It didn't take long for that paranoia to set in!

[customersruinmylife]

I haven't worked on the bar for some time. The pub kitchen has been very short handed, so for the past three months I have had no SC stories! Last night I returned to the bar. I could write a lot more about this shift, but I am short on time at the moment, so I thought I would just share this quick one.

Customer walks up to the bar.

Me: Hi there, what can I get you?
SC: Wash your hands.
Me: I'm sorry?
SC: I want to see every person behind this bar wash their hands before they even think about serving me.
Me: Well...OK, I'll go wash my hands.

I wash my hands all the time at work, so it wasn't much of an issue. But the guy spoke in a very rude and demanding tone.

Me: There. What can I get you?
SC: Pint of lager.

He placed his money on the bar, rather than into my hand. I have a rule: if a customer does that to me, I do it right back to them. I finished his order and gave him his drink.

SC: I don't mean to be rude, I just don't want to catch Ebola off you.
Me: *sigh*

[strawbabies]

What about all that filthy money he got in change?

[Monterey Jack]

What an asshole. Seems like every time there's any sort of health scare on the nightly news, SCs start getting super-paranoid about the cleanliness of people around them...for about a week or so, and then they conveniently forget until the NEXT health scare. If the guy were so terrified of Ebola, shouldn't he be sitting at home drinking out of cans (that had been wiped down with hand sanitizer)?

And welcome back, CRML! I always enjoy your stories the best.

[magician5]

Back in the day when a new disease was killing gay men, I was in the elevator with a guy who started pushing the buttons with his elbows.

I asked him why, and he said to me like I was a fool, "Haven't you heard? Aids!"

Hope he survived.

[sirwired]

What a maroon... Ebola does not exactly have subtle symptoms. Anybody that does not look like death warmed over and/or a plague horror movie victim is not spreading it.

[Evannah]

I wondered when the Ebola paranoia would start. Saw a woman a couple of days ago in the public toilets at the garden centre exhibiting some very extreme OCD tendencies. And when she saw me, she backed away a bit like I was going to breathe germs all over her, and gave me this dirty look. Now I'm wondering if she thought I'd got Ebola lol. I think I'd look like death if I had that. And I think I'd know, and you know, probably not come into work. Just saying!

[notalwaysright]

What about all that filthy money he got in change?

Right? Money is very dirty. When I do the cash in the mornings my fingers will sometimes be blackish.

On the other side... I hope it makes people less gross at my work. People come in sounding like they really are carrying the plague. We don't carry anything essential. In fact, many people can go their whole LIFE without stepping foot in a craft store. So please take your lung rattling cough and faucet of a nose home. (I'm sorry if you can allergies, they can sound similar to a cold) And I'm including employees who keep saying they can't afford to stay home. I totally sympathize on the money issue, but you have to draw the line somewhere, you know?

[crazylegs]

If the guy were so terrified of Ebola, shouldn't he be sitting at home drinking out of cans (that had been wiped down with hand sanitizer)?

Fun Fact #1: Hand Sanitiser doesn't work against viruses, only certain chemicals do that (& we use those on our ambulances) or good old fashioned soap and water.

[justhere]

I had to go in for a medical test today at a local hospital. The woman who checked me in refused to touch me or anything I touched directly and told me it was because she is scared to get Ebola. While I can certainly understand hospital staff being careful of contagious diseases due to where they work, the test I was there for was an ultrasound to rule out blood-clots in my legs and the only patients she sees are there for ultrasounds.

[MoonCat]

I can understand being afraid of ebola....if you live somewhere that it's known to be going around, or if you've been to such a place recently.

But not just any random location and any random stranger. Most of these people have probably never been within 1000 miles of ebola.

[Monterey Jack]

I had to go in for a medical test today at a local hospital. The woman who checked me in refused to touch me or anything I touched directly and told me it was because she is scared to get Ebola.

You'd think a MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL wouldn't be spreading needless paranoia about a trendy disease. I hope she got reprimanded for that.

[Seshat]

Totally concurring with Mooncat here.

If you haven't been anywhere near someplace Ebola has shown up: be more afraid of the flu. Or cars. Either is much, MUCH more likely to kill you.

[Gilhelmi]

Fun Fact #1: Hand Sanitizer doesn't work against viruses, only certain chemicals do that (& we use those on our ambulances) or good old fashioned soap and water.

Thank you for mentioning that.

Heck, I suspect outbreaks are going to get worse because people are being "too" clean. Like how bacteria is becoming resistant to antibiotics because of the over-prescribing of antibiotics. (why prescribe antibiotics for the flu? The flu is caused by viruses.)

EDIT: Oh, forgot to ask. Why are people panicking about Ebola?

See, I have a life (playing video-games and building things), so I do not pay attention to the crazy people around me sometimes.

[Smapti]

Back in the day when a new disease was killing gay men, I was in the elevator with a guy who started pushing the buttons with his elbows.

I asked him why, and he said to me like I was a fool, "Haven't you heard? Aids!"

Hope he survived.

Considering that Ebola is not an airborne disease and can only be spread by blood or other direct fluid transfer, the people being paranoid about Ebola are really on exactly the same level as this guy. The only way you're going to catch Ebola from a handshake is if you and the other person both have open bleeding wounds in the palms of your hands, or if he takes the opportunity mid-shake to vomit directly into your face.

[Dreamstalker]

We have a few customers who are super-paranoid (one lady always wipes down the SCO screen with a sanitizer wipe--no wonder that one's flaky) under normal circumstances. This should be fun.

(although, maybe it will keep some of our more hygiene-challenged SCs at home..who am I kidding, they'll use it as an excuse to act worse than normal)