Be Quiet Please or Thank You For Stopping

Herb’s Blog, Herbdate 22582 – 895

Here’s the haps:

I had to go pick up prescriptions a couple of days ago. The line at the pharmacy was long. Longer than usual, about 7 or 8 people deep. Fortunately one of the things I learned in the Army was the process known as, “Hurry up and wait.” The U.S. Army has this perfected beyond a science. You run everywhere you go, then stand in line and wait when you get there. And I had exercised the poor sense of going there around 5 O’Clock when everyone is getting off work and running to the store. Meh.

Except…this woman behind me would not shut up. I’m sorry. I don’t consider myself rude and I usually will try to commiserate with someone but this person was just a jerk. She just kept carrying on and on about how long the line was and why didn’t they have more help and blah, blah, blah, blather, blather. At a couple points in our “conversation” (I didn’t really participate but the woman did not understand any of the traditional or non-traditional social cues that you send out using body language and disinterested grunts as responses) she walked up to the window and shouted at the people. “Do you know you have a line out the door‽” It wasn’t, but it was long. “People are on meds already and you make them stand here and wait.” That kind of made me think that maybe she was off her meds and I should watch out for her standing behind me. “You need to get some more help and open another line!” Here in the States, a pharmacy tech has to have a certain amount of training and not just anybody can magically go into the pharmacy and jump on the register.

The actual problem was that the person they were currently waiting on had a lengthy transaction which compounded their being short-handed. I knew that as soon as that person was done things would move forward quickly. “Hey, sir! Sir!” She hollered at me from the window where she was raising Cain with the staff, “I’m still behind you in case anyone comes up.” Well someone did come up behind me and I said nothing so the woman came and spoke to the newcomers, “”I was behind him, I just had to go and straighten these guys out. Can’t they see they have a long line and people can’t wait all day for them?” The newcomers let her in.

As I had mentally predicted, the transaction was finished and the line sped along. At the same time, another person came on duty and the line went down more quickly yet. I was still amazed at how rude and thoughtless some people can be. I’ve worked in retail for a lot of my life and I have seen a lot of different kinds of people. Actually, her kind, the openly, blatantly rude kind, is easier for me to deal with than people who are condescending. This woman’s whining and crying and bellyaching was over the top but it’s the people who think they are better than me that get me mad. She got my goat but there was a guy the other day who was condescending and dismissive to me and I think I’d rather get shouted at. You don’t know me or anything about me and you certainly, no matter what schools you went to or how much alphabet soup goes behind your name or how much money you have, are not better than me.

But not all retail customers I’ve ever waited on are either way. Most people are nice and just have a problem I can help them solve or a question I can get the answer to. That’s why I still stay in retail. It’s nice people like you that just make my day. Thank you for stopping at The Haps With Herb and have a nice day.

33 Comments

  1. You’re preaching to the choir here, and I don’t even work in customer service. Most of the time, I can see that the problem is something beyond the control of the support staff. I rarely see that impatience and yelling will get me what I want; if my case is urgent, I will cut to the front, clearly and calmly state my issue, and then tell them how *I* propose to solve it instead of insinuating it’s their fault.

    • I think if you can offer an alternative that’s very helpful. When I worked in Customer Service I would let the person vent their aggravation and frustration and then ask, “What is it you’d like me to do?” By that time they were ready to dialogue a little bit and we could solve the problem.

  2. The same thing happened to me last week. I spent twenty minutes in the Pharmacy drive thru line with four 🚗 ahead of me and no movement. I got out out the line and went inside. It was worse, I was told the pharmacy is new and having difficulties learning the system with pharmacy techs trying to help her with minimum experience. Ok, but my doctor called in my prescription many hours before I got there. Why would you have a new pharmacy without an experienced pharmacy assisting at one of the busiest store around. I feel you frustration. Have a great day/ night and remain safe.

    • Thanks for the insight. That would be frustrating. Why wouldn’t you open a new store with at least some experienced personnel to kick it off?

  3. The fact that she left the line to complain about the line, that irks me. Had she said to me “I’m still behind you”, I would’ve looked behind and said “I don’t know you and from the looks of it you’re not behind me, so I guess you lost your place in line because of your impatience”. One of my pet peeves is line jumping, when I am in line for something and the person in front let’s 10 of their friends or family in front of me.

  4. I can’t imagine acting like that in public, but I will admit there have beena couple of times when I was less than patient on the phone with customer service reps. I’ve mellowed over the years…

  5. Maybe they didn’t have help because there’s a national labor shortage and no one on in the entire country has the help? Just a thought. I know what you mean about the people with extra letters. I’ve worked on a lot of houses around a certain lake that tends to attract hoity-toity people, and they’re all total jerks. I think it would be absolutely miserable to live in that neighborhood.

  6. For me, that is the most difficult thing about December. Normally decent people get cranky, the normally miserable go right over the top. My granddaughter and her friends used to work in a very busy Superstore that we shop at. It is always crazy and their average customer is miserable at the best of times. Genie and her friends dropped by one evening after work. They could have talked about any number of lousy customers but they spent the evening talking about the few special customers who made their day by being kind and gracious and appreciative. Those people meant so much to them! Fortunately, Genie has moved on to a business where the clientele is much better to deal with but when she drops by, she still notes the ones who made her day. 💞

  7. You sir are so much better than I am. I won’t tollerate rudeness and have attacked it many times. Once when I was in retail electronics a man insulted my female employee and walked to me to ask his question. As the manager I was agast but i maintained. I lied to the man and said I was new and could not asnwer his and he would have to speak to the manger. He got upset that I didn’t know and demanded to see the manager. I called the female employee over to take care of him and was quite nice. I love watching people schrink squirm and eat crow.
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    Saturday laughter is the best (even when it comes on Sunday)

  8. One’s impression of humanity can be quite dim if they only know it from public behavior and social media (not including this blog). Thank goodness these are not the only ways to encounter it.

  9. I’m always thankful for the kind people who still say excuse me and thank you. Those are very few and far between.

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