The Rude People

A rant is in order, but before I unfurl my specially honed words at the general public, I offer this non sequitur. When I was a young teenager, an awesome cartoon show appeared on Cartoon Network called "Space Ghost: Coast to Coast" and it was a late night comedy talk show setup, but they used the old Hannah Barbera (I guess all HB stuff is old) cartoon characters from Space Ghost. Today the minds behind this hilarious television are responsible for the ever more popular and outrageous TV segment "Adult Swim" also on Cartoon Network.

I was viewing some episodes from SGC2C on the Adult Swim website (sadly, there are no new episodes of Space Ghost that I know of) when I caught one of my favorites. Do you ever think of the Olsen Twins? Don't they look weird? I love this episode because the character Tad (Space Ghost's unlikely evil twin) mentions the Olsen Twins, that he doesn't like them because "they look like those awful Troll dolls". It's funny, but it's also true! I especially like this because I always thought the same thing before I ever saw this episode, so I'm glad somebody else agrees. That's it.

Now, the topic: customers at work. I have worked the same retail store for two years now, and I can no longer help but notice these particular traits amongst the general shopping public. Some people stand out more than others, but what dumbfounds me is the bad behavior or habits of most people in this public setting. It's just rude!

First, littering. The shopping cart that you borrow while you make the rounds is not a trash can. Who thinks it's OK to leave napkins, diapers, Starbucks cups, ICEE cups, and just trash in the cart when you're done with it? Some carts become selected as dumpsters, they just sit in the corral for days or weeks filling up with trash. Who do you think is responsible for cart cleanliness, the employees? They aren't, it's you, litter bug. Because in five minutes some sucker will come after you're finished to use that cart, only they'll need to pick another one because you can't be bothered to throw away a cup! The employees are too busy putting the carts away for you, answering your questions, taking your payments, etc. to pick up after you.

This continues with cart replacement, or returning the cart to it's place in line. We keep the carts lined up for easy access and convenience, so why is it OK to just randomly abandon the cart where you last stood before leaving the store? And it's contagious, people won't return carts to the orderly lines because it takes 10 seconds longer than "hey let's leave this here where there are 6 other carts abandoned in front of the exit door". Do you enjoy weaving in and out of carts on your way out the door? And what about the people behind you who need to take their cart outside, don't they exist too? This one is just pure lazy, and inconsiderate.

I get to see parents with their fussy, nasty little children, and I can tell they are not focused on anything else. Multiply this by a dozen, and that's the average customer in our store. But I can't accept distractions as an excuse to be rude and inconsiderate. What lesson do you teach your kids by littering where you find it convenient, and being lazy about putting away what you borrow so that the person behind you can move along?

Again I suspect our spoiled culture expects some unspoken service to come along and sweep up behind them. The reality is when you disrespect the folks who work in the public they begin to resent you, and your quality of service will suffer. We are constantly struggling to keep up with the mess people leave at work, and we are always oriented in customer service, but that must be a two way exchange. Help your self by not helping yourself to whatever you like, but be mindful of your impact on other people who are working and shopping around you.

We have these machines on the checklanes for reading credit cards, and they're terrible. They use touch screen buttons that only work when they want to, and they require too many confusing steps before anything gets transacted. But keep in mind, I am not the technical repair chief, I don't have any training in card reader repair and functions. People always look at me like I can do something to "make the machine go", and it seems like nobody ever learns this. It's like entering a modern store for the first time dozens of times a day, every day for most people. I don't get it, snap out of your daze folks!

Back to carts, when somebody finally does get a chance to return the carts to orderly lines, please do not step in-between the carts being moved and the front of the line they are moving to! I see this all day, people walk in, ignore you, and pass right in front of your objective without a second look. I've determined this is another huge time saver for people, because walking around 8 or 9 feet the other way is a costly detour. Better to take the shortest route possible, no matter what's happening. But if I don't look out for you, I very well could squish you in-between two rows of carts.

Does it make sense, would you go walking under a row of ladders? Forget bad luck, if a ladder collapses, you will get crushed. If you weave in and out of the ladders, you could tip them over. So it's better to walk around them from a distance, and it's the same for the carts.

This continues outside in the parking lot as well. Everyone is in such a hurry, everyone has such important business to attend to, so every second saved must lead to successful completion of each task. That must be why people risk their lives and vehicles by speeding down the aisles and cutting diagonally across seemingly empty spaces. What confounds me is the speed at which people exit the parking lot, since they probably zig zagged across coming in to the store, and now they speed straight out without looking for the next zig zagger. I'm surprised no one has been hurt or wrecked yet, at least I haven't seen it.

If there was ever a stop sign to always stop for, it would be the one at the main entrance where pedestrian traffic is highest. I especially enjoy the driver who only inches towards me as I walk across, it's like saying "I'm not going to punch you in the face, but I will raise my fist and aim it at you". What if I stop, trip, or you miss the brake and hit the gas? What point does it serve to drift into the crosswalk without stopping, even if someone is already in the crosswalk? If it were up to me these drivers would have no license. It's not just rude at this point, it's dangerous.

The general mentality of the public seems to be "faster, less attention to detail, more convenient, less time" and yet the opposite becomes true. If you try and outpace yourself at a task you are familiar with, it becomes less familiar and harder to sustain. Like typing, I can only go so fast, and that's good enough. At some point it becomes irresponsible, you can't walk over and ignore people because they might slow you down. These rude people shouldn't be surprised at how messy things can become after they've spent a couple of weeks, months, and years being in a constant hurry.

Slow the hell down, and then get out of my way!