The Lesson Plan
I work in what has to be the most
small-time, person-centric setting there is. I am a cashier. But not at a
retail store or at a supermarket, I work at Sheetz. Sheetz is a convenience
store, where people expect to be served quickly, and then get the hell out of
there. Nobody stands around to make conversation. Hardly asks you how your day
is going. They just do not care. And it is terrible sometimes. Sometimes I leave
work completely drained by the lack of compassion some people have. I have been
berated for gas pumps not having paper in them, like the receipt that they are
going to take home and throw away anyway is a life or death situation. I have
had people complain to me about the price of cigarettes going up and up and up
as if I am some mystical price wizard who has set out to destroy their bank
account. I have had a lady stand over me, literally hunched behind my back
watching me brew a pot of coffee that she wanted. It blows.
Sometimes.
No matter how much the people get me down at
the job, even on my worst days, I put on the smile and the happy voice. I always
greet my customers with the at this point automatic “How’s it going?” or “What
can I do for you today” depending on if they have stuff at the counter with
them. The normal response to the former is “pack of Marlboro Red.” The normal
response to the latter is “A pack of Marlboro Red.” About three week ago, I was having an awful
day. I was dreadfully stuck behind the register for my entire shift. Nine long hours alone to deal
with these types of responses all day. My morale was pretty low, but finally a guy
came in around my age with his girlfriend. He was polite and sarcastic, so I
was being polite and sarcastic back. Suddenly, his girlfriend looks at him and
asks “Do you have your Sheetz card?”, a question I had neglected to ask.
“Yeah,” he said, “I do. Hey buddy, why
didn’t you ask if I had it?”
“She asked before I got the chance!” I
said, with a joking manner.
“Yeah, but it’s your job” he retorted, smiling at me.
“Yeah, but I’m not gonna complain if
someone does it for me” I said back. He snickered, I handed them their receipt and they walked away. We get busy about 20 minutes later, so one of the managers comes up front to help me ring people out. After it's over, she turns to me and asks me if I am okay. I say yes, just a little tired, and she says:
“Well, I’m just asking because a
customer complained that you were rude to them at the counter.”
I thought to myself: which one of these
bastards could it have been!? It had been a pretty normal day, and nobody really stood out as someone I had been rude to. It turns out, it was the guy I thought was joking around with me.
Apparently, he was not picking up on my social queues and thought I was being
serious. I couldn’t believe it. I was even more demoralized than when the day
had started.
Later in the evening, an older woman,
maybe 60 years old or so, came into the store. I did the usual asking how her
day is, and she opened up a bit. She said she was running all over the place
working to get her house in order for Christmas coming up. She said this was
going to be the first time all year she has gotten to see her grandkids. I said
that that all sounded exciting. She bought a pack of cigarettes and two large
coffees for her and a friend. Her friend called right after I rang her up and
suggested that she get extra-large coffees. It had been a long day for me, so
when she asked how much it would cost to upgrade I said she could just have the
extra-larges. She thanked me and I went about my business.
I was unfolding bags for the
restaurant portion of the store when the same woman came back up to me. “Sir, I
hate to bother you,” she said, “but I can’t seem to get these cups out”. I
hopped out from behind the counter and pulled the cups out for her and went
back to my business. No big deal, right?
“Sir”, she called again, “do you have
any drink carriers? My hands are a little full”. I said yes, and again hopped
out from behind the counter to grab the carrier for her. I then returned and
started stocking cigarettes. That has my back turned to the store, and gives me
the slightest privacy I have. I take a sip of my drink quickly and then I hear
behind me “Sir, I hate to be a pain, but…”
I turned around to see her with the
cups in the carrier. I thought, what else could she possibly need? “I can’t
seem to get these lids on the cups. I’m terribly sorry, but I don’t want to
spill anything. Can you give me a hand?” I smiled and said sure, and put the
lids on. She said “You know, you are the most polite person I’ve ever seen
working at a place like this. Can I tip you?” It was such a surreal sentence to
hear, especially after having hundreds of people just walk through the store
ignoring you day to day.
“Are you sure you want to tip me?” I
said, “I’m just doing my job”
“No, your job is to ring people out so
they can get on with their day.” She said, “you don’t have to help anyone. You
did it out of the kindness of your heart, and that is rare these days. So yes,
I would very much like to tip you.”
She handed me $3.00, which was what I
normally got delivering pizzas in high school. She thanked me over and over
again as she left the store with a smile on her face. All the while, I just
stared at the money, dumbfounded that anyone even recognized me trying to do
anything. While most people are funneling through this place, eyes to the
ground ignoring their surroundings, there this lady was noticing me. Sometimes
it really is the little stuff that people appreciate. It’s the things that
normally go thankless and because of that, not many people even bother doing them.
After she left, the manager came up to me and said “You see Dean, that’s why I
have a hard time believing that guy earlier. I don’t think a lot of people that
work up there would have done any of that for that lady. You are too caring to
be rude to people.”
From then on I have tried to keep the
mentality of how I felt when that woman thanked me. I saw how someone else
reacted to my actions and thought that maybe, just maybe, I would have another
really gratifying experience like that. That, even in this job I have for now,
I can still make a difference. I mean, that’s why we’re here right? In this job
field, as psychologists, sociologists, nurses…whatever else you want to be that
you’re taking SSP? We want to understand the world and with that understanding
make it better. I know I’ve gone long, and class has a lot to cover today, I
wanted to share this story because it is important that you, no matter what cog
in this society that you are, are important, whether you know it or not. Your
smallest actions can have big consequences, sometimes reactions that you don’t
even see coming. Be kind, be attentive, and above all be yourself. You will be
surprised what can happen.
…So,
moving on with unit IV….
