I'm probably gonna get fired...but it was worth it.

[blas]

I feel the same way on the yelling. Granted, I work in a loud production area where we have to wear ear plugs for safety, and everyone speaks up to be heard, but in all my other jobs at this place, they weren't all like that, and I always had a coworker or two who felt they needed to scream all the time or have a fit when things didn't go their way. More than once, it was someone above me.

At least I used to have a dance I made up, mocking one of my former shiftleads and her screaming bouncing around yelling "I don't have enough operators today!", and I got others doing it as well for a while.

[Shyla]

He won't complain. He won't risk having to be on hold for 2 minutes to make a complaint.

[CorneliaMarieRocks]

or with any luck, the old fart won't even remember the incident happened at all (ie dementia)

[Sheldonrs]

Another possibility that might brighten your day is, he might be dead.
You're welcome. ��

[Jester]

"I'VE BEEN WAITING HERE FOR HALF AN HOUR! HALF AN HOUR THIS IS DISGRACEFUL! WHERE'S THE SERVICE THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE i CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I'M SEVENTY THREE YEARS OLD GOD DAMMIT I NEED A BROOM JUST GET ME A REPLACEMENT BROOM YOU'RE A DISGRACE!"

I read this and all I could think of as wishing my stepfather had been there for that.

My stepfather is 83, and only recently has his body started to cause problems. Mentally, he's still a sharp, smart, funny, witty, sarcastic bastard...which is why we get along so well. And he is like me in another way: although he's never been that big a guy, he doesn't suffer fools gladly, and he doesn't tolerate bullshit.

So I picture Stepdad in line at the same store, and Broomhilder goes off on his rant. And here I am going to try to channel Stepdad as best I can.

At first Stepdad would say nothing, but his eyebrows would go up as he took this scene in, and then his eyes would narrow as he studied this jackass. His lips would purse and his ever-present mustache would bristle. As the tantrum continued, he'd say quietly to those close in line to him, "Do you believe this idiot?" And then, as it continued with no end in sight, with everyone else pretending it wasn't going on, or looking away, or looking on in horror, and with the employees just taking the abuse, Stepdad would have Had Enough. "Hold this," he'd say to me or Mom, or whoever was with him, handing them his items. He'd calmly walk up to Broomhilder and say, calmly, quietly, and very, very firmly, "Listen here, pal. Stop yelling. Everyone can hear you. Jesus Christ, all the way down the block they can hear you. We get it. You're pissed because your broom broke. Shit happens. Now shut up, get back in line, and act like a goddamn adult. Because no one here wants to listen to this crap anymore."

And if Broomhilder had half a lick of common sense, he'd do just what my stepfather told him. Because even at 83, even as he's become a bit frailer, very few people who look into those eyes and see them looking back with that icy resolve that goes back to the battlefields of freaking Korea is going to fuck with him. Certainly not a 73 year old shitstain. Hell, while things are different today, ten years ago, when Stepdad was 73 and I was 34, *I* wouldn't fuck with him. Because while I'm pretty sure I could have taken him, I am absolutely certain that he would have still caused a lot of damage. Not so much today, no....but a 73 year old bitch is not gonna look into those eyes and try anything physical. He may not be the badass he once was, my Stepdad, but that doesn't mean he doesn't still occasionally believe he is.

And since dickheads like Broomhilder ARE cowards, well, he'd either shut up and get back in line, or keep yelling his fool head off....at the cashiers. Not at Stepdad. No chance.

It would be a sight to behold.

I so have to tell my Stepdad about this.

I just wanted him gone, and he was shaping up to be one of those stubborn old gits who won't move until the police show up and physically remove him from the premises.

Sounds like free entertainment to me!

Another possibility that might brighten your day is, he might be dead.

And even if he's still alive, just remember that, whether you get fired, or quit, or work for a while longer at this job, it is damn likely that in the very near future, this miserable bastard WILL die. Win win!

[wolfie]

He walks out of line, directly up to the counter and SLAMS the damn broom down so hard that it snaps in two entirely, while screaming his lungs out at the young woman behind the counter. Like, serious ear piercing shrieking from an old man.

Until he reached the counter, there was only HIS claim that the broom was broken. First thing that happens when he gets there is that he (visibly) breaks it. I'd have been tempted to refuse the exchange on the grounds that he deliberately broke the product (should be on the security video footage), and that abuse of product voids any and all warranties.

The banshee like wailing was bed enough to almost be a health hazard. As with all workplace hazards, it should be removed before injury can occur.

That's when you reach under the counter and pull out a decibel meter. "I'm sorry sir, but your screaming is at $audio_level, which is high enough that OHSA regulations require the use of ear protection. Since $store doesn't provide ear protection, OHSA regulations permit us to refuse unsafe work - in this case, "unsafe work" would be remaining on the site until the noise source is removed".

[rapana1]

Broomhilder

That is beautiful, man.

[Dreamstalker]

"I'm sorry sir, but your screaming is at $audio_level, which is high enough that OHSA regulations require the use of ear protection. Since $store doesn't provide ear protection, OHSA regulations permit us to refuse unsafe work - in this case, "unsafe work" would be remaining on the site until the noise source is removed".

I should try this...