Don't treat me like I'm stupid!!!!

[RammsteinGirl]

Today was a shitty day at the K (do I ever have GOOD days at Kmart?).

I was in a fairly cheerful mood today, until THIS guy. Now, you can call me slut, bitch, whatever.. but nothing, NOTHING on this Earth offends me more than being treated like I am some kind of dumbfuck. Which is exactly what this condescending asshole did.

The guy brings up 3 jars of instant coffee. 2 are Folger's regular, and the other is Folger's decaf. They were on sale for $5.50 each. The guy informs me that he needs a raincheck for the coffee when he comes up to my register, as he wanted to purchase more, but there were no more on the shelf.

Okay, not a big deal. I ring up his 3 instant coffees, and then he tells me he doesn't want the decaf. Maybe I misunderstood him (I've been dealing with a stopped up ear for 3 weeks now - gotta get it seen about soon..), I don't know, but I voided it off. He then goes, "NONONo I wanted that!!" Okay.. I ring it back up. I then begin to write up the raincheck. I guess I should have asked which kind he wanted the raincheck for - the regular or decaf. Honestly, it didn't matter, they were both on sale for the same price. As long as he presented the raincheck to the cashier and it said Folger's for $5.50, they would've overrode it for that price.

I started writing it up for the decaf.. and then he scolds me in the most condescending manner.. "NOOONOOONOOONOOO!!!!!! I WANT A RAINCHECK FOR THE REGULAR!!" and he SNATCHES the decaf off of my register and HIDES IT BEHIND HIS BACK! LIKE I'M SOME GODDAMN CHILD OR SOMETHING!!!! I tell him, "Okay! Sorry about that! I thought you wanted a raincheck for the regular! No problem!" I was already shaken and upset at this point.

And while I'm writing out the correct one.. he very snottily says, "And it's TWELVE OUNCES." That just about sent me over the fucking edge. I said to him in a very sweetsy tone, "I appreciate your help sir! But I can see it is 12 ounces. Thank you so much!" At this point, my voice and hands were shaking so bad. I was beyond pissed. I just stood there with my arms crossed while he was making his check out.. it was the only thing I could do so that neither he nor any of the other customers could see how bad I was shaking.

Nothing.. nothing upsets me more than someone making out like I am a fucking idiot. I think this guy must have been one of those people who gets off on trying to catch other people at mistakes to make them feel like idiots. There was just no, no excuse for him to act the way he did towards me. A simple, "Oh, I would like a raincheck for the regular, not the decaf please," would have sufficed.

I am just a college student working a shitty-ass retail job trying to pay my bills and have money for my books and gas to drive to school. At least experiences like this make me want to study harder so I can finally one day do a job that I love and not have to deal with cocktards like that guy anymore!!

[Sableonblonde]

I have the same exact problem right now, one of my ears is clogged up. It's hard enough for me to hear people at work as it is, now I have to lean over my register and shove my good ear practically in their faces, which I hate doing, but I can't find my eardrops. So I've had a few of my personal favorite customers today, the ones who, when you ask them for nicely to repeat themselves, give you that look as if you're "special" and proceed to repeat their order, slooooooooooowly. *bitchslap*

There is absolutely no excuse for people getting attitudes while you are ringing them up. I wouldn't have apologized to that guy at all, I would just give him the Stony Glare for the remainder of the transaction. There is absolutely no reason to give a cashier such a shitty attitude.

[JustaCashier]

RG, Please show some compassion!

This poor fellow suffers from Small Penis Syndrome, and therefore must treat others in a condescending manner to compensate for this affliction, so please don't be so.......ummmmm....... hard on him.

Now, as we all know, there are also women that treat others in a condescending manner, however I have not been able to ascertain why they do so. We know, or at least can assume in most cases, that they do not have a penis, so that rules that theory out.

I'll continue with my research.

Mike

[BaristaGirl]

RG, Please show some compassion!

This poor fellow suffers from Small Penis Syndrome, and therefore must treat others in a condescending manner to compensate for this affliction, so please don't be so.......ummmmm....... hard on him.

Now, as we all know, there are also women that treat others in a condescending manner, however I have not been able to ascertain why they do so. We know, or at least can assume in most cases, that they do not have a penis, so that rules that theory out.

I'll continue with my research.

Mike

I suggest Stinky Vagina Syndrome. Which they, of course!, blame on retail employees.

[WHShit]

While I do not enjoy being called a bitch or a slut, they come nowhere near to being as insulting as being spoken to and treated like a child.

I have had a few customers talk to me like I was two years old, ask me if I "was sure" that I knew how to spell/count, if I could read and if I knew how to do my job. Each time I have been right in telling them whatever it was that I told them and because they didn't hear the answer/price that they wanted to hear they felt that it was ok to treat me like an infant.

I get the same way as you do when I am treated like this. I start to shake and get angry. I hate it. When someone insults my intelligence I shake and sometimes cry because I can't beat the living shit out of them or explain to them that I am not stupid. I hate feeling helpless or repressed, and I am afraid that that is exactly what you feel when dealing with customers who want to be condescending.

Errgh!

One time (not with a customer) I was at my friend Michael's job playing Monopoly

(he was head of an internet company in my town (at 22 years old!!), so he got to have "Monopoly Mondays" at the office with his friends at 1am...and got to be the only person allowed to wear jeans and a t-shirt to work as he would threaten his boss with "shutting down the internet" (he was the only person that knew how to do whatever it was that he did and his boss gave him/let him do whatever he wanted...HAHAHA)

and eating McNuggets. Now, as I explained, Michael was very smart and because of it had a great job. He was actually a genius (really...he ended up going to Harvard with the help of his company) and as such, he had smart friends. I had always felt so stupid around his friends, but I could keep up with them most of the time and they usually made me feel comfortable around them. I even suprised a few with some of the things I said. Basiclly, I wasn't a genius and I knew it. I didn't try to be. They didn't care and were nice.

Well, this particular night, he had his co-worker playing with us. I did not like him, as he was one of those nerds who look down on everyone. Well, I noticed that a McNugget that I had was in the shape of Italy...so I said "Hmm...the nugget looks a bit like Italy". That was all and his friend said "I am sorry, but I can't take it anymore. That was the dumbest thing that I have ever heard" "I mean, come on, Jaime, I know you are not smart, but that was just so stupid......"

Well, I had never felt so horrid before in my life. I don't know why he reacted that way to what I had said. I only said it in because I thought it. I was not trying to be funny/insightful/smart.....I was just saying! I wanted to crawl up in a ball and die. I was so embarassed. I started shaking and ran to the bathroom and cried my eyes out at how someone who I had been nothing but nice to could be so nasty to me. I mean, as I said I am no genius, but I am not dumb. Michael ended up having to coax me out of the bathroom with promises of his friend being gone and not ever coming to Monopoly Monday ever again. I really wanted to punch him in the face and kick the everloving shit out of him while he was down, but I am not that kind of person, so I reacted like I did. Like a whimpy girl...even though I am a gril, it was emabrassing.

Funny thing is, Michael had this crazy on/off girlfriend, Jessica. When I say crazy I mean it. She was obsessed with him and she WAS very stupid. She would threaten to kill herself if he wouldn't do something for her, come pick her up at 4am, give her money (he had a bit of money), date him again....and he fell for it, which was sad as he hated her, but was too nice of a guy to turn her away. She was not smart at all. She said such gems as "I like bears, did you know that Michael?", and "I am a punk-rock girl, the coolest"! These (among others that I have forgotten) have been said in front of me. She was one of those spaced-out druggie air-heads...you know the type. Anyway........

We were all in the car one night and Michael and I were in the front and his freind and Jessica were in the back. Well, she says to his friend "I am a punk rock girl, do YOOOUUU like punk rock girls cause they are cool and I am a punk roccckkkeeeeerrrr". He says "yes, I love them and you ARE cool"

WTF? I say the stupid thing about a McNugget and she says what she said and is accepted by him? Also she wasn't a looker, she had serious mental problems and she was 27 years old! Why am I seen in his eyes as a dumbass? I never say things like that, I speak like a grown-up (never use slang...ever, unless I am being sarcastic), and I am pretty mature, and she has his acceptance and friendship to the point that they hang out sometimes?

Makes me mad to this day! I hate him. I was so happy when his wife left him. I bet she wasn't smart enough for him either. Ha!

Sorry for all this, I was just in the mood for story telling!

But really, was the McNugget thing that bad?

[PaRaGaS]

I have the same exact problem right now, one of my ears is clogged up. It's hard enough for me to hear people at work as it is, now I have to lean over my register and shove my good ear practically in their faces, which I hate doing, but I can't find my eardrops.

The hearing in my left ear is somewhat damaged since december, I suddenly started hearing this constant whistling sound. Hasn't gone away since. Overall it ain't bad, I can still hear frequencies up to around 12kHz (15-16 on the right ear), but gets in the way sometimes. Can't go to concerts frequently, because it actually gets painful. I've been only to 13-15 events this year

And I'm only 18. Probably by 30 I'll be completely deaf.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Now, as we all know, there are also women that treat others in a condescending manner, however I have not been able to ascertain why they do so. We know, or at least can assume in most cases, that they do not have a penis, so that rules that theory out.
Mike

Well, as we all know, women are oppressed, so it's a wonder we don't all act that way, since we've just recently been allowed out in the public sphere...

[mattm04]

From working in a grocery store for several years I can sometimes tell when women will be SC's or normal people. It is usually the "better off" office workers who i have dealt with. I personally think it is a power trip for them to yell and scream at the minimum-wage grocery store employee.

[cinema guy]

The hearing in my left ear is somewhat damaged since december, I suddenly started hearing this constant whistling sound. Hasn't gone away since.

And I'm only 18. Probably by 30 I'll be completely deaf.

You have my deepest sympathy. I am partially deaf, it runs in the family. My grandmother was deaf, my mother is and now my brother is. We all wear hearing aids. It doesn't look like any of us will be completely deaf, but it is really demoralising sometimes.

And people do treat you like you are stupid because you don't hear them.

[Der Cute]

Dziendobry, PaRaNgAs...

Me pepolsky. And that's the end of my Polish speech.

Does Poland have national health care? You need to take care of ear. Research why you have tones in ear..Not a good thing, can be a signs of disease. (neuro disease).

and RG: get the ear FIXED NOW!! You have possiblities of losing hearing permanently if you don't drain the ear, or the infection spreading to sinus and bones. It's not something you ignore.

College campus should have a doc on campus.

Cutenoob

[JustaCashier]

I suggest Stinky Vagina Syndrome. Which they, of course!, blame on retail employees.

I am so. Damn. Glad. That I didn't have a mouthful of food or beverage, when I read that, because I would have been in severe violation of Rule #1!

Mike

[RammsteinGirl]

and RG: get the ear FIXED NOW!! You have possiblities of losing hearing permanently if you don't drain the ear, or the infection spreading to sinus and bones. It's not something you ignore.

College campus should have a doc on campus.

Cutenoob

Eh.. well I go to community college as of right now (I'm transferring to a 4-year univ. Fall 2008). So no campus docs here. Actually, the ear is plugged up with earwax. My dad and I have a problem where we over-produce earwax. What's bad is that this is in my GOOD (right) ear. My left ear has maybe 75% hearing in it because several years ago I blew my nose too hard and something happened to it.. I need to get that looked at too.

[Gravekeeper]

I get that now and then, albeit for a completely different reason: A bad connection.

This usually spurns one of three reactions:

1. "You're a *@$&ing idiot because you can't hear me" routine.

2. "I don't believe its a bad connection, you're really just not speaking loud enough/holding the phone/headset away from your mouth or "don't have yer volume up". Thus you are a $@$Qing idiot.". Easily identified by the caller repeated yelling at you "CAN YOU SPEAK LOUDER!?$#?" even though I am YELLING loud enough into the line to make my coworker look at me funny.

3. "The bad connection is your fault. Thus you are a *)$@&ing idiot. It has nothing to do with me trying to use my cell at 90 km/h in a convertible driving through a mountain range."

The only common theme is that its always apparently my fault.

[Der Cute]

RG:

Do you have a friend that can help you?

Getting rid of excess earwax isnt that hard. You can use Ear Candles, which are waxed papers rolled up, and they "use" the excess ear wax inside the ear, wicking it up and out as the papers burn. (I dont know how to do this one tho)

Or

You could get an old towel, a syringe, saline and hydrogen peroxide. And a friend.

Put normal strength hp into the syringe. Flood clogged ear with hp. Roll head over to dump liquid. Repeat. Gradually the bubbles will help pull the cloggy out, gradually pulling to the top. (dad did this w/ a friend's kid, the blob was the size of a peanut...SHELLED PEANUT.)

You can rinse ear w/ the saline, and then get a piece of chewing gum - chew it and soften it...then stuff into ear...Or use earplug. Because your head will be imbalanced when it's hearing things, it will need a day or 2 to get used to it.

You should be able to goto a 24hr clinic and ask for excess ear wax removal, and they can do it.

But please don't ignore it, you CAN trap bacteria and crud in there and harm self.

[PaRaGaS]

Does Poland have national health care? You need to take care of ear. Research why you have tones in ear..Not a good thing, can be a signs of disease. (neuro disease).

Yeah, I know.
I went to various doctors, and in the end I was suppoused to have a tomography done, but didn't have enough time. Guess I'll have to get it done someday.