Convenience Stores

Let's talk about convenience stores. Once upon a time, just about every gas station sold gas,k and not much more. Most of them would have a soda machine and a small display case for candy and nothing else. These days, most gas stations sell a limited but decent line of groceries. Many offer food of some kind.

The convenience store closest to me is just one block away. It's open from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. and it never closes for any holiday. I spend, on average, anywhere from $100 to $150 a week there.

But that may be about to change. A few months ago, someone new started working there. This guy is very rude to customers. He berates us if he thinks we're taking too long to remove items from our basket and place them on the counter. He often talks to me like I'm stupid or something. He yells at customers who dare call him on it when he gives incorrect change or charges the wrong price for an item.

God forbid you should ask him to make a sandwich for you. He gets a real attitude if he has to make one. I feel like saying, "You know, it is part of the job.".

Here's what he did tonight that made me so upset that I walked out without buying anything.
He took a winning scratch off ticket that I had bought last night and checked it, then put it in the register drawer. He first complained that I hadn't completely scratched off the UPC code on the ticket.

Doing so took him probably all of five seconds. Then, he said, "You won five dollars, yes?".

To which I replied, "No, it was ten dollars."

Now, here's the thing. When I worked for a convenience store (actually, it was this one but long ago, under different ownership) it was standard procedure to pay out on tickets before putting the ticket in the drawer. That way, no one could claim to be short changed on their payout.

Now this guy, he just had to mess with me. Not once, not twice, but three times, he insisted it was five dollars.

For the record, it really was ten dollars.

Then, after I raised my voice and said "Sir, it was ten dollars.", he sneers at me, hands me a ten dollar bill  out of the register drawer and has the nerve to say "Why are you crying, little baby?".

That's when I put the bill in my wallet, put my wallet in my left pants pocket and walked out of the store. I am going to go back early tomorrow and tell whoever is working there that I have had it with this guy. I will also politely point out how much business I give them and that I have, in almost three and a half years, never complained about anything.

Then I'm going to say that just one more incident with this employee will cause me to never, ever buy so much as a pack of gum there, again.

Because, as the expression goes, they're not the only game in town.