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I work at a place where we rent boats. Policy is that if we hear thunder, we call any boats near the dock back in, no matter when they went out, rain or shine. We also have to clear the docks of people, since you are the tallest thing on the dock unless you're two and therefore more likely to be hit by lightening. So today, my dockworker heard thunder and radioed the fact up to me. I radioed back down to him to call the boat we just loaded back in and unloaded and to ask the gentleman fishing on the dock to leave the dock. He did so and told me that he had "politely asked the man to leave, and he 'politely' but not really, told me no." I figured, he wanted to get hit by lightening, leave him. We don't need to mess with sucky customers who want to get hit by lightening. Then a man and his family came up to the window, after I had gotten the boat a refund. They wanted a motor boat. This is how the conversation went.
Me: me
DC1: dockworker one
DC2: dockworker two
SC: the belligerent man
SCB: I think SC's brother
SCS: I think SC's son
RG: Random guy who wants to rent
Me: I'm sorry, but we can't rent any boats out for another half hour because we heard thunder.
SC: Then just get the boat ready, so we can leave as soon as the half hour is up.
Me: I'm sorry, we can't do that. Nobody's allowed on the docks after we hear thunder.
SC: *points to gentleman who had refused to leave the docks* Then how come he's on the docks?
Me:*refraining from saying "this isn't about him" "he's not you" or some other thing my mother always said* We have asked him to leave.
SC: It takes like 45 minutes for them to get the boats ready! Just have them start now!
Me: *wondering how he got that figure* Actually, it usually only takes five to ten minutes.
SC: No, last time I was here it took 45 minutes! They put the motor on the boat, it didn't work, they brought down another one, it didn't work and your manager had to bring one down!
Me: Well, we check the motors up here and that usually doesn't happen.
SC: Just put the motor on the boat!
SCB: Hey come on, she told you they can't.
SC: Isn't there some way we can speed this process up? Like are there any forms we can fill out?
Me: Yes, fill this out. *shoves boat rental form towards them*
Then RG comes to the window and asks to rent a boat. I tell them we can't rent it out and why.
At this point, another one of our boats comes towards our docks. I radio down to the dockworker.
Me: Hey, can you guys call that boat in?
DC2: I tried, they're ignoring me.
Boat starts to leave again.
Me: They really need to come in.
DC2: They're too far away now for me to talk to them.
RG:*turns around to look at the boat* HEY GUYS! YOU NEED TO GET YO' ASSES IN HERE! IT'S THUNDERING AND LIGHTENING AND SHIT! YOU GONNA DIE! *gestures wildly* *turns back around* That's how you do it. *leaves*
I start cracking up and DC1 comes in asking "Did I miss something?"
SCS comes up to the window, at this point I didn't realize he was with the others. He asks me a bunch of questions about fishing, cat fish, water depth and good fishing spots. Very polite and probably a good fisherman from the questions he asked. He leaves the window and SC comes back with the form and shoves it towards me. I get him to fill out a couple of things he missed and he tries bribing me to let them go out. First he says he's going to my higher ups to let them know what terrible service he got, then he tries to give me a 40% coupon for Acrombie and Fitch, then a twenty dollar bill. I decline all this, then he wants to pay and get life vests. I let him do this. He comes back to the window with two of them and asks if we have Lysol. We do, but we have one thing of it for all our cleaning needs and we don't know how long it has to last us. I ask what he needs it for and he tells me his life vests are dirty. I tell him I will clean them for him to shut him up. When he hands them to me, they aren't dirty at all, just stained from use. I take them to our sink and wash them the way we're supposed to, with soap and water. I hand one to DC2 and he takes it to them while I wash the other. But apparently it got dropped when it was being handed over and SC threatened to have his son kick DC2's ass. DC replied "I don't think that's a good idea, I'm a minor." When I came out with the other life vest, SC is tearing DC2's head off about the life vests. This causes SC to get on my case how the life vests are dripping wet. Me and the dockworkers go into the back room to check the motor and to get away from SC. DC2 asks DC1 if DC1 could load them because SC didn't like him. At this point the half hour had passed, so DC1 took the motor and battery down and SCS apologized for his father. The whole group went down to the boat and left their life vests up at the building. When I took them down to them, SC tried to offer me his hand...with money in it! I looked at it and he was like "Aw, come on." I replied, "Sorry, I can't."
It was the worst time I've ever had after it's thundered. But I still had a nice end to my day when I went to leave, and there was a doe and her fawn walking across the parking lot.
Me: me
DC1: dockworker one
DC2: dockworker two
SC: the belligerent man
SCB: I think SC's brother
SCS: I think SC's son
RG: Random guy who wants to rent
Me: I'm sorry, but we can't rent any boats out for another half hour because we heard thunder.
SC: Then just get the boat ready, so we can leave as soon as the half hour is up.
Me: I'm sorry, we can't do that. Nobody's allowed on the docks after we hear thunder.
SC: *points to gentleman who had refused to leave the docks* Then how come he's on the docks?
Me:*refraining from saying "this isn't about him" "he's not you" or some other thing my mother always said* We have asked him to leave.
SC: It takes like 45 minutes for them to get the boats ready! Just have them start now!
Me: *wondering how he got that figure* Actually, it usually only takes five to ten minutes.
SC: No, last time I was here it took 45 minutes! They put the motor on the boat, it didn't work, they brought down another one, it didn't work and your manager had to bring one down!
Me: Well, we check the motors up here and that usually doesn't happen.
SC: Just put the motor on the boat!
SCB: Hey come on, she told you they can't.
SC: Isn't there some way we can speed this process up? Like are there any forms we can fill out?
Me: Yes, fill this out. *shoves boat rental form towards them*
Then RG comes to the window and asks to rent a boat. I tell them we can't rent it out and why.
At this point, another one of our boats comes towards our docks. I radio down to the dockworker.
Me: Hey, can you guys call that boat in?
DC2: I tried, they're ignoring me.
Boat starts to leave again.
Me: They really need to come in.
DC2: They're too far away now for me to talk to them.
RG:*turns around to look at the boat* HEY GUYS! YOU NEED TO GET YO' ASSES IN HERE! IT'S THUNDERING AND LIGHTENING AND SHIT! YOU GONNA DIE! *gestures wildly* *turns back around* That's how you do it. *leaves*
I start cracking up and DC1 comes in asking "Did I miss something?"
SCS comes up to the window, at this point I didn't realize he was with the others. He asks me a bunch of questions about fishing, cat fish, water depth and good fishing spots. Very polite and probably a good fisherman from the questions he asked. He leaves the window and SC comes back with the form and shoves it towards me. I get him to fill out a couple of things he missed and he tries bribing me to let them go out. First he says he's going to my higher ups to let them know what terrible service he got, then he tries to give me a 40% coupon for Acrombie and Fitch, then a twenty dollar bill. I decline all this, then he wants to pay and get life vests. I let him do this. He comes back to the window with two of them and asks if we have Lysol. We do, but we have one thing of it for all our cleaning needs and we don't know how long it has to last us. I ask what he needs it for and he tells me his life vests are dirty. I tell him I will clean them for him to shut him up. When he hands them to me, they aren't dirty at all, just stained from use. I take them to our sink and wash them the way we're supposed to, with soap and water. I hand one to DC2 and he takes it to them while I wash the other. But apparently it got dropped when it was being handed over and SC threatened to have his son kick DC2's ass. DC replied "I don't think that's a good idea, I'm a minor." When I came out with the other life vest, SC is tearing DC2's head off about the life vests. This causes SC to get on my case how the life vests are dripping wet. Me and the dockworkers go into the back room to check the motor and to get away from SC. DC2 asks DC1 if DC1 could load them because SC didn't like him. At this point the half hour had passed, so DC1 took the motor and battery down and SCS apologized for his father. The whole group went down to the boat and left their life vests up at the building. When I took them down to them, SC tried to offer me his hand...with money in it! I looked at it and he was like "Aw, come on." I replied, "Sorry, I can't."
It was the worst time I've ever had after it's thundered. But I still had a nice end to my day when I went to leave, and there was a doe and her fawn walking across the parking lot.
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