Is it wrong to want to punch an old lady in the balls?
Im a cashier at a small grocery store. In New England. We are getting snow tomorrow. Therefore all hell broke loose at work today. Busy, people in an uproar. Came home with a pounding headache.
This interaction gnawed at me all day and I just had to vent it out here...lol
Two elderly women in my line...One was calling the other "Aunty.." so Im assuming they'd be like 70 and 90...Neither looked sweet and frail, like some elderly folk do, they looked pretty healthy and bitter. Old Lady1, the niece, is making the purchase, I dont even remember what it was but it took 2 bags. I give her the total, she swipes a card as I walk around the put her bags into her cart (out of consideration so she wouldnt have to lift them more than necessary; I do this for most of my elderly customers) So OL1 swipes as I am away from my screen and it goes down like this:
OL: "What does this screen say? I cant see it!"
Me:, scooting back to my screen "Let me check for ya, I cant see it from here.."
Aunty pipes up: "You know, you should know what those screens say. Dont you know some people are Legally Blind!?!!"
Me: "I couldnt see it from the angle I was at. It's just asking if the total is OK, you just need to tap the "Yes" button"
OL: "Which one is yes?"
Me: "the green one" OL taps the green one and it approves and reciept prints. As I am handing it to her, Aunty keeps going..."Im not trying to be critical, but it's not very courteous to people who are BLIND! if the cashiers dont even know what the screen says. You are supposed to help her. She's Legally Blind(!!) and you need to help people like that!"
I just smiled with what I hoped was sympathy on my face and nodded. She kept it up, rinse, repeat, blar-dee-blar "legally blind, not being critical, you know, but you need to know how to help people with that machine, blah blah"
I kept smiling and nodding, and when I saw my chance I said "You ladies have a nice afternoon" and turned to my next customer.
*explodes* So much I wanted to say, but i *knew* that one statement in my own defense would be construed as arguing with the Almighty customers...There was NO WAY I could see either her screen or my own as I was putting the freakin bags in her cart. Also at that point, for all I knew she used a EBT card, which has its own set of questions, there was no way of "guessing" what words were on the screen at that second, until I ,um, LOOKED! And how in the name of Zues am I supposed to know she was LEGALLY FREAKIN BLIND, when she looked me right in the eye at the beginnning of the transaction and had no problem pulling her card out of her wallet? And perhaps another form of tender would be more appropriate for it's ease of use for the visually impaired? Or, oh I dont know, maybe the Aunty who is doing nothing but standing directly next to said Blind person, could assist?
Im a cashier at a small grocery store. In New England. We are getting snow tomorrow. Therefore all hell broke loose at work today. Busy, people in an uproar. Came home with a pounding headache.
This interaction gnawed at me all day and I just had to vent it out here...lol
Two elderly women in my line...One was calling the other "Aunty.." so Im assuming they'd be like 70 and 90...Neither looked sweet and frail, like some elderly folk do, they looked pretty healthy and bitter. Old Lady1, the niece, is making the purchase, I dont even remember what it was but it took 2 bags. I give her the total, she swipes a card as I walk around the put her bags into her cart (out of consideration so she wouldnt have to lift them more than necessary; I do this for most of my elderly customers) So OL1 swipes as I am away from my screen and it goes down like this:
OL: "What does this screen say? I cant see it!"
Me:, scooting back to my screen "Let me check for ya, I cant see it from here.."
Aunty pipes up: "You know, you should know what those screens say. Dont you know some people are Legally Blind!?!!"
Me: "I couldnt see it from the angle I was at. It's just asking if the total is OK, you just need to tap the "Yes" button"
OL: "Which one is yes?"
Me: "the green one" OL taps the green one and it approves and reciept prints. As I am handing it to her, Aunty keeps going..."Im not trying to be critical, but it's not very courteous to people who are BLIND! if the cashiers dont even know what the screen says. You are supposed to help her. She's Legally Blind(!!) and you need to help people like that!"
I just smiled with what I hoped was sympathy on my face and nodded. She kept it up, rinse, repeat, blar-dee-blar "legally blind, not being critical, you know, but you need to know how to help people with that machine, blah blah"
I kept smiling and nodding, and when I saw my chance I said "You ladies have a nice afternoon" and turned to my next customer.
*explodes* So much I wanted to say, but i *knew* that one statement in my own defense would be construed as arguing with the Almighty customers...There was NO WAY I could see either her screen or my own as I was putting the freakin bags in her cart. Also at that point, for all I knew she used a EBT card, which has its own set of questions, there was no way of "guessing" what words were on the screen at that second, until I ,um, LOOKED! And how in the name of Zues am I supposed to know she was LEGALLY FREAKIN BLIND, when she looked me right in the eye at the beginnning of the transaction and had no problem pulling her card out of her wallet? And perhaps another form of tender would be more appropriate for it's ease of use for the visually impaired? Or, oh I dont know, maybe the Aunty who is doing nothing but standing directly next to said Blind person, could assist?
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