Some of the happenings of today have made me wonder if we are in some sort of bad moon phase… you know like “A Bad Moon Rising.”
Everything started out very well. I got up early… around 7:30am staggered to my chair and slept another hour. I got up, took my blood pressure and heart rate, weighted in and cursed the scales. Took my medications, fixed a cup of decaf and headed for the study to do some writing. All of this was going well, as I remember, because I was working on the preface for a new book I am writing on how we are experiencing Jesus in a world gone mad. The words just seem to flow with great ease. Wow, what a good feeling.
Then… Then… we went to Office Depot to get new roller ball refills for my Cross pen. I just love the feel of this pen. I can’t spell any better with it, but I write with greater ease… it is easy on these old hands and fingers… it just feels great as you write with it. We walked to the back of the store where they keep the Cross roller-ball refills. I can’t seem to find the right one… reason being we can’t get the cap off my pen to identify the refill we need. Shirley tries to untwist it and so do I. To little avail neither she nor I can budge this stubborn pen. Shirley grabs it up and heads for the front of the store. Nothing like a woman on a mission… watch out store this baby is going to be opened. She found another lady who couldn’t open it… and then she found this extra big Office Depot dude who took it and very easily untwisted the pen. There you go, lady.
Returning to the Cross-refill isle Shirley brings help. This time we have an Office Depot lady rummaging through all the refills Cross has on these hangers. Finally, she finds one that appears to be near the one I need. The only problem is that the numbers don’t exactly match. You see, not knowing exactly what the numbers mean (her quote) we had a choice between a 1326 and a 0116. We rolled the dice and chose 0116. Finally, with great determination and assurance she says; “This is the roller ball refill you need. I think?” With my 0116 double-pack refill I leave the store and look for the first opportunity to see if it fits, and I can once again start using my smooth, easy on the hands, great feeling Cross Roller Ball Pen.
We moved on to Oakcrest Restaurant for veggie land. I took my newfound goodies in to try them out; a notebook and my roller ball Cross pen. As we entered the door we noticed the sanitation grade is an 87, a “B”. We moved on to be seated by the waitress in the doomsday booth right next to the kitchen pass through window, where the waitresses pass their orders to the cooks in the kitchen, receive the completed order back, and prepare drinks, bread and other items to complete the customer’s order. This is also the place just outside the kitchen where dirty dishes are brought and placed in rubber bends for the dishwasher to collect. (A word of warning… if you are ever seated in this place, move or leave. It is not worth the experience.)
Sitting down in our booth we notice (can’t help but notice) this waitress talking very loudly on her cell phone to a Dr.’s office operator. She is discussing a couple of appointments for her kids (or dogs) one at 3:00pm and one at 3:15pm. She says to the operator that she sees no difference between 3:00 and 3:15. She doesn’t get off until 3:00 and can’t get there until 3:15. Apparently, the operator is suggesting that she will lose the 3:00 appointment if she is not there. To which miss congeniality says: “You tell Dr. (blank) that we have been waiting four months for this appointment. And I will be sure to let him know (insensitive language) how retarded you are acting.” With that (and this is hard to do on a cell phone) I got the very clear impression that she slammed the phone down. Dale Carnegie would have slapped her right there.
Can you imagine that things went downhill from there in this small restaurant??? Sure did! Plates were dropped. Drawers were slammed. Dirty dishes were thrown into those rubber tubs. I think she even poured tea loudly. She wanted everyone in the place to know she was unhappy. Message received loud and clear!!! On and on the scene grew more intense with her grunting and growling.
Amid all this comes the big hit… the grand slam of the day… the winning run that brings utter defeat to the foes… the manager/owner comes back to the battle station and has the gall to suggest to her that she allow the other waitress to have a couple of customers. KA-BOOOOOM!!!! More plates dropped and thrown. More drawers slammed. Louder talking. Insulting words to the other waitress, who by the way was in her second week at this job. She even told her not to come back into that little section because every time she did miss congeniality forgot what she was doing. She drops some glasses and the manager/owner sees them and comes over to pick them up and she chimes in: “I know there are dishes down there. Just leave them and I’ll get them in a minute. You know, you have a smart-ass cook and a smart-ass waitress… deal with it – join ’em.”
If miss congeniality had been working for me she would not be right now. Out the door… goodbye Charlie… it has been real. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Call me for a GOOD recommendation. Acting that way in a business, in life in general, is simply unacceptable behavior. It makes everyone uneasy and it kills any good feelings with which you entered this place. I want people to leave my place feeling better for having been there not running for the door…screaming into the night. I don’t know what she had on her boss, but it must be a doozy. If I were him I would be training a new lead waitress (one with personality, poise and a sense of maturity). And I would be building a team of employees that function as family… care for the customers… and seek to create a family atmosphere in that restaurant.
Before I let you go today I must add one more thing that contributed to me wondering about the phase of the moon. Sitting in the booth behind us is a couple, man and woman, who appear to be in their mid to late eighties. I overhear him saying to her: “You accused me a while ago of ignoring you. I wasn’t ignoring you.” I might add, this poor guy probably couldn’t even notice her across the booth. He probably didn’t know what was going on in the restaurant right beside him. I’m not all that sure he could pay attention to anything except breathe, in breathe out. I’ve been there not all that long ago.
I have got to say my veggies were good, as they usually are but Shirley’s hamburger was so big she had to cut it with a knife. My un-sweet tea came out sweet tea, so I ordered iced water. We were charged for tea anyway. I hope this young, new, confused waitress doesn’t let the bull in the china shop run her off. I think that must be her way of doing things. If the manager/owner allows this to continue he will find his customers leaving two by two.
By the way, I checked the moon phase. It is a “Waning Gibbous.” OMG! No wonder things are going so badly.
Grace and Peace
Steve
PS: Shirley’s fit bit battery died in the restaurant – that is only “fit.”
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