Throughout my existence I have noticed that no matter where I go or what I do, the crazy people find me. It might have something to do with the fact that I was raised by crazy people, thus marking me with crazy scent that other crazy people are drawn to (kind of like when dogs mark their territory, except instead of a tree it is me and instead of dogs it is pants-on-head crazies).
Lately, the combination of regularly crazy and Starbucks customer crazy has created singular entities that walk the earth to ruin my day. It is often manifested through peoples bigotry and ignorance when it comes to dealing with our partners, though some of the more egregious moments seem to happen to our deaf partner. Now, this partner has a pretty good system for drink ordering which involves using a small whiteboard which allows customers to write down their order. This should be a fairly simple system, but it boggles my mind how often people disregard the white board and instead speak loudly and slowly at her, as if looking like a complete tool will bring her hearing back just so she can take their order. In instances like this, I will either point out to the person that she is deaf and that speaking loudly will not be helpful or I will just sign the order to her while we make fun of the person while they look on uncomprehendingly (one of the benefits of learning sign).
However, a little while ago we had a woman come in to our store that could be the poster child for ignorance and general bad behavior. It was a rather busy afternoon, and it was only myself and our deaf partner on the floor, with her on till handling the long line of people while I kept a constant string of drinks flowing from the bar. Things were running pretty smoothly, until said Evil Incarnate Woman (EIW henceforth)reached the till. I was busy talking with customers at the bar area, so I did not notice EIW push the poor girl's whiteboard out of the way and gesture to bring me over to the till. Unsure of what to do, the girl got my attention, so I excused myself from the conversation that I was engaged in and asked the EIW what the problem was. It turns out that the EIW was incredibly late for work and did "not want to waste the time it takes to write down her order for the deaf girl."
I had a massive line of drinks to work on and I was less than impressed by her attitude towards my fellow partner so I asked the EIW to write her order down on the white board as it was incredibly rude and inconsiderate to refuse interacting with someone because they have a disability that they find inconvenient.
I returned to making drinks, minus the chatter as I was not confident in my ability to keep the anger I was feeling out of my voice, when I noticed the EIW walking towards the bar with a slew of profanity pouring out of her mouth. I ignored her as I finished the drinks in front of hers, however once she was right in front of me it became impossible to ignore her fury. Her tirade involved calling both of us some fairly rotten names, and revolved around her belief that as a paying customer she should be allowed to dictate how she ordered her drink. I had to cut her off mid-profanity and let her know that the issue is actually a Human Rights issue, and that she is actually not allowed to discriminate against anyone based on any physical issue she believed she should not have to deal with. I referred her to the Human Rights Code, finished decafing her drinks and suggested that she should apologize to my coworker on her way out (I may have been feeling a little rageful at this point). She may have suggested that I should do something sexually suggestive myself, but I had stopped caring about her at that point. Since then I have heard nothing from EIW or about her, so Im assuming she was trying to tell a friend or Satan (it might even be one and the same) about how she was wronged, and they slapped her in her ignorant face (because words would not serve proper justice).
I do have other stories, but this has kind of gone on long enough already so I will save them for later entries. Thank you for letting me vent, if you have any stories involving crazy people, please feel free to share.
I am a lightning rod for crazy
(4 posts) (4 voices)-
Posted 10 months ago #
-
How... Ignorant of her. When a customer starts swearing at you darling, it's time for them to leave. I wouldn't continue to help them if I were you: I'd offer that **** a refund if she would like one if any of her drinks are not made, but if they are, even if she'd like them remade, she needs to leave. Period. If she doesn't leave, it's time to make a phone call, eh? If anyone contests, you were putting the customers first. Her existence in your store was volatile.
Weird stories amuse me. I think that you could look at it in a more optimistic manner. Instead of being crazy, and a bad thing, it makes for a good story, does it not? You may be merely 'drawing the crazy to you' because of your perspective. They occur in everyone's life, just like everyone has problems. And this job certainly has a lot of crazies. I don't mean to demerit your observation, but try it. Try looking at things from another perspective, or from another person's shoes. I think your day may go a bit better. ;]
Posted 10 months ago # -
:O That's awful.
If I had been one of the customers behind that woman....I don't know what I would have done. Things like that **** me of to no end.
Posted 10 months ago # -
That would've been my cue to come over te counter.
Posted 10 months ago #
Reply
You must log in to post.