I'm not sure why I've let this lady get to me... maybe because I've only been working at my job for a few weeks and I've already encountered this lady's snippy-ness twice... maybe it's because her behaviour was so disproportionate with the reality of the situation, I don't know. But here's the "apology" I'd like to give her.
Dear Lady Who Came To Buy Just Cheese:
I'm sorry I can't read your mind. I'm sorry you clearly don't understand the cues we use at the grocery store to communicate the start and end of a customer's order. I'm sorry you didn't see the dividers placed right next to the conveyor belt where we always put them. I'm sorry the insightful words that came out of your mouth were, "I didn't put the cheese on the belt" instead of, "This cheese is all I'm buying today." I'm sorry I assumed the next order on the conveyor belt was part of yours. I'm sorry I scanned the Gatorade when you didn't want it. I'm sorry that it took a fraction of a second more of your time to remove the Gatorade from your order. I'm sorry I snatched your two five dollar bills out of your hand instead of waiting for you to hand them to me. I'm sorry I hastily and sloppily dumped your change at you and didn't tell you to have a nice evening. I'm sorry I answered your snippy-ness with snippy-ness. I'm sorry I don't have more patience for you. I'm sorry your mother didn't teach you good manners or that snapping at strangers is a terrible way to get what you want. I'm sorry she didn't teach you how to say "That's not mine" with kindness or patience. I'm sorry I didn't laugh at your ludicrous reaction to my mistake. I'm sorry I didn't meet you with a bit of humour, suggesting that you could find some Diazepam at the pharmacy. I'm sorry that whatever is going on in your life makes you feel that the only way to feel big is to make others feel small. Most of all, I'm sorry that you probably feel no need to apologize to me.
A little insincerely,
The cashier you snapped at over nothing
Ouch! There are too many of those people in the world. But it's a good reminder to me to be friendly. I usually try extra hard at the grocery store and restaurants.
ReplyDeleteTeddi - totally had a laugh over this one. Having been on both sides of the counter i canrelate. Did you really suggest the cheese lady get some valium at the pharmacy?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shannon. Seriously, you would have to try extra hard to be a cheese lady; I'm pretty sure your normal manner would do just fine. I must also give you credit because the form was inspired by your Letters From Canada post.
ReplyDeleteAnd Sara, I wish I would have had the humour to point her to the pharmacy... at least I would have felt a little witty.