I had two wonderful online visits with friends today. I headed out for errands in between the meetings. Sadly, I had to go back to one store afterwards to return one product I got earlier. This size usually lasts about 3-4 months once opened. It will replace the one that I expect to last another week or so. The reason for return involved the expiry date -- August 2021. The one time I don't check the date before purchase and it turns out to be 3.5 weeks from now. <big sigh> The clerk that processed the return didn't address me directly ever. I said I expected the others on the shelf had the same date and she did respond with a muttered, "I wouldn't know." Nor did she ask the other one flitting about and trying to carry on a personal conversation while the cashier was ringing through the person in front of me and me. This isn't the first time this one person has disrupted actual customer transactions in this way. She socializes more than anyone else I've seen there. She may even be an evening manager. <yikes> I had expected the cashier to ask someone to check the dates on the shelf for me. I know. I really do expect too much. Service is not a word that could be used for anything I encountered today.
Encounters like this can leave me feeling old. <smile> I've worked as a sales clerk when I was the same age as the cashier in question today. We were trained and checked on regularly to ensure customer received the care and attention expected by administration. I fear training and supervision focus on a much different level than when I did similar work. Yes. There were times when time moved slowly and I approached something close to boredom. I was encouraged to be active even if it meant dusting shelves or cleaning checkout area counter tops. If I had stood there with a far off gaze and heaving huge sighs, there would have been a work conversation to deal with that. <smile>
While I may feel a bit impatient with this at times, today I felt a type of sadness for the cashier. It took me some time to unpack that feeling. Where I netted out was that her distance looked like a desire to be elsewhere or hating what she was doing -- at least to this outsider. That thought reminded me of the phrase from an older friend -- "don't wish your life away." A song title and a line of the chorus came to mind. Now the whole lyric deals with a different story, but the main thought suggested that a different way of thinking or seeing the moments in our days might be worth finding. Keep safe. Enjoy!
Giant Step -- The Monkees
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