that some men use to make women feel uncomfortable. They keep asking questions, and since people are wired to respond to questions, it gets harder to ignore the person. These types of men treat conversations with women like a game and keep pushing so that they can retain attention. This is exactly what the man did, and he kept talking even when Sami said she was busy or that she had a boyfriend.
The woman’s intuition was clearly right in this situation. She probably realized how weird the man’s behavior was, so she started recording the video. Experts say that one’s intuition can be the most valuable safety tool. If you feel that something is off in the situation or that you’re uncomfortable around someone, it’s best to trust your gut and take precautions or avoid them.
Regardless of how any of us would have handled this experience, Sami’s calm demeanor and quick thinking helped keep her safe. It’s heartbreaking that women have to deal with such behavior, and hopefully, videos like this will help spread awareness. What would you have done if you were in Sami’s shoes?
People were weirded out by the man’s behavior and said that there should always be two people working during night shifts
