Getting down with my upwardly mobile self I was recently acquired by a bigger and better firm. Ive been with the same firm for over ten years and its never easy making a move especially in tough economic times like we are in but sometimes you have to take one step backwards to move two steps forward and other times you get lucky and move three steps forward to make a giant leap for donkeykind.
Im at the stage in the game where I dont need new friends so when I go to work its business time. Happy hours and softball leagues no longer appeal to me.
However with big moves come small acclimations like where to get the fastest shoe shine or a hot shave nearby. What are the feeding patterns of the local office workers as to avoid the lunchtime crunch. Where is the nearest massage parlour and more importantly do they offer four hands. Who serves the best cup of coffee.
See, Ive never been a starbucker. I keeps it real street cart style. Not a statement I just think their coffee tastes like shit and I hate waiting in lines for anything. Problem is my new office is in The Starbuck Triangle (no joke eight within one city block) and my body being unaccustomed to being awake at seven am I was in a jam last week and made a judgement call. A bad judgement call.
I ordered a medium coffee. It cost $4.06. I gave the clerk $10.
Heres where it gets fun.
She handed me $1.94. Without moving my hand away from her I pointed out that the change was wrong and it should have been $5.94. Apparently she was a frozen caveman barrista because my advanced mathematics scared and confused her so she took the dollar back put it in the register then took out the drawer and disappeared in the back for about five minutes.
Upon hearing the dreaded threat of wanting to see a manager see comes back and states that the change was right since her register is not short. I point out that it would be long and not short and this confused her even more. So I appealed to her common sense in that she saw the $1.94 and that there was no denomination I possibly could have given her besides a ten that would result in that change for a $4.06 cup of coffee.
Here where it gets awesome.
She says that after she handed me my change she put her head down for five seconds and shes not responsible for what I may have or may not have done with the fin she gave me and that I apparently pocketed.
Flabbergasted I ask to see a manager which of course there is none on shift.
Now Im ready to set the place on fire and this is where the human instinct of fight vs flight kicks in but since Im not going to fight (or throw coffee) at a girl I flee with my tail between my legs and my four fucking dollar cup of coffee in my hand.
(this was the day after election so I made a comment about the wheels already coming off the apple cart and while it wasnt appreciated isnt important and had no bearing on this discussion)
Point is. She robbed me of five dollars, either from incompetence or malice, and she won the battle.
I win the war. Suckit Starbucks.
3 comments:
hmmmm ... hard to figure out what happened there with the girl. i think you were correct, though, to not make a big deal about it. i applaud you for your ability not to be an asshole when the stakes (for you, at least) were so small.
i do, however, question your premise that you are at a point where you no longer need friends. remember, my friend, that as one gets older, one's friends start to disappear, for any number of reasons, many of which being health related.
granted, on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of "sociability" i'm probably a -5, but still, i believe one should never take things that you value for granted.
anita you're wasting your time with this one. Donkey is anti social by design.
Its not so much that I don't like people but more to do with the fact that by and large I hate them.
But chicks dig me so it balances out.
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