subject: People Watching: How an Individual Treats the Elderly and Children [print this page] I placed 3 of my grocery items off the conveyor belt when I remembered one more item I needed in the supermarket. By the time I returned, a smiling older lady in a colorful dress had pushed my 3 canned goods further to the edge.
She told the cashier the canned goods weren't hers as she continued unloading her purchases onto the conveyor belt manufacturer. "They're mine," I chimed in, telling both the cashier and the elderly lady not to worry. Even though I was smiling and nowhere in sight when she'd started unloading her purchases onto the conveyor belt, the older lady apologized profusely. She then started to remove her items from the conveyor belt to allow me to go first.
I would have none of it and insisted she continue unloading her groceries. It took all of my powers of persuasion and the cashier's encouraging smile to encourage the older lady to continue unloading her groceries onto the conveyor belt supplier. I enjoyed watching the elderly lady interact with the cashier as I awaited my turn in line.
She handed a single coupon to the cashier, who repeatedly swiped the coupon to no avail. For some reason, the lady's coupon didn't scan. Eventually, it dawned on the cashier, "I know why your coupon isn't registering! It's more than a year old," he told his elderly customer. The lady expressed more embarassment than surprise and started to apologize, saying, "That's what happens when you're 83!"
Still smiling, I told her that I'd been there and done that myself. Never mind that my experience had not been with a year-old coupon. I just didn't want her feeling flustered. The cashier must have had a similar encouraging thought. When the register printed the lady's receipt and 3 coupon tied to her purchases, the conveyor belt cashier excitedly told his customer that somebody thought she was "still special" because she had several new store coupons.
The cashier continued with his red carpet treatment of his elderly customer by telling her that her receipt allowed her to participate in a store survey online. He told her that if she participated, she could win $5,000 in groceries. She smiled and said that she didn't own a computer. He finished his store pitch anyway.
The charming interaction between the elderly customer and caring cashier came to an abrupt halt when the customer in line behind conveyor belt supplier me asked me gruffly, "What's going on?" I truthfully replied, "He's being kind to his customer." More foreceful words came at me from the lady who stood behind me. "Well, he ONLY HAS 5 PEOPLE IN LINE waiting!"
Without saying another word, I turned my back to the gruff customer and back to the great karma of the cashier and his elderly customer, just in time for the elderly lady to smile at me, wave goodbye, and thank me for having allowed her to get in line ahead of her.
The gruff customer behind me was not about to let go of her heartburn. Wagging her finger at the cashier she told the cashier that he had spent way too much time with the customer. Further, she made it clear that she'd taken the cashier's name and would report him to the store manager for wasting time with a customer. "What were you thinking," the gruff customer asked the cashier. I chose to reply.
"He was being kind to an old woman, conveyor belt supplier and he made her day. If anything, I'd report him to the store manager for making a customer's day," I said. The customer's venom countinued unabated: "Well, that doesn't matter. He had 5 people waiting in line, it's lunchtime, and, others left the line because they waited so long."
I was simply grateful that the elderly lady had not heard the rant from a customer whose name must have been Hurricane Hermine. Good riddance to Hurricane Hermine!
People Watching: How an Individual Treats the Elderly and Children
By: sunny
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