Apparently there is a very good reason why I should NOT be allowed to interact with the general public. I have lost my "niceness". In my defense, it's been a horrible week. I'll talk about that another day...
SO. I went to the post office last night to pick up a parcel. (The stupid parcel was not even for ME. Ugh.) There were kazillion people in line, since it's December now, and every single person in the city MUST mail tacky crap to every relative they've ever met. No problem. I knew there would be a line. I was patient. I waited, and smiled, and did not punch the man behind me who had no sense of personal space. I also did not have a completely innappropriate conversation on my cell phone, like that other woman. Seriously, was there no other moment in her day when she could have told "Shannon" all about her beer diarrhea??? ANYWAY.....
When I got to the front of the line, I smiled like a decent human being, and said to the postal clerk "Hi! How are you? I'm just here to pick up a parcel." She said "Other than being overworked and underpaid, I'm FINE."
Hmmmm. Not quite what I was expecting. I didn't have an answer ready for that. So I made the mistake of just saying whatever the hell popped into my mind. That is NEVER a good idea. My mind needs a heavy duty filter between my thoughts and my mouth.
"I guess, in this economy, the best you can do is just be grateful you HAVE a job..."
Not the thing to say if you want smiles with your service. Not at all.
2 comments:
You could have said something like "if you had a better attitude maybe you'd have a better job". One of those inarguable circular things - you know, "if I had a better job maybe I'd have a better attitude?" What were you doing being nice, picking up someone else's parcel?
I probably would have said the same thing...
I also like Murray's suggestion - but I would never in a lifetime be able to come up with such a snappy answer!
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