I'm in pain here!!

[customersruinmylife]

Argh! Nearly ended up with a trip to the emergancy room last night!

So, I am rushing about taking food out, and I go to collect a curry. Unfortunately I was a bit clumbsy and ended up knocking the curry dish over. The curry was straight out of the pan and was BOILING. It went all over my left hand, and seeing as the sauce was thick, it completely coated it. I am not kidding you when I say it was unbelieveably painful. I ran to the sink and started trying to wash it off. The manager witnessed this and ran to get a champagne bucket filled with ice water.

Manager: Go and sit down with your hand in that for about 20 minutes.
Me: OK, I'll just tell the customer what happened and that a new meal will be out soon.

I go over to the table, champagne bucket in tow.

Me: Hi there sir, I'm just letting you know that there was a slight accident in the kitchen with your meal. A new one is being prepared as we speak, so it should be out in a few minutes.
SC: What happened?
Me: I accidentally knocked the curry down my hand.
SC: Is that why you have your hand in that?
Me: Unfortunately yes.
SC: Oh come on! Don't be so pathetic! It's only a burn!

I was actually wincing in pain during this conversation.

Me: Like I said, a new meal will be out in a few minutes.
SC: So I have to wait longer?
Me: Yes sir, I'm sorry about that.
SC: I can't believe how pathetic you are being!

Like I said, I was in pain and wanted to sit down!

Me: OK sir, so as long as YOU'RE not inconvienced, it doesn't matter how much pain I'm in then?

I walked off.

It took me ages to type this with one hand! Shortly afterwards, we had to bandage it up as the webs inbetween my fingers were starting to blister. I've got two days off to recover, and the good news is I won't be able to take meals out for a while!

[donruss]

SC: Oh come on! Don't be so pathetic! It's only a burn!

SC: I can't believe how pathetic you are being!

Me: I can't believe what an asshole you are being!

[Fawn]

Ow! *winces*
I'd go to the doctor and get that one looked at. Might be some cream thing you can put on it.

Customer was such an ass!

[Boozy]

I've got two days off to recover, and the good news is I won't be able to take meals out for a while!

Two days off? What a baby. I can't believe how pathetic you're being!


*ducks and runs*

I'm glad you're okay. Drink lots of water, I've heard it helps.

[TryNotToBeThatOne]

Do you have any aloe or at least some aloe burn cream. Get that looked at right away. 2nd degree burns (blisters) are nothing to mess with, you can get infections if they aren't handled well. Good luck and that customer sounds borderline, um, help me out psych degree people; is it sociopathic or psychopathic that lack empathy?

[tollbaby]

sociopathic.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Well, I do believe in karma, and all I can say at this point is that I'm glad I'm not your sucky customer.

Sorry about your hand. Burns are really awful.

[looney_librarian]

Hope your hand heals quickly. And just think, If you had tripped and spilled the curry on that SC's hand, they would have probably sued you over that, even if it was only slightly warm. Some people...

[crazylegs]

Just to echo TryNotToBeThatOne, any burn of that severity that is larger than a 50p piece (one inch diameter) should be looked at by a Dr, I'm not saying you should troop down to A&E (you should have done at the time) but at least make an appointment with your GP.

[Becks]

I think you should've showed him your hand.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Yes, that's true. A coworker burned her hand, didn't look to it, and it got badly infected.

In fact, one of my husband's relatives died (now, we're talking a great uncle here, so this didn't happen yesterday) burned his hand on a stove and died later from infection. So don't play around. Burns are serious. And since it happened at work, you don't have to pay for it. People don't usually have such dire consequences from seemingly mild injuries anymore, but infection still exists, and you especially don't want to play around with something as crucial as your hands.

Don't do what I did....I broke my toe a waitressing job and just toughed it out. I was owed a visit to the docs, and I didn't take it because I was young and didn't realize my employer owed me medical care for on the job injuries. I actually worked like that because I didn't know any better. They took total advantage of my ignorance. Get yourself looked to if it's a bad burn.

[thegiraffe]

Good luck and that customer sounds borderline, um, help me out psych degree people; is it sociopathic or psychopathic that lack empathy?

sociopathic.

Sociopathic people are those who essentially go against the norms of society. They CAN lack empathy, but it's not a requirement. There's antisocial personality disorder (which oddly enough, is really only in males) that means the person has absolutely no concern for anyone else or any rules. These are the ones who commit ruthless killing or torture and have a reckless abandon on everything. They KNOW what they're doing is wrong, they just don't care. He doesn't strike me as severe as that though. (Interestingly enough, research is beginning to show that boy children who are diagnosed with conduct disorder, previously known as oppositional defiant disorder, are very likely to manifest into antisocial personality disorder. Scary thought...)

TryNotToBe, psychopaths are people who have a mental illness such as schizophrenia. Schizophrenia (and schizoid type illnesses) are known as psychopathic disorders.


Honestly though, that guy just sounded like a stuck up jerk who was concerned about only himself. Sadly, they don't need a diagnosis to be that way.

[Boozy]

I was under the impression that psychopathy and sociopathy are used interchangeably by the American Psychiatric Association. Mental health practitioners choose one or the other for various reasons, but the DSM IV recognizes both terms as colloquialisms for Antisocial Personality Disorder.

Schizophrenia and psychopathy are two separate illnesses.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

SC: I can't believe how pathetic you are being!

You: I can't believe how pathetic you are.

[customersruinmylife]

Thankfully wandering around for a few hours with my hand in an ice bucket has paid off and I think I have avoided infection. In between my fingers is still very red and there are a few small blisters, but the pain has gone away. I'm just glad it was my left hand!