The name says some of it. We have all seen or heard some of what I am writing about in this story. How often have we said to ourselves, "Don't people look in a mirror before they leave home?" It is a good question but what is the answer to it? I haven't the foggiest idea how to tell someone that they need to rethink what they look like without getting slapped. The other area is why they don't check to see if there brain is engaged before they start a conversation that can do harm.
There was once this regular customer who came into the store in a Mu-Mu type of dress. Now I need to say the following as a visual, the woman was amply endowed and even though the dress was flowing it was evident as was the scooping neckline. I had forgotten about it as there was nothing spectacular about her and that she didn't need help in the area of the store I worked in. She was still in the store when I was coming back from lunch and as is my wont, I would look down each of the aisles as I passed. This lady apparently had never heard of a modesty squat and had bent completely over to get something on the bottom shelf. I was able to see items at the other end of the aisle thanks to the scoop, and the customer on the back side got an even more daring view. There was nothing to be missed. She acted as if this was normal and went on about her shopping.
In another instance was the six young people who had come in from a day at the lake on a hot summer evening. This is something that happens regularly enough that you rarely think about it. But what brought it to my attention is that management decided to get involved that night. A description may help here. The five young women were in two piece swimsuits and the only male was in a Speedo swimsuit. There were no form of cover-up for any of them. As is normal for this, the young women realized it was cold in the refrigerated aisle all at the same time as arms and hands proceeded to cover-up areas. About this time the night manager decided that he needed to ask them to leave and come in more appropriately dressed. He failed as the only person he asked was the young man who promptly went out, got a shirt and then re-entered the store. I need to say the following, the manager always touted how moral he was based on his religious upbringing. He failed this test. Every female clerk took him to task for not being as moral with the young women as he was with the young man and that he was the worst form of sexist. He had no answer to that.
You also get the customer who comes in with a portion of an advertisement that uses the same colors as your company's ad but is actually a different one. This couple comes in regularly and demands that they get a sale product that is advertised. You know for a fact it is not on sale. You go so far as to re-checking the weekly ad and show it to them. They eventually show the ad that they brought in it is for the competition across the street. Even when they have been informed of this and that we don't have the product in question, they continue to come in for the same product each time it is on sale and then get angry that we don't have it in stock for the sale.
There is also the building contractor who comes in every day and gets seafood. It is usually a good amount, enough for two to four servings. He then goes out to the bar to do his paperwork for 2-3 hours before going home with his purchase. Now, one would think that on a hot day (90-105 degrees) you would either have some type of ice chest/cooler to put perishables in on hot days. Not this guy. He puts it on his dashboard of his truck so the sun cooks it. The next day he is back into the store saying that they had sold him fish that was bad and had an odor when he got home. Too many people knew he was doing this and would start to laugh after a while. We still give him a new batch of fish each time for free, and he still continues to do what he does.
Had a customer who would buy birthday cakes about 6 times per year. She never left the store without some type of complaint that earned her a discount or a return so that she got a full refund. This went on for years. The department manager finally had it one day when they woman complained that the colors on the cake were not an exact match. The picture was of a cake that was made out of styrofoam and plastic so the colors appear brighter. She was invited to go to the competition for her next cake order.
This was also one of the customers who would wait for a line to build up around the deli counter before she would ask for custom sliced lunch meats and cheeses that would take a while to prepare, up to half an hour. She also would not accept the fresh pre-cut of the same product as it was always too thick and yet it was the same thickness that she would take home each time. She would tell her daughter that no matter what was going on or how busy they had to do this for them. Her husband would come in and would say he needed it fresh sliced as he was not wanting to get into an argument with her if she asked.
I felt sorry for a husband one night when he came into the store to pick up a cake his wife had ordered for the gathering they were having that night. I had taken the order the night before so when he questioned the order I brought out, I explained that it had been repeated to her three times and that she had ordered enough to feed 60 guests. I had no idea why he had blown a gasket at this point, nor why the profanities came out. Ten minutes later he came back and apologized. He had talked to his wife and had it confirmed that I had read it back and that was the size she wanted. That was when he told me the guest list consisted of only 6 people including his wife and him.
We get many tourists during the year. They usually get flustered when they order a sandwich and see how much meat goes on one. Our standard amount is 4 ounces (113 grams) per sandwich. All of a sudden you get anxious looks and voices going "too much, take it off". It baffles us, as we are not as aware of what other countries consider as normal. And for the price we are charging them, we would think they would want all it includes. There are sandwich shops in my area that the average weight is closer to half a pound (227 grams) per sandwich. Of course our concept of eating while driving would seem as odd to them also.
There was a diner/cafe in town that was older and had a clientele that had a tendency to be verbose and opinionated not only politically but on other subjects as well. Some of the customers knew no bounds to good taste. The fact the owner would egg on a few of the more offbeat characters didn't help matters much. The major parts of these discussions were around the counter area as it was in a u-shape. You had the Democrats on one side, the Republicans on the other with the Independents in the middle. Now the owner had three sets of televisions going on three different news channels that matched these same groups. The arguments about which was more correct would start it off and make it escalate even more.
One of the characters told everyone that he had made his opinion known on a national call in radio show for conservative thought. You need to know that the cafe was filled and semi loud. When he told the owner of the cafe and others what he had said, the whole cafe went dead silent. His statement that the military needed to take over the government and take care of the problem elected officials made people extremely uncomfortable to say the least. He couldn't understand why they had cut him off this radio show or that there was no response to his statement by the talk show host. It was what he understood the host was trying to convey that caused him to say this and to fully believe it. It was sad as this is a basically good person, he just takes things too literally.
