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Because DAMN I haven't seen people yell at each other like this outside of a reality show or daytime talk show.
DISCLAIMER GOING IN--- this story involves EBT (U.S. food stamp program) users. If you want to debate the system, take it to Fratching!
Okay. So, I hop on a register because the only other regular register open is being manned by New Guy AS. He's doing his best, but he's still new, so he still has the occasional hang-up in that he doesn't know how to proceed in situation X.
For example, when an Arabic customer's EBT transaction doesn't go through. (The ethnicity comes into play later.) As it happened, the EBT customer had just gotten their PIN wrong, and were having trouble remembering it. But this, coupled with AS not knowing how to proceed, and some other issue that I didn't catch (which necessitated a manager's override) led to a long delay in getting the transaction finished.
This is when things started going very, very wrong.
Behind the EBT customer was a woman we'll call Impatient Bitch. She had been waiting "more than twenty minutes" (according to her) behind these people, and she decided to let them have it. She started mouthing off (in a regular tone of voice at first) about how long she was waiting, and then she started in about how she didn't like them "spending her money" on the food they were buying. When the EBT customers retorted that it was "not her business," IB fired back that "it WAS her business," since it was "her money" they were spending.
The volume escalated from there, neither the EBTCs nor IB backing down from their point of view, with IB starting to snap that the EBTCs should "go back to their country, and use EBT money there. Except you can't do that there, can you?" Which only made matters worse, of course.
While all this is happening, the people in my line are watching this drama bomb explode with mute horror. My customer tries to speak up and tell IB that "you're embarrassing yourself," only to be ignored completely. For my part, I just keep on a smile of blissful oblivion, and carry on doing my job as if none of this is going on, keep my voice level and calm and bright, and I do not get involved at all.
Before long, one of the EBTCs is in IB's face, gesticulating and yelling louder, with IB telling her to "get out of her face." MOD JA intercedes at this point to separate them, and gently but firmly walks IB away from the EBTCs, who are now threatening to call the police on IB for harassing them.
Finally, the EBTCs leave, with JA trying to talk to IB to find out exactly what went down. Just as it seems things are going to calm down, one of the EBTCs storms back up, shouting that "the police are on their way. Now you're going to pay."
EBTCs leave at last, and poor AS, who was stuck there unable to ring up anyone (as IB's merchandise was filling his register belt and blocking his lane), rings out IB and sends her on her way. No police ever show up, as far as I know. Things return to normalcy.
Surprisingly, for all the volume and animosity that was filling the air, there was no profanity being thrown about.
This is the first time I've actually witnessed one of these drama bombs going off at our store. I'd heard about them before, but this was the first time I saw it happen. Not really looking forward to any more of them.
DISCLAIMER GOING IN--- this story involves EBT (U.S. food stamp program) users. If you want to debate the system, take it to Fratching!
Okay. So, I hop on a register because the only other regular register open is being manned by New Guy AS. He's doing his best, but he's still new, so he still has the occasional hang-up in that he doesn't know how to proceed in situation X.
For example, when an Arabic customer's EBT transaction doesn't go through. (The ethnicity comes into play later.) As it happened, the EBT customer had just gotten their PIN wrong, and were having trouble remembering it. But this, coupled with AS not knowing how to proceed, and some other issue that I didn't catch (which necessitated a manager's override) led to a long delay in getting the transaction finished.
This is when things started going very, very wrong.
Behind the EBT customer was a woman we'll call Impatient Bitch. She had been waiting "more than twenty minutes" (according to her) behind these people, and she decided to let them have it. She started mouthing off (in a regular tone of voice at first) about how long she was waiting, and then she started in about how she didn't like them "spending her money" on the food they were buying. When the EBT customers retorted that it was "not her business," IB fired back that "it WAS her business," since it was "her money" they were spending.
The volume escalated from there, neither the EBTCs nor IB backing down from their point of view, with IB starting to snap that the EBTCs should "go back to their country, and use EBT money there. Except you can't do that there, can you?" Which only made matters worse, of course.
While all this is happening, the people in my line are watching this drama bomb explode with mute horror. My customer tries to speak up and tell IB that "you're embarrassing yourself," only to be ignored completely. For my part, I just keep on a smile of blissful oblivion, and carry on doing my job as if none of this is going on, keep my voice level and calm and bright, and I do not get involved at all.
Before long, one of the EBTCs is in IB's face, gesticulating and yelling louder, with IB telling her to "get out of her face." MOD JA intercedes at this point to separate them, and gently but firmly walks IB away from the EBTCs, who are now threatening to call the police on IB for harassing them.
Finally, the EBTCs leave, with JA trying to talk to IB to find out exactly what went down. Just as it seems things are going to calm down, one of the EBTCs storms back up, shouting that "the police are on their way. Now you're going to pay."
EBTCs leave at last, and poor AS, who was stuck there unable to ring up anyone (as IB's merchandise was filling his register belt and blocking his lane), rings out IB and sends her on her way. No police ever show up, as far as I know. Things return to normalcy.
Surprisingly, for all the volume and animosity that was filling the air, there was no profanity being thrown about.
This is the first time I've actually witnessed one of these drama bombs going off at our store. I'd heard about them before, but this was the first time I saw it happen. Not really looking forward to any more of them.
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