Last night, something happened that truly terrified me. I was at work, and like Sunday nights would normally be, we were busy. I had a register and always work front counter, so my job is to take orders, and send them to the back. When there aren't any customers, I help make the orders for the fries and onion rings, make sure we have enough apple and lemon pies, and prepare the chicken entrees if needed. I don't have any control over any other station. This HUGE man comes in with his, I don't know, she could have been his daughter, girlfriend, whatever. Anyway, they place their order and find a seat. Time passes, orders go out to other customers, and eventually his order comes around. Fresh fries were only seconds away. I had just finished with my line of people when he comes storming up to the counter, angrily demanding to know why he hasn't gotten his food. I was the one standing there, and so of course, he is asking me this. I don't know, and to be honest, at this point, he looked like he wanted to physically attack me, so I was afraid. He again demands to know where his food is, saying something to the effect of "You can't give me an answer of where my food is?! I've been here longer than anyone else and they all got their food!" Now, look, he's not the first one this has ever happened to, and it does happen from time to time. The cooks got swamped back at the grill. They had a lot of orders to make and made an honest mistake. Once the fries came up, I put them on his tray and he takes the tray from me and sits down. Not 5 minutes later, he comes back. Apparently his burger was wrong. He's even angrier at this point, and his presence is threatening. I alert the manager on duty and he gives her the burger and is telling her, basically how stupid we are for messing his burger up, how long he had to wait, etc. He then tells her he wants a fresh burger and don't just slap the cheese on there, but he makes this motion like he's pounding his fist into his hand.
I had another line of customers at this point who were seeing this man's behavior, but they seemed to have this "better you than me" attitude. How sad. I then finished taking their order, my voice and body trembling with fear and on the verge of tears. When I finished, the matriarch of the group asked me what my name was. She then told me it wouldn't have killed me to smile. What the hell?! Go ahead. My feelings don't matter do they? I'm less than you and him because of where I work (or so you think) , and you actually think I should smile at you when I am clearly terrified and in distress? How dare you! I got through the next two groups of people I had and turned to my boss and another girl who was working, already crying, telling them I would be back.
What followed was something I usually don't do. Once the bathroom door closed behind me, I let it all out. It felt more like a panic attack once the breathing started, fast and hard. I cried my eyes out. Once the worst part seemed to be over, I washed my face with cold water and composed myself as well as I could. I walked up to the work station and grabbed the next ready order. Let me tell you, the people I delivered the food to could not have been more nice. They even called me ma'am. As the evening wore on, the tears would occasionally resurface. Eventually, they stopped altogether, and things went well the rest of the evening.
Most people who would encounter someone like ourselves, those of us who seem to work the jobs lowest on the proverbial totem pole, realize that we are just people doing our job. I love the fact that our regulars treat us like extended family. They love what we do for them and keep coming back to cheer us on, and we in turn, keep serving things up. My last job was a lot like that. I was with Dollar General for five and a half years, and in that time, I got to know the regulars and they got to know me, not just as the lady who bagged their purchases, but as someone just like them. One never really knows just how far a sincere look, a smile, or a kind word can really go until they see for themselves what has been built. I made so many friends and loyal customers during that time, not just with the regular patrons, but with former coworkers and bosses. They are what I miss the most about that job. Seeing them while out and about shopping at my former place of work is a lot like a reunion.
Then, there are the ones who seem to just not truly understand what it means to work in the field so many do. These people actually forget that we are human beings who have feelings, families of our own, and who deserve respect. They look down on us, and act as though we disgust them, like they wouldn't be caught dead talking to us or being seen with us in public. Those are the people I feel truly sorry for. I would also like to see them walk in our shoes for a few days, to see what it feels like to have people treat them the way they treat us, both good and bad. Their eyes would be open and it would humble them.
     Oh, one more thing about the man and his..lady friend. They left a bag of lemons in their booth. It was probably an accident, but lets just say when life hands you lemons..you take them home with you. They came back another day in a better mood and I more or less waited on them hand and foot. The man seemed a lot less threatening, but it didn't matter. They haven't been back since.