New Years Ingrates

I needed to get milk, and it was 20:00 on December 31. I didn't want to do it the following day, because I don't want store managers to get satisfaction out of making their employees work on holidays.

Nevertheless, I went to the bank, withdrew a twenty, and went to the 24-hour convenience store.

Twice--once when locking my bike before entering the store, and once while unlocking it after my purchase--a young couple walked by expressing their distaste at the fact that the clerk was on the phone the whole time.

When I went in, the guy was on the phone, speaking a language that even I couldn't recognize. I didn't care. He was probably talking with his family or something. I thanked him anyway.

I didn't say anything to the first couple, but when I heard the second couple, I reminded them that maybe they should be grateful that this guy was working on New Year's Eve.

"Still, it's not good customer service to talk on the phone like that," said the girl. She was all made up, and they were probably going to a bar for some late-night partying.

The guy commented, too: "Hey, I work in retail and I had to work today."

I imagine he probably works in the underwear department at Sears. The only people who probably would have been shopping at his store were consumer whores looking for their Boxing Week specials. If he didn't work today because the store were closed, a horse might have yawned.

Whatever the guy does, his fancy coat and clothes demonstrate that his employment is clearly not comparable to a convenience-store clerk who works the midnight shift for a large chain.

If you don't like it, go somewhere else. Oh, wait--that's right: this is the only place that's open. Fuck off already.

- RG>