So today, I was at work, going about my business. The sun's shining, the sky is blue, and life is going wonderfully. At least until then...
Then, this nice looking gentleman came inside the door and ordered a dish, saying he didn't want rice with his order. Now, when a person says that, they 99.9% of the time mean that they want to replace the rice with steamed veggies (99 cents more). And I don't blame them, I eat them every day because they are SO incredibly delicious (I'm not just saying this because I make it haha).
SO. I made it, gave it to him, and told him "Thank you, have a wonderful day!" Now, I expected him to say thanks and leave, like everybody else. But no... He became infuriated and demanded an explanation to why there was a 99 cent charge on his order when he just "didn't want rice." Explaining the situation, I did not expect such a big fuss to be coming.
When you see people nicely dressed in work clothing, you expect them to behave the same way. That's where I became so surprised; he started ranting about how "all I wanted was no rice, and I'm charged for that?!" And so, to appease him, I gave him dollar back. He gave me a penny, which I refused to take, but he just threw it at me so I just placed it in the tip jar.
End of story, right?
NO! He turned to me and said SO cattily I felt this was going to become an insult fest, "Well, do you want me to give you back the vegetables or something?" This being an unintelligent, unfeasible task because who wants to get veggies someone else previously had but didn't want, I simply said no, that wasn't necessary. He kept pressing the issue, asking "Are you sure? Are you sure?" Now, I am used to dealing with happy people, calm people, intelligent people, stressed people, and just people. He was just in his own little world, I felt. Who WANTS to get into verbal arguments with a little cashier like me?
As he was leaving, I had THE strongest urge to just direct him to the sign that says "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone" and say, "Do you see that sign, sir? Please take that into consideration if you choose to come again." But, seeing as the business is not mine nor is it my authority to refuse service as such, I refrained from doing so. But I did take the liberty of imagining that episode in my head over and over again.
This has never happened to me before; I am almost always an optimistic, happy person who loves life and wants to share happy things with everyone around me. But today, I realized the attitude you have really affects the people around you. So, from now on, I am doubly determined to not spread moods like the gentleman that came through the doors today and only to help encourage happiness. I suppose I have the man to thank, so I will admit a hesitant "thank you" to him for acting in such an immature manner and helping me learn something new/refresh my memory.
Hope you enjoyed today's random episode!