Evangelo-Vision
Last night, I worked the oft-too-worked 3:30-midnight shift, but instead of being in the cafe, I was in books. I have no idea what happened to make the schedule so tight last night that they felt that it would be a good idea for me to close on the book side all alone, but so it went: me at the main info desk, another girl in the kid's section, two cashiers, a manager, and two cafe people. The absolute MINIMUM of closers like, on a weekday. So I pretty much ran around non-stop for eight hours last night, finding people books on the shelf, ordering them to the store, and most of all, picking up books and magazines that people left lying around. For anyone who wants to know: BARNES AND NOBLE EMPLOYEES ARE NOT MAIDS. THEY ACTUALLY HAVE DUTIES ASIDE FROM CLEANING UP AFTER YOUR ASS. Thank you.
I've never been chewed out by someone at the info desk because customers actually take you remotely seriously when they need your help to find a book. It's amazing how people who are polite at info can become monsters when the go to the cash registers, or to the cafe. As soon as they enter an area where they fathom they can do your job better than you can, they change their tune pretty quickly. Like a guy I helped a couple of weeks ago. He ordered a grande latte with just one shot, so, surprise, I made him a grande latte with one shot. Now, our espresso machines are in such a place that they invite really annoying customers to stand right next to you and breath down your neck while you're making their drink. Well, after careful scrutiny on this guy's part, when I finished his latte and I was about to put the lid on it, he said, "You were supposed to make me a grande LATTE with just ONE shot." Much earlier in my barista career, I might have been confused, and then apologetic, but now I'm just used to it, and looked him in the eye and said, "That's what this is." I mean, any dumbass who assumes that he knows how to make espresso drinks better than me could see that I was steaming milk and pouring it into a cup with some espresso, the shade of the drink being a little lighter than usual. Why this guy chose to correct me when it's quite obvious that he doesn't know how to make espresso drinks is beyond me.
At any rate, this is all leading up to probably the most annoying customer I've served since I've been back, who was at info last night, instead of the cafe. So, this white guy, obviously a local by his accent, who looks to be in his late 50's comes up. "I want you to look up a book for me. It's a book I've already read, but that was a library book, and now I want to buy it." So I looked it up for him, and it was a book about the rise of the conservative Christian Right. I can't remember the title of the book, and I really don't care at this point. It was in our current affairs section. "Oh, I've been looking in the wrong section!" he says. Bang, it's a book with a positive portrayal of the conservative Christian Right, which is currently tanking, and I can tell because the the only other place this book would be is the Christianity section. (I just figured that any book with "conservative Christian Right" as a subtitle would be a NEGATIVE portrayal. Don't they usually have more positive-sounding appellations for themselves? "The rise of the family values lovers and freedom fighters.") So I take him up to current affairs. Barnes & Noble has a policy: if you find a customer's book, put the book in their hand, because if they're holding the book they'll be more likely to buy it (no, they'll be more likely to leave it lying around the store.)
So the guy stands there while I go through the authors alphabetically and...I'm not sure that he's really stopped talking since he first opened his mouth. "I bet you been to wonderland with them shoes" he says, being the 40th person that night to make some Wizard of Oz comment about my shoes, which were red-sequined harem slippers, the only shoes I have that meet the dress code and won't kill my feet, "You just tap your heels and you come back home." (All of this in the ambiguous past tense that exists in some parts of the country.)
This annoyed me greatly, but I just pretended to ignore him, found his book, handed it to him, watched as he pulled the other copy off the shelf, and started walking back to the info desk. "I'm going to get the second one for my kids. Can you think of a better present?" Again, I pretended to ignore him. And then he drops the bomb on me: "You're withholding judgment. I can tell." I made the mistake of looking up at him, with a look that was somewhere between, "confused," "annoyed," and "I couldn't take you seriously if I tried," only to see him squinting at me, no doubt applying his Conservative Christian X-Ray Vision, with which he will be able to see into my soul with god's permission so as to better stereotype and convert me. I guess that I probably fell somewhere in the category of "lamb who has fallen off the path" or something.
withholding judgment? Firstly, he was wrong there. Withholding my opinion, maybe. Although I'd never read the book, I thought of about a million things that would make better presents. And, of course, he never would have guessed that my problem with him started out because he was a total stranger commenting freely on my physical appearance when (or because) I was in a position where I had to put up with it. Geez. I HATE it when religious people act as though they can see right through you and know all about your relationship with god. Since standard operating procedure in this country is to assume that everyone is a Christian who isn't wearing some sort of head dress, weird robe or goth clothes, I know that it's just assumed that I'm some sort of Christian, and if I don't seem all gung-ho about Jesus, then my faith needs a little tune-up. My biggest problem with people like this is that they cannot fathom a normal-looking and acting person who does not believe in god, or a major world religion that flatly denies the existence of any creator god. I am so far from the Christian headspace that this guy will never be able to use his Evangelo-Vision and figure out what's going on in my mind.
Oh, well. Rant over.
I've never been chewed out by someone at the info desk because customers actually take you remotely seriously when they need your help to find a book. It's amazing how people who are polite at info can become monsters when the go to the cash registers, or to the cafe. As soon as they enter an area where they fathom they can do your job better than you can, they change their tune pretty quickly. Like a guy I helped a couple of weeks ago. He ordered a grande latte with just one shot, so, surprise, I made him a grande latte with one shot. Now, our espresso machines are in such a place that they invite really annoying customers to stand right next to you and breath down your neck while you're making their drink. Well, after careful scrutiny on this guy's part, when I finished his latte and I was about to put the lid on it, he said, "You were supposed to make me a grande LATTE with just ONE shot." Much earlier in my barista career, I might have been confused, and then apologetic, but now I'm just used to it, and looked him in the eye and said, "That's what this is." I mean, any dumbass who assumes that he knows how to make espresso drinks better than me could see that I was steaming milk and pouring it into a cup with some espresso, the shade of the drink being a little lighter than usual. Why this guy chose to correct me when it's quite obvious that he doesn't know how to make espresso drinks is beyond me.
At any rate, this is all leading up to probably the most annoying customer I've served since I've been back, who was at info last night, instead of the cafe. So, this white guy, obviously a local by his accent, who looks to be in his late 50's comes up. "I want you to look up a book for me. It's a book I've already read, but that was a library book, and now I want to buy it." So I looked it up for him, and it was a book about the rise of the conservative Christian Right. I can't remember the title of the book, and I really don't care at this point. It was in our current affairs section. "Oh, I've been looking in the wrong section!" he says. Bang, it's a book with a positive portrayal of the conservative Christian Right, which is currently tanking, and I can tell because the the only other place this book would be is the Christianity section. (I just figured that any book with "conservative Christian Right" as a subtitle would be a NEGATIVE portrayal. Don't they usually have more positive-sounding appellations for themselves? "The rise of the family values lovers and freedom fighters.") So I take him up to current affairs. Barnes & Noble has a policy: if you find a customer's book, put the book in their hand, because if they're holding the book they'll be more likely to buy it (no, they'll be more likely to leave it lying around the store.)
So the guy stands there while I go through the authors alphabetically and...I'm not sure that he's really stopped talking since he first opened his mouth. "I bet you been to wonderland with them shoes" he says, being the 40th person that night to make some Wizard of Oz comment about my shoes, which were red-sequined harem slippers, the only shoes I have that meet the dress code and won't kill my feet, "You just tap your heels and you come back home." (All of this in the ambiguous past tense that exists in some parts of the country.)
This annoyed me greatly, but I just pretended to ignore him, found his book, handed it to him, watched as he pulled the other copy off the shelf, and started walking back to the info desk. "I'm going to get the second one for my kids. Can you think of a better present?" Again, I pretended to ignore him. And then he drops the bomb on me: "You're withholding judgment. I can tell." I made the mistake of looking up at him, with a look that was somewhere between, "confused," "annoyed," and "I couldn't take you seriously if I tried," only to see him squinting at me, no doubt applying his Conservative Christian X-Ray Vision, with which he will be able to see into my soul with god's permission so as to better stereotype and convert me. I guess that I probably fell somewhere in the category of "lamb who has fallen off the path" or something.
withholding judgment? Firstly, he was wrong there. Withholding my opinion, maybe. Although I'd never read the book, I thought of about a million things that would make better presents. And, of course, he never would have guessed that my problem with him started out because he was a total stranger commenting freely on my physical appearance when (or because) I was in a position where I had to put up with it. Geez. I HATE it when religious people act as though they can see right through you and know all about your relationship with god. Since standard operating procedure in this country is to assume that everyone is a Christian who isn't wearing some sort of head dress, weird robe or goth clothes, I know that it's just assumed that I'm some sort of Christian, and if I don't seem all gung-ho about Jesus, then my faith needs a little tune-up. My biggest problem with people like this is that they cannot fathom a normal-looking and acting person who does not believe in god, or a major world religion that flatly denies the existence of any creator god. I am so far from the Christian headspace that this guy will never be able to use his Evangelo-Vision and figure out what's going on in my mind.
Oh, well. Rant over.
posted by Emily @ 9:22 AM
2 Comments:
At 1:20 PM,
Anonymous said…
I've read the first three books in the Shopaholic series. Will you please find the 4th for me? I've got a twang too (I'm from Texas FYI) so please don't judge me while I chatter endlessly about the crappy gifts I plan on bestowing upon my likely closed minded offspring. I'd probably be in a better mood if I could get a decent Grande latte but apparently it's the barista's first day.
Two sides to every story right?
Hey this is your second post in which you mentioned your footwear. The first one had to do with those furry boots that the kiddos wear. Of note is that I own neither the furries or the rubies, but none of my shoes stink which makes me feel pretty girly.
I hope you have a great week Emily. Take care!
Sarah L. from the nest
At 4:57 PM,
Emily said…
Hi, Sarah. It's good to hear from you again.
I can't possibly begrudge someone with a southern accent. Thom actually has a latent one, since he grew up on the Virginia/Carolina border. It comes out when he says words like "again" and when he talks to his family. I guess "obviously" wasn't the best word, because I didn't realize until writing that post that the Virginia accent goes right under my radar. I mean, I hear it, but I don't think "Hey, they're talking with a southern accent" unless it's a much deeper one.
I guess I wouldn't have had a problem with that guy if my side of the story had mattered to him. I mean, I'm paid to be nice to people while making them drinks and finding them books. It's my job and I don't mind doing it. I don't even mind doing things that aren't in my job description, like when earlier that evening I gave a guy some phone numbers to other places that sell CDs in town because he wanted the Godfather soundtrack for his Italian friend's 70th birthday.
However, when something goes wrong, like when someone doesn't like their latte, or they can't find the book they want, more often than not, they direct their anger or whatever at me personally, and all of a sudden it's my side of the story that doesn't matter. I guess that's why I feel I have to tell it on a blog...?
Customers who are buying books as presents more often than not tell me so. They'll say, "My mom likes So-and-So's books, can you recommend anything else?" My problem with that guy was that he was expecting me to a) enjoy his creepy comments on my physical appearance and b) agree with his political or religious opinions (note that he just ASSUMED that I would know them) more or less BECAUSE I was in a position where I couldn't be honest with him and tell him "I think it's rude when complete strangers start talking about the way I look" or "I don't agree with a lot of what the conservative right has to say." Oh, well, it's over now.
I guess that I have written about shoes more than I would think I would, since I'm not really interested in shoes. Hmm...maybe I have some shoe desires that I don't even know about? Who knows?
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