I once heard someone say, “the world isn’t full of assholes; they just happened to be strategically placed so there’s always one around.” And now that I’m working a POS (“point of service,” not “piece of shit”) job, I finally have the personal experience to back up that claim.
For the most part, people are only really concerned with themselves. Not in a selfish way. More like a “I just want my pack of cigs before/after work.” They don’t really care who sells it to them as long as they get it. And the feeling is mutual. I don’t care who I sell to (so long as they have their ID on them). Like I said, it’s a POS job, so the point of my job is to service the transaction. As long as the legal requirements are met, it matters not to me to judge the purchase nor the person.
But the thing is, every so often an asshole pops up. Most people are understanding, if frustrated, when I Am forced to refuse a restricted sale, so they don’t really give me a hard time. But then the assholes try to make me feel like it’s my fault that they don’t have an ID on them, like it’s me personally writing the policy specifically to piss them off. As if I have any real authority in my position. They’d rather me risk my livelihood to help out a stranger who would never even consider returning the favor. They like to stare daggers at you while spitting venom in your eyes.
It’s easy to let these type of people ruin my whole shift. Luckily I also get to experience the other end of the spectrum. Genuinely kind & pleasant people to interact with. The interaction stops being one purely of mechanical purpose and becomes an experience I genuinely feel invested in. It doesn’t have to be anything grand. Just a simple, “have a good day,” while actually looking in your eyes with a smile. Sure, plenty of the autopilot customers know their manners, but you can really feel it when someone genuinely wants you to have a good day.
The best customers are the ones standing behind the assholes, and like winter soldiers, when they hear the asshole being mean to some kid just trying to do their job, they go out of their way to make your day better. A mom telling me, “you’re doing great” when her “fast-food” took 20 minutes, or a dad saying I should be getting double & a half time for holidays, rather than my time & a half I already felt appreciative for. Just people remembering when they had to do shitty jobs & deal with shitty people. So they decide to be the light that they know exists at the end of the tunnel.
It’s just so nice to know there other people out there who are unnecessarily kind. They make me forget those who are unnecessarily cruel.
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Random Thought #98: Sheetz 777
♡Sugar☆World☮ 