Maybe I’m just lucky lately but it seems I’ve been privy to an awful lot of on-the-job bitching. Not at my job, but at other peoples’ jobs where I’m trying to conduct business.
In three shopping stops in two days I was subjected to crabby employees who seem to think a customer’s ears don’t pick up any sounds until they are addressed directly.
At Canadian Tire, the cashier actually finished her story about some terrible unfairness that was inflicted upon her by a manager before she even acknowledged that I was standing in front of her with my two items, ready to pay. It was so incredibly rude I actually found it amusing. That’s why I didn’t react. I just responded with “fine” when she asked me how I was today in a tone that said, “Lady, if you drop dead in front of me I’m still not missing my break!”
In a family restaurant the manager loudly proclaimed in front of the entire floor that she was having trouble getting waitresses to turn up for their shifts. “I had one gal who was supposed to be off two weeks and now it’s going on FOUR!” Maybe it’s because you shout everybody’s business into the personal space of people who are just trying to enjoy their lunch?
But the best was in the Loblaw’s Superstore as I tried on a couple of pairs of Joe Fresh pants. The change-room must have been in some sort of audio tunnel because every word uttered by the two women at the counter was channeled directly into my ear. One woman made sympathetic noises as the other one ripped their boss to shreds for something she had done. “And I always have a smile on my face for my customers, you know me!” At that moment I realized she hadn’t even smiled at me!
I had had enough. My head was full of this woman’s rants and when I emerged and approached the counter to ask a question I couldn’t hide my inner B-word. “I can’t tell you two”, I began, “just how fascinating it has been to overhear your conversation.” Both women stared at me looking for a sign. Was I being sarcastic? Empathetic? They scanned me for some sort of facial expression but I gave them none. I waited a beat. “Anyway…” And I asked my question.
I don’t care what they got from that moment because all I wanted to give them was the knowledge that they’re not working in a vacuum. I can hear them! I’m a customer. When I shop I take in the whole experience and unless I’m dining at Red Lobster I’m not interested in a crabfest. Frankly, I don’t care if Jenny does micro-manage and her employee just doesn’t feel appreciated. All I want is a pair of pants that fit, a quiet bowl of soup and a box of garbage bags. Is that too much to ask?
Is what you experienced appropriate given the environment, NO, is it understandable given the economic stresses of the past few years, YES, and is it likely to get worse before it gets better, most definitely! We all deal with stress in different ways and venting in the hopes of catching a sympathetic ear to ease our stresses is easy, otherwise we’d all have Blogs.