Disgruntled Employees

You don't have to look very far to find someone that is unhappy with his or her job. In fact, there are many times I come home and vent about my day at the office to my husband. There are days that he does the same. But, the bottom line is that having our jobs affects our bottom line. We put up with the high-school gossip, we work through micro-management and we do the best we can when we can. At the end of the day, we're thankful to be employed.
Not everyone subscribes to that way of thinking.

This morning on my way to work I stopped by our local, white-trash, superstore to pick up a few items for lunch. I cringe everytime I step foot in the place and to walk in there at the butt-crack of dawn really wasn't the smartest way to start my day. Sure, it wasn't overly crowded with yelling parents or Sunday shoppers who block the aisles to peruse each and every item - but it still was a less than pleasurable experience.

Apparently it was stocking time and every disgruntled employee was out in force to make sure their shelves looked the best in the store. None of them moved out of the way when I came through with my basket. In fact, one was so firmly planted in front of a display of crackers that if he hadn't blinked, I would swear he was a statue.

Navigating my way through the aisles that have no rhyme or reason - really? you really think toilet paper and shampoo should be on completely opposite sides of the store? - I literally ran into someone. It was not an employee, but another disgruntled customer. I apologized profusely, hoping he would take pity on me since I clearly am working with one arm and a basket. No such luck. I take solace in the fact that I'm not related to him.

Then I go to check out. There are THREE customers in the whole place and there was still an issue at checkout. The employee.
I wasn't in the express lane. I wasn't in the regular lane. I was in the SELF checkout. How hard can that be? We are doing YOUR work for you.

As I scan my items, I notice the employee (who must have just rolled out of bed) gabbing away with another employee in lane 11. The lane 11 employee was a good 25 feet away from the self checkout employee, allowing all of us to hear about her rat-bastard boyfriend and his cheating ways. I guess the fact that my apples wouldn't scan in didn't phase her.

I patiently waited for a pause in her story, but apparently she had a lot to vent about. After about 5 minutes, I decided to politely interrupt her.
"Excuse me, my apples won't scan," I said with a weary smile and downward shifting eyes.
If looks could kill, I would be on my deathbed.

She shifted her oversized gut and waddled over to the scanner. No smile. No words.
She successfully got the apples to ring up and shoved them in the bag. As she walked away - with no smile and no words - I couldn't help but think about how sad and pathetic her life must be. Sorry I interrupted your story. Sorry you are so miserable in your life that the highlight of your day is bitching about your boyfriend at 7:30 in the morning. Sorry you work in a superstore - no emphasis on super. But if you hate your job so much - quit! OR be thankful that you have one.

You may be having a bad day, and hopefully you and your boyfriend can vent about it tonight and then you will be able to face tomorrow with a new attitude. Tonight my husband and I will vent about how I had to have bruised apples for lunch because someone was a crabby pants this morning.