Month: July 2016

Don’t let these define you.

I spend a lot of time alone. I do.
The worst part is what I do if I have too much time alone.

So, one night I was tired. I was not broke but had been in the past. The girl at the store overcharged Zack for a cup of ice. Dude… I’m not paying 1.50 for a cup of ice.

I went back into the store. She wasn’t behind the counter. She was shelving something. She didn’t even turn around when I said “Excuse me”.

“excuse me, how much is it for a cup of ice?”
“25 cents”
“Oh, then this was rung up incorrectly.”
She went behind the counter.
I placed the receipt on the counter.
“Was this at another location?”
What an odd question. Ok, I’ll play.
“No, this was just now, here.”

Her face turned. “Oh, that was full. I know both were.”
“No, one was a cup of ice.”
She couldn’t have possibly made a mistake in her own little mind… right?
“You’re going to have to bring those back inside so I can check”.
“You’re joking right.”
She had a serious look on her face.
“Are you fucking serious?”
OMG!
I go outside, get the cups, shout to zack how I think this bitch must be on drugs and slam them back on the counter.
Then I give my – Ok, irrelevant idiot, did I earn the freaking dollar, you idiot look – face.
and I say in my most sarcastic tone:
“This is some pretty amaaaaazing customer service!”

She gives me the dollar and crumples up my receipt and I’m like… yeah, I’m going to need that.
She gives me a different receipt.

Then, she tells me I can never come back to that Quiktrip again.
Oh, hell no.
“Excuse me?”
“Leave or I’ll call the cops!”
I was confused and wtf!
“Go ahead” The judge in this town baptized my kid. Bring it on you crazy drugged up bitch.

So, at this point, I’m thinking… why (except Costco) do I have to deal with these minimum wage level people who make about 2x minimum wage so they have attitude. Like does this 30k a year undereducated person behind the counter really think it’s ok for someone in her position to talk to me… a customer that way. I could be a homeless customer and still… she should be more polite. Seriously.

It happens at QT, it happens at Habit. All these places that pay these irrelevant ignorants more money to stand around and serve people… their employees have horrible attitudes and the customer service is seriously lacking. I worked at a gas station years ago. It was my job and I was not a jerk like this. In fact, I had rapport with my customers. I had the prostitutes and the dude who dressed in drag for shows. I had some other regulars. What? It was Las Vegas and it was graveyard shift. It was fun. I loved my customers. And seriously, what isn’t there to love?!

So, she hangs up the phone and says, “I don’t know what you want from me.”
I said, “an apology would be nice.”
She goes, “That’s NEVER going to happen”.

So, long and short of it is… I was complaining about her to management. I told them to play back the tapes. Seriously. How did this mistake of hers escalate to this point.

I can say my perspective here.

She made an error –
She was upset she made an error –
She was afraid of problems because of her error –
Thereby making more errors –

Human. We are.

The problem is me. The company violated her privacy. Gave me her full name. I found Patty, her relative and 188 of her close friends. I felt kind of sorry for her… what with her myspace account she updated about 2 years ago. Really? Myspace.

Yeah.
Irrelevant.

However, my drive was still to research her. Sad, huh.

After much insistence by my associates, I have come to the conclusion that yes, I do this and I guess I do it well.

Let’s think about the background …

1. Grew up broke
2. Father turned over millions in electronics engineering as President and Founder
3. Could go anywhere and do anything and get away with it in a small town
4. Ended up broke and penniless – Nothing to lose – Could go anywhere and do anything – No worries
5. Moved from East Coast to West – Adapted to new environment
6. Moved from West Coast to East – Adapted back to different culture and wow… what a difference!
7. Communications degree
8. Technology grad degree
9. Interview and writing skills from years of experience.
10. Mother worked in court system for 25 years.

Story 1:
I was a student, a single mom and I wanted to stay in Connecticut after my degree. Computer sciences corporation was paying pennies on the dollar, a measly 30k for a degree in Comp Sci. Please. The year was 2000. Jobs were plenty all over the country. So, I headed to Hartford with copies of my resume in hand. I wanted to find a software company or somewhere my skills would be useful. I found a company in Hartford as I was driving through. It was early morning. There was a large black steel fence surrounding the offices. I fit through the bars.
Next was getting in to see someone to hand my resume. I managed to get the attention of the man who was buffing the floor. He let me in. I stood by the elevator and saw that software was on the 3rd floor. I got in the elevator after a couple of people and got out the 3rd floor.

I handed my resume to the reception lady who said, “How did you get up here!”
I told her.
“The elevator” I don’t usually take stairs anyway. LOL
She said, “I mean, how did you get in the elevator!”
I said, “I just walked in.”
That’s when she started to get upset.

“This is a highly restricted and secure facility. Now tell me how you got in here before I call for security!”

I was astonished and confused. I wasn’t even trying to get in.
I said to her, “Look, I’m just a student trying to get a job. I had no idea this was a restricted area. I’ll leave but here’s my resume. Obviously, you could use someone like me, if this is as restricted as you claim.”

“I need to know how you got in, exactly.”

I said, “Listen, I didn’t break in or anything. I saw the gate and it was accessible. I went through. I couldn’t get in the door, so I got the attention of someone inside and was let in. Then, I got on the elevator with the others. Here I am.”

“Who let you in the door.”
“I don’t know the person’s name.”

She really wanted to know and I really wasn’t going to tell her.

Needless to say, they never called me.
Restricted Access… LMAO

At least put up a no trespassing sign or something… hahahahahahahaha

P.S. I always loved picking locks and escaping locked situations… that is… as a kid.

Why do you breathe?

It just is.