Be Quiet Please or Thank You For Stopping

Herb’s Blog, Herbdate 22582 – 895

Here’s the haps:

I had to go pick up prescriptions a couple of days ago. The line at the pharmacy was long. Longer than usual, about 7 or 8 people deep. Fortunately one of the things I learned in the Army was the process known as, “Hurry up and wait.” The U.S. Army has this perfected beyond a science. You run everywhere you go, then stand in line and wait when you get there. And I had exercised the poor sense of going there around 5 O’Clock when everyone is getting off work and running to the store. Meh.

Except…this woman behind me would not shut up. I’m sorry. I don’t consider myself rude and I usually will try to commiserate with someone but this person was just a jerk. She just kept carrying on and on about how long the line was and why didn’t they have more help and blah, blah, blah, blather, blather. At a couple points in our “conversation” (I didn’t really participate but the woman did not understand any of the traditional or non-traditional social cues that you send out using body language and disinterested grunts as responses) she walked up to the window and shouted at the people. “Do you know you have a line out the door‽” It wasn’t, but it was long. “People are on meds already and you make them stand here and wait.” That kind of made me think that maybe she was off her meds and I should watch out for her standing behind me. “You need to get some more help and open another line!” Here in the States, a pharmacy tech has to have a certain amount of training and not just anybody can magically go into the pharmacy and jump on the register.

The actual problem was that the person they were currently waiting on had a lengthy transaction which compounded their being short-handed. I knew that as soon as that person was done things would move forward quickly. “Hey, sir! Sir!” She hollered at me from the window where she was raising Cain with the staff, “I’m still behind you in case anyone comes up.” Well someone did come up behind me and I said nothing so the woman came and spoke to the newcomers, “”I was behind him, I just had to go and straighten these guys out. Can’t they see they have a long line and people can’t wait all day for them?” The newcomers let her in.

As I had mentally predicted, the transaction was finished and the line sped along. At the same time, another person came on duty and the line went down more quickly yet. I was still amazed at how rude and thoughtless some people can be. I’ve worked in retail for a lot of my life and I have seen a lot of different kinds of people. Actually, her kind, the openly, blatantly rude kind, is easier for me to deal with than people who are condescending. This woman’s whining and crying and bellyaching was over the top but it’s the people who think they are better than me that get me mad. She got my goat but there was a guy the other day who was condescending and dismissive to me and I think I’d rather get shouted at. You don’t know me or anything about me and you certainly, no matter what schools you went to or how much alphabet soup goes behind your name or how much money you have, are not better than me.

But not all retail customers I’ve ever waited on are either way. Most people are nice and just have a problem I can help them solve or a question I can get the answer to. That’s why I still stay in retail. It’s nice people like you that just make my day. Thank you for stopping at The Haps With Herb and have a nice day.