Service Industry? That's A Laugh.

It's been a wonderful, well pretty good at any rate, false spring day in Streeterville, 40 degrees at the Mini, wind chill be damned. I woke up this morning and looked out the window at the lake. The ice within the barrier had broken up into hundreds of jigsaw pieces. Out beyond the barrier the water was that blue that just melted ice takes on, that blue of clean, clear, unpolluted water takes on on a sunny day under a cloudless sky. Sort of mesmerizing. Then Babs realized I was awake and we had to go to the gym and exorcise the flab. "Get thee out fatty tissue! Out I say!"

Saturdays can sometimes be unpleasant, gotta do all the errands, clean the house, and forget about enjoyment kind of days. Today was not bad, but as June Carter used to say in an old song, "Life gets tedious, don't it?" After the gym we had breakfast out. Tell me, "Is distractedness a recognized disability?" I swear the place we have breakfasts out must be hiring the handicapped, because for two weeks in a row now we've had distracted, "Huh, what did you say you wanted," wait staff.

I'm sure this woman from this morning is a perfectly nice individual, but she asked me what I wanted and I told her, "2 eggs scrambled with bacon." She left and we didn't see her again. Some kitchen help delivered the order and it was 2 eggs over easy. While this was not exactly a world class catastrophe, it wasn't what I ordered. The woman was all over the room, taking orders and probably messing up other orders but we could not get her attention for anything. A supervisory type person came and acted very apologetic and got it straightened out. She brought me a refill on the coffee. The person who waited on us couldn't seem to remember to check on us to see if we needed refills or anything. So we finished our breakfast and finally said waitperson showed up again, sporting a coffee pot. She asked me, "Would you like a little more coffee?" I said, "Yes, a little more. Thank you." At that point she said, "I'll just get the check for you," and walked away. "Welcome to Short Attention Span Theater."

While I'm on the subject of service industry people who probably should take a job doing something else, just let me tell you a little story about purchasing gasoline at a BP station in Bridgeport. I always pay at the pump with my debit card when I buy gas, so I got out and swiped the card at the pump, and the pump wouldn't read it. I got a message instructing me to see the attendant inside to pay by credit. Insert a heavy sigh here. Nothing is ever as easy as it's supposed to be. Forget about installing new software or new hardware or any other kind of ware. It takes longer than it should. Tech support will be needed. It will end up costing more than you were quoted.

Anyway, I went inside and told the young woman at the counter that I had been instructed to present my credit card inside to pay for my gas and she asked me, "How much do you want?" I said, "I don't know. I want to fill it up." Then she told me, "I'll just charge 30 dollars on it and if it's less, the difference will be credited back to your card." My first reaction was, "Thirty dollars! I drive a friggin Mini Cooper. It won't hold 30 dollars worth of gasoline." However, being the kind and decent sort, I kept that last part to my self, sighed heavily (Did do that.), and went out to pump the gas. It came to exactly $24.57. I had to go back in to sign the receipt. I had to ask her to give me my card back. Speaking of distracted. Anyway, off I went with a full tank of gas.

When I checked my bank account online the next day, it had been charged $30.00 with no sign of the $5.43 being credited back to my account. I began to fume. I thought, well maybe it will take a bit, so I put off going back to the BP station in a snit until the next day. When I checked my bank account again the next day, it still read $30.00. I began to fume again. That afternoon, after work I dithered. I really hate confrontation, but being annoyed got the better of me and I drove straight to the BP station. I went in and told a guy who appeared to be the manager what had happened. He said, "It usually takes a couple of days for these things to go through. How long ago did you say this happened?" I paused and said, "It was Wednesday. That was 2 days ago and there still is not hide nor hair of any credit on my account."

It was at this point that this pudgy little trailer trash girl piped up, "I was the one who did that and it went through." Excuse me but it seems that I'm becoming judgemental about certain individuals just now, but she sure appeared bona fide trailer trash to me. Why is it that the guilty always seem to try to turn the tables and make it look like you and not they are the guilty ones? Another of lifes's many mysteries. Anyway,at this point I could barely contain myself. I looked at her and back at the guy who may or may not have been the manager. I said, "I will be checking my account and watching closely and you can be sure I will never be coming back here again." I turned on my heel and walked out. Guess what? I checked my account on line today and the $30.00 charge had been magically changed to $24.57. The point here is that the service industry is supposed to provide just that, service. It should not be so hard to get appropriate and just service for what you pay. It seems like you continually have to argue with people, push people, and sometimes behave in a not so seemly manner, just to get what is owed to you. Oh, and don't get me started on Patrick Mini again. See an earlier post, "Fools and Their Money. Me and My Money," for that saga.

There are some people who think I have an overly cynical view of humanity. They are taken aback by my basic distrust of people in general. I honestly try to like humanity. I honestly like to think people are nice and trustworthy. I like to think that most people are good and decent. It's just that they won't let me.