Geez, what
is it about the holidays that makes certain people forget their
manners, forget that they're talking to another human being, forget that
they can't always get what they want when they want it? At least whiny
kids have the excuse of being kids, which means they're still maturing
and really don't know any better.
And then we have grown men and women
who should know better, and yet there's something just plain wrong in
that head of theirs this time of year. It happens every
single year without fail, and it boggles my mind every single time.
Man,
if I had a dollar for every time I've been asked this week alone, "Do
you have any more sweet breads? When are you going to get more? Do you
have any more cookies in the back? Will there be some tomorrow? Can I
buy that gift basket that's already reserved for someone else?"
Which, I
suppose, are fair questions. But for goodness' sake, people, this is
Christmas we're talking about. What did you expect? Of course, we're
going to be clean out of breads, gift baskets, cookies, and all that fun
stuff in no time. As a cashier, I can't make any solid guarantees for
next time, and besides, if you placed an order ahead of time instead of
trying your luck at random, the odds would be a bit more in your favor,
wouldn't they?
If you come into the store, you might get some. If you
order ahead, it's much more likely that you will get some. You already
had at least a month to order all this stuff. Yet, for some people, it's
only during the last week that they realize, "Oh, I better hurry and
buy some! I gotta get moving!"
One lady had the nerve to ask if we would
be open on Christmas Eve so she could buy rolls that very day. And we're
closed on Christmas Eve, because we're closed on Sundays. A couple of
people even asked me if we'd be open on Christmas Day itself.
I get it:
I'm guilty of procrastination, too, and to forget is natural. I
understand you want your food as fresh as possible, though I don't think
a day or two will do you or your guests any real harm, especially if
you store the food properly.
But even so, you don't have to get nasty
about it and take it out on us, who are simply doing our jobs and trying
to get through this holiday hype in one piece. We've got enough work
and stress without an entitled jerk adding to the pile. It's not our
fault you put it off so long and we don't owe you any
favors.
Furthermore, while I will admit food is important, will a certain
cake or bread or cookie or gift basket truly make or break your
holiday? Seems to me you entitled few are forgetting what Christmas is
really all about, or you just don't care.
What burns me up the most is
when people can see darn well how busy we are, they can see with their
own eyes how crowded it is, they know for a fact Christmas is less than a
week away, and they still have the nerve to complain to our faces about
how long they have to wait. At least they only have to wait; they're
not the ones scurrying around, putting all the orders together, so it's
easy for them to talk.
I may be used to this kind of craziness. It's
nothing I really can't handle...but this kind of behavior never ceases
to astound me.
As that song goes, "Why you gotta be so rude? Don't you
know I'm human, too?"
