Patience

Let me get one thing abundantly clear, regardless of what you may have heard, I am actually a quite patient person. I can be calm, understanding, and even sympathetic if the situation calls for it. Often times I find myself on the receiving end of someone being patient. Nevertheless, what I cannot stand nor chose to tolerate, is when anyone decides to let me know that they feel like they have been waiting far too long to be heard. Let me explain: last week, at work, I found myself assisting a customer with the purchase of new clothing. The transaction was going normally and right as we were reaching the home stretch of our time together, I heard what sounded a lot like a woman’s voice, calling my name. As I turned around, I noticed she was holding a shopping bag in her hand and was babbling something along the lines of “Is this where I make my returns?” Once I took a breathe I felt as though I could properly assess the situation. “No ma'am, it is not,” I began. “You will need to come to a counter where there is a cashier present and then they can help you with that.” I mean what else was there to say? She had to be completely blind in one eye with only a fraction of visibility in the other eye in order to assume that I was not already occupied with another customer. And that is the safest guess I’ve made all day.

Another area in which I seem to have trouble with being patient is when I am in the process of ringing someone up at the cash register, they swipe their credit card 2 shirts into a 15-item checkout. Oh, what must go through their mind as they jam that magnetic strip into the machine? I can only imagine that every person who does this is in the biggest of hurries. Bullshit. These people see that I’m busy and as such, decide to toy with me. After I notice their failed attempt to pay early, I advise that payment can only be processed once I have scanned the last item. There response to this is always the same, “You can do that at other places.” Guess what scooter; this isn’t one of those “places” is it? No, so don’t swipe your card until I’ve given you the proper hand gesture signaling to proceed. The only form of adult that can get away from this unscathed is someone who is elderly, mentally incapacitated, or just plain hot.

At this point in the article, I would imagine you’re asking yourself why I let this stuff bother me. I could just as easily blow it off my shoulders as I can write about it. And to that, I say this – I deal with these instances, these “people” each and every time I work. It proves for an interesting work environment I will admit, but these citizens need to pick their battles. Because the customer is not always right.