It would kill you to be nice to the poor kid?

The BBQ Pit
1

My daughter, age 18, works at a local movie theater. She’s gearing up to finish high school in the next two weeks, so there have been lots of graduation and prom related things going on and she’s requested some days off work this month (which they’ve been fine about.) This weekend, though, she was available to work and glad to have the hours.

She started feeling sick yesterday at work, but as it seemed to be a case of the sniffles, she assumed it was allergy-related and finished her shift. This morning, there was no doubt, she has a horrible cold. But she had to be at work early, and it was too late to find someone to cover her shift, so she took two DayQuil, grabbed a box of tissues and a bottle of hand sanitizer and went in. She was working box office, so no food-handling, but still, she was conscious of the fact that she is germy, and made liberal (and visible) use of the hand sanitizer.

It’s crappy weather here today, so apparently a lot of people decided to go to the movies. It was busy as can be, with managers jumping in to help handle the rush. My kid kept up, still sniffly, still blowing her nose, but using the sanitizer after every single transaction. Lines were long and one guy got to the front of the line, threw his gift card down in a huff and complained loudly about the long lines. My daughter apologized, took his card and swiped it, and issued his tickets. She returned the gift card to him - they’re “refillable” - and said “Enjoy your movie.” He flicked the card at her and yelled, “It’s EMPTY, you can throw it away, stupid, and besides, you touched it. You have a lot of nerve even being here when you’re obviously sick. You are disgusting.”

Hey, you know what, buddy? She wasn’t enjoying herself either, she felt like shit but did the responsible thing and went to work rather than calling in and leaving the theater short-staffed. And a good goddamn thing, huh, since the lines were so long you needed to complain about them. Despite all that, she tried to be reasonably polite to you, half because that’s her job and half because she wasn’t even remotely in the mood to get into an argument. You SAW her using the hand sanitizer, and I know you did because her manager was standing next to her and heard your comment about it. And you know what? You made my kid cry. She didn’t feel bad enough, you had to go and make things worse. And you did it because you’re a bully. YOU are disgusting.

(Her manager was present for this incident and after the guy stormed away from the counter, she turned to my daughter and asked if she was OK. When my daughter started to cry, the manager took pity on her and said, “I’m sorry, I’d have let you go home earlier if we hadn’t been so swamped. I’ll call around and see if I can find someone to cover you. Go on home.” They’re nice people to work for.)

2

The nice thing about people like that is sooner or later they meet someone with more muscle than self-control.

3

Threads like this make remind myself of why I try to be human.

It isn’t easy most of the time.

4

We had immense fun with these at the amusment park…abusive behavior of almost any kind towards an employee was almost always an ejection from the park for a customer.

Our lack of tolerance for assholes was pretty much legendary and the arival of security to remove them was usually met with applause.

5

Here on the Dope recently I have enjoyed recently reading the assholes posting about how they are warranted to abuse customer service reps who work for airlines.

I assume one of them (or their close friends) was the dickhead to your daughter.

May they get what they so justly deserve.

Tell her it is character building (with a big grin). Better than that, it is good to learn at a young age that some people are assholes, and that there is little that can be done about it. Those assholes are pathetic little people who can only feel powerful by attacking others.

6

Good on her boss! If you have to have contact with customers (shudder), at least you can have a decent boss who’ll back you up.

7

God. I always hate stories like these and the assholes involved.

I’ve actually had a rule for myself since middle school that, no matter what, I am aways exceedingly polite to people in jobs I myself would not do. It started when I noticed the other kids being mean to subs, lunch ladies, and the bus drivers. I could never do those jobs, as I would end up killing someone. If I had to deal with things people in retail had to, I’d go crazy. I respect people who can do those jobs.

I hope your daughter feels better, soon. Being sick sucks, but being sick nearing finals, when everyone else is getting ready to party or cramming? That’s the worse graduation present nature can give.

8

Bravo for her boss.
Boo on the asshole.

9

It’s only a matter of time before “Two and a Half Inches of Fun” comes in and says the customer did the right thing. Just wait and see.

10

The responsible thing for someone working with the public while suffering from a contagious illness would have been to stay home. Yes, the guy was an asshole, but she shouldn’t have been there for him to be an asshole to.

11

That’s OK. Denied my Mama Tiger privileges thus far, I could use a scapegoat.

12

If she’d had an alternate option, she wouldn’t have been. She’s a good employee and she likes her job, but if anyone else had been available to cover for her, she would have stayed home.

13

Of course she had an alternate option. Call in sick. They’d have found someone to take the money.

I guarantee you, though only one guy was an asshole, he was not the only one displeased about it.

14

It’s a cold, not the bubonic plague. Goddamn germophobes.

15

You don’t mind when you get sick?

16

Absolutely. I was thinking for a second that the OP was going to end with the boss siding with the customer and pulling that ‘The customer is always right’ crap.

I used to work for a place (retail, ugh, what a nightmare) that required a doctor’s note if you called out sick, or it would be considered an unexcused absence. Sometimes you just feel like crap and need a day home in bed, sipping tea and popping Advil, you know?
I get migraines, and there was no way I’d be dragging myself to the doctor’s office when I know how to treat them at home. Besides, my meds make me very drowsy, so I couldn’t drive.

17

There are businesses that won’t let you off without your finding a replacement if you value your job. While this one doesn’t seem to be the case, not all retail people who are fighting colds had much of a choice about it. Pity them and be happy your boss isn’t a dick.

18

I rarely get sick. And never anything worse than a minor cold–a little DayQuil and I’m good to go. Know why? Well, I don’t either, but I strongly suspect it’s because I’ve given my immune system one hell of a workout over my lifetime instead of hiding behind a mist of antibacterial sprays, avoiding sick people and taking antibiotics every time the doctor prescribes them.

19

In a darkened theater with lots of corners and dimly lit hallways?

Never. :wink:

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{{{LifeOnWry’s kid}}}
Happy Graduation, sweetie. Hope that cold goes away soon.
As responsible as you are? You’re gonna knock 'em dead in college! Or whatever you plan to do. :slight_smile: