It all started so innocently...
Wine glasses courtesy of various Napa Valley wineries
I went into Joanns armed with my 40%-off coupon to buy 1 ball of Lion cotton (and then you know, go back once a week with an additional coupon until all the yarn I needed is acquired). But there I was, wandering around the yarn section and this lone Alterknits book is sitting on a random shelf amongst a bunch of cheap-o leaflets. I would have never bought this at full price but hey! 40% off! and it's the only one - like it was meant for me!
And all that Cotton? Well, I realized if I was going into Joanns once a week I was just going to keep buying more stuff that I don't need, so in essence it was more economical to purchase all at once. And no, I don't consider this breaking the yarn diet. Makes sense, right? Speaking of random purchases:
Beads were 30% off! And you can never have too many stitch markers!
Here's where the happy fun stuff ends. I have to rant for a minute (or five) about the complete a-holes that were in line in front of me; not that they will ever read this but it somehow makes me feel better to VENT about it and maybe somewhere through 'pay-it-forward' they will get some humanity and feel some guilt for the way they acted. This involved two different groups of customers; a young-ish married couple and an elderly lady with her grown daughter. Now for any of you who have worked in retail, you know there are those days when someone quits, 2 more call in sick, and the store store has to operate at 60% capacity. Yes, remember those fun days? And how you work so hard to accomodate a customer?
Needless to say, the checkout line was moving pretty slow - for awhile they only had one checker. Now I have been in there on Saturday afternoons, had 15 people in front of me, and been out of there in about 5 minutes so I know they have the capacity to get it right. Which is why I was minding my own business, and not getting too upset that I was waiting for an extra 10 minutes.
But this one guy is talking VERY loudly and VERY rudely about how awful the store is and how incompetent the workers are - and I am staring at his wife, embarrassed FOR her, because he is being a complete douche bag and apparently did not know the meaning of 'politeness'. So they are the next in line, and he proceeds to rip the checker a new one telling her she was a idiot and that this was the worst thing he has experienced (um - the worst thing you have ever EXPERIENCED? Can I have your life? Kill the dramatics and spare us all....). Then, he demands to call the corperate headquarters from the phone at the counter, and he proceeds to tell the representative how bad the experience was and again, how stupid this poor checker was even though I was willing to bet my left hand she had nothing to do with the situation of the day. So now WE ALL have to wait while Captain A*s-hat Douche Bag continues his whiney b*tchery on the phone and is ultimately, HOLDING UP THE LINE.
He finally leaves (and I NO LONGER feel sorry for the wife because she should have A) smacked him, B) walked out of the store or C) a dramatic combination of both). The NEXT customers go up and the cute-elderly-grandma-lady turned into a ragging b*tch in about 30 seconds flat starts insulting the checkgirl for letting the man hold up the line any longer AND for the initial wait in line. I can barely hold it in at this point. FOR the LOVE of god people, this is JOANNS CRAFTS on a Wednesday afternoon - we are all alive, happy, well-fed, and lucky enough to be standing here buying all this stuff for our own enjoyment. SHUT THE HELL UP!!!
I finally get up to the checkout and I can tell the girl is fighting back tears. They have finally opened another counter and the line is moving quicker, so I try and make some joke to her that the rude man was in a major rush to get home and yell at his dog and the old lady had a crochet hook stuck you know where. It seemed to lighten the mood a bit, but it has been nagging at me ever sense how rude those people were.
| So after that crap I went home and hung lights on my balcony (with the beading wire I got for 30% off!) then enjoyed yet another well-deserved glass of wine and knit. After all, I DID keep my cool and didn't tell that man to get his overinflated head out of his a*s. |  i love the patio.... |
Cropped Cardigan from the new Knit.1. I will NOT be knitting that weird opening in the front because that is the equivilant of giant flashing lights pointing to my not-so-flat stomach.
Finally, this is what Viva looks like about 10 seconds before she is going get into trouble for something....
12 comments:
Sheesh, it's a wonder you didn't punch the guy! Thanks for the reminder about patience and being nice to people when things aren't their fault.
Ok, I would never ever ever have guessed that sweater. :)
Hee hee - I can tell that's the butt of a kitty up to no good!
Uh oh...what did Viva do?
Awesome you got the book for 40% off. I might have to run by a joannes in hope of the same deal. yeah right. It was wise of you to get it all at once, because who can leave a craft store or Target without buying at least $20 worth of stuff you didn't know you needed?
Poor girl. I would have asked the guy in line why he had time to stand there and yell at her but not to wait. And I remember from waiting tables - she'll go home, get a good nights' sleep, wake up tomorrow morning and be over it...and he'll still be an a******.
Poetic justice, right? He gets what he deserves in the long run.
I had the same thing happening to me yesterday in my favorite bar. I had to point out to this A*hole that there's a difference in staff working really hard and staff doing nothing while there is a line... sheesj... the rudeness of some people!
By the way, what's with that weird hole anyway...great project otherwise, godspeed! ;-)
I love those joann's coupons! I managed to get both knitting on and over the edge there on two separate occasions. I wonder how come they once in a while get such great books and most of the other ones are filled with bill cosby sweaters... anyhow, just dropping by! hello! :)
I would have been so annoyed with those people. I probably would have mumbled something "not so under my breath" about how rude he was. Seriously, those people are there to serve us not take our bitching. BE NICE DUDE!!
On another note I love what you did to the patio. Hmmm I may have to go string some great lights on our porches right now!
I love joanne. I'm pretty lucky to have one just 5mins away from home. But the bad part is I always end up buying yarns or fabrics that I don't need. Where did you get those 40% coupon?
I love Joann's too! It's funny because I get almost all of my knitting books there, and it's never planned. I normally have one of those coupons in my pocket when I go and somehow, there's always one copy left of a book I've been contemplating for a while. And of course, 40% off, how can I resist!!! And it's funny you're doing that cardigan 'cause I'm also doing the same one, with the same pattern change in mind! - Good luck with that, and good for you for trying to make that cashier feel better. I don't know why those people were getting all over her - SHE was doing her job. If they had an issue they should have complained to someone who could change things, like a manager...
What the hell is wrong with people?
How unhappy must you be to get taht worked up over nothing?
I really like your writing style. I enjoyed your rant a great deal. May I come back and visit?
My mother had a very polite phrase to describe such people. "He would complain if he won a million dollars, because he wouldn't have a bag big enough to carry it in." I'd have been very tempted to smack the guy if I'd been the clerk.
What is there to get so upset about in a craft store? The very nature of the thing is relaxation!
That poor girl. Now that I have the choice, I sometimes fantasize about signing up for minimum wages jobs just for the satisfaction of indulging in spectacular acts of anti-customer service.
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