posted on December 19, 2005 08:14:06 PM new
to keep this on-topic, i went to wallet world to get extra cd-rw's to copy off lots of ebay stuff as "insurance," considering how strange things have been there the last few days.
i hate shopping. i esp. hate malls and wallet world. i usually have a hard-and-fast rule that i never do wallet world between thanksgiving and Christmas. but i was a desperate woman. and i also realized that i should appease the gods and get some stuff my mom's been wanting for the last couple of months.
so...i went this morning because, well, it was also the last possible date i could get my mother some potholders she wanted and have them get there by Christmas, thus remaining in her good graces. long story, apparently around d.c., they now only sell "politically correct" potholders with some sort of stiff backing in them in some sort of misguided attempt at protecting consumers, but here in nowheresville, politically incorrect potholders which don't protect us from ourselves are still freely available).
seeing as how there appeared to be about a 45-minute wait to check out at the main registers, i saved the purchase of the cd-rw's and the trip to the electronics dept. for last. where you can check out because you can't get out of the electronics dept. without paying for stuff from the electronics department, lest we steal things and risk a trip to jail over nintendo games
amazingly, there was only one person in line in front of me. so the girl gets to me and she's ringing up my stuff and the phone is ringing and ringing and ringing. she said she wasn't going to answer it because waiting on a paying customer who was actually there was more important. i about fell over dead, i couldn't believe i was hearing this, and from a teenager! (that's always been something that annoys me, is being in a store with money in hand and they drop everything to answer the phone while i stand there waiting, does that annoy anyone else?)
finally, some other teenage geek came over and answered the phone. some woman was ranting and raving about what took so long to answer the phone and go check and see if you have this, that and the other and do it right now. he kept trying nicely to explain to her that he was very busy and would have to put her on hold and would be back as soon as he could. no dice. she just wouldn't stop.
no amount of repeating this sunk in, and the teenaged boy looked a little desperate and the clerk had finished checking me out. someone you know said "i know how to solve this problem, and neither of you will get fired." before either of them could say anything, i held out my hand, the teenage boy gave me the phone and i said "this is a paying customer. if you want to know so freakin' bad what's in stock, why don't you come over here and pay your dues like the rest of us?" click, and i hung up.
made my day. the kids looked shocked, but they liked it too.
posted on December 19, 2005 08:35:13 PM new
Hooo Raaa Way to go. I would have liked to be there when it happened. Probably would have broken a funny bone laughing
posted on December 19, 2005 08:46:05 PM new
I'd like to have that teenage girl clerk on my payroll. She was 100% correct about the importance of a paying customer. She will go places in the business world.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on December 21, 2005 07:32:54 PM new
I am still laughing so hard over that story! I bet the kids are repeating it still to their friends. Good for you...
I have realised over this past couple of weeks of the "dreaded & hated shopping" that there are actually some very nice teens out there in the stores.
My granddaughter is 19 and is working at two retail jobs right now to pay her way through College and she is a great kid and I can't wait to relate this story to her.
posted on December 21, 2005 08:40:32 PM new
hi otteropp,
let me know if your grand-daughter likes the story. i know the kids at wallet world and myself got a big kick out of the experience. yes, there are some good ones out there. yours sounds like one of them, if she's working two jobs to put herself through college. Merry Christmas.
made my day. the kids looked shocked, but they liked it too.
