Bad Me

We all live and learn but I seem to be having a lot of embarrassing learning experiences lately and my only excuse for my ignorance is my ignorance.

I returned some skin cream to Macy's today because they either sent the wrong item or I mistakenly ordered the wrong item.  No problem except the clerks screwed up the return and the reorder and I had to swipe my card 4 times.  When I was asked to swipe the 4th time, I got upset wondering just how many jars of cream I'd end up paying for.  Another customer, angry with the wait said she felt very sorry for me and my problem but railed at the clerks.  I'm sure those clerks ended up with a headache by the time they finished with me.

I was calm but understandably worried about how many times I was asked to swipe my card...there was no problem with my card but with the clerks' knowledge of how to process the return and re-order.  In the end, I told them seriously that I was being calm and quiet at the moment but if I ended up with multiple charges on my credit card I'd be back screaming for the store manager.  I felt a little sorry for them but no customer should have to be dealt with in such an unprofessional manner.  
Then off I went home, stopping at a Burger King for lunch.  Simple?  No.  The young cashier yawned widely as she took my order only to make a mistake on the kind of sandwich and forgetting my ice cream cup altogether.  I was already miffed about the jar of cream fiasco so I loudly told her she'd made the mistake because she kept yawning and not paying attention.

As I sat and ate my damned lunch, still feeling low because of all the silly problems I'd had today, the cashier came to my table and apologized.  She said she works two jobs and had only finished the first one at 2:30 A.M. before having to come to work at Burger King a few hours later.  I apologized to her and commended her for working 2 jobs, all the while feeling like a piece of crap.  In my miserable little mind, I'd falsely assumed she'd been out partying all night and that's why she was so tired.  She said she was doing the best she could just to get by.

There's a saying that we shouldn't be too quick to judge others because we don't know the burdens they're carrying.  How true.  I know this...and yet I let myself behave in a way I'm ashamed of now.  Maybe this incident will stay as a reminder to me to make more of an effort to be a good person and not a bitch just because my day isn't going well.