Time To Complain

I knew he was going to complain. It was a sense that I got off of him. And lo and behold I was right.

Yesterday morning when I got to the Deli department I was the only one there. I ordered my one customer’s order and then seeing as how I was still the only one there I ordered my other two sliced meats. Figured I could kill two birds with one stone.

As I was ordering 500 grams each of turkey and ham a customer comes up to the deli counter. My clipboard with my orders was sitting on the top of the counter. One could clearly see that I was putting lines through items when I pulled them as well as (and here the bad is on me) the fact that there was a name and credit card info on the paper.

The woman slicing my deli meat is fast. 500 grams over and done. The man looks at me and looks at her huffs and walks off. No more than 30 seconds later I was walking away, thanking her for slicing my meat and I walked off to continue pulling my order.

Around 10ish I was walking past L when he pulled me to the side. And let me know that customers were not aware that I was doing my job and it looked like I was shopping for myself. So when I was getting deli meat if a customer comes up the deli person is to stop helping me and help that customer. I smiled and said sure no problem.

What gets me is this man who had no time to be patient for a mere 30 seconds or so had the time to go home or go to work and then call and complain about me. The amount of time he took to stew on it walking through the store, getting into his vehicle and getting to his destination. And then he called the store, waited on hold and complained about me. But he had no time to wait the wee bit of time it took to get my meat sliced.

All I could think was I cannot wait to tell K this.

Was I bothered? Nope.

Was I worried? Nope.

Was I laughing at the idiocy that I witnessed? Yep.

When I finally found K and related the incident to her, her eyebrow raised and she got that look. The one that reads are you an idiot or what? It is one I know all to well for it appears on my face frequently. Then when I told her what L had said, that the customer did not realize I was shopping for curb and not myself I thought she was going to hit the roof.

Her question was so what if I had been shopping for myself. I am entitled to shop and we always shop in uniform. Especially after work or before (depending on the shift) and how is a customer to determine what it is we are doing?

I thought about it. I can go in and shop in street clothes and people will stop me and ask me questions. Which I answer. Because I would be called to task for ignoring them. While I was not working.

It makes me wonder. Do people realize that we are actual human and have lives that do not consist of the grocery store? Or as in the cartoon Clarence do they believe that we are robots who after our shift, is plugged into a recharging port until the next shift? In Clarence’s case it was his shock seeing his school teacher out and about in the real world.

I think that I am going to get headphones so I can listen to my phone and keep my head down the next time that I am shopping. Not make eye contact. In my street clothes. And if someone tries to get my attention I will wander on by, given that this is my time and I am not being paid for it.

As for that man, I hope that his day got better but I suspect that it did not. If you do not have the patience to wait mere seconds for another’s order to be finished, I highly doubt that kindness and joy are prevailing emotions in your day or life. Which is too bad.

Learning patience, extending grace to others, these are all things that K and I are learning each and every day. And we help one another to grow and implement the ideals that we both espouse.

Most people would never believe that a Christian and a Witch could be the best of friends, teaching and learning from one another. But then again, K and me, we are not most people.

Nov. 2/22

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