Order dividers

You know those little rubber (sometimes hard plastic) bars at the checkstands?

Use them.

I don't know what is so difficult about this seemingly easy task.  There is someone in front of you...do you really want them to pay for your groceries?  I think not.  There may not be someone behind you now, but what if someone walks up?  Do you want to buy their groceries?  Probably not.

This is one thing that is ENTIRELY in your hands.  You shouldn't get mad at me, your humble servant.  I am simply ringing up the groceries that I am assuming are yours.  Yes, there are rare occasions where I get completely sidetracked and ring up too many things.  For this, I am sorry.  However, the problem I present is completely avoidable.

I am tired of hearing, "Oh,  those aren't MY groceries...".  A statement that is dripping with, "You must be stupid.  You just work at a grocery store.  If you were smart, you'd work somewhere else".  If you, the smart ass customer that thinks I am stupid, only knew what I was thinking, you would probably request I be fired.

Very rarely am I one to say, "Well, you didn't put a divider up.  Neither did the customer behind you.  I am just going until that little grey doo-dad, the one right there, pops up.  That's my cue to stop".

Death and Customers

I know. Don't remind me. It's been a long time. However, things at the store stay the same. Always the same. I also hope that I will be able to write something weekly, instead of once a year.

I check the obituaries weekly. Morbid. I know. However, I have so many elderly customers (that I actually love) and I worry that I will see them there. Their lives summarized in 450 words.

In the last 6 months, I have had about 8 customers pass. It breaks my heart. Over the 7 and a half years I have worked at the store I'm at, I have met some amazing people. When these people go, it is sad. No more jokes with them. No more laughs. No more smiles.

I never thought I would connect with someone I met at work...let alone a customer. It's amazing the things they have brought to my day. Some days were the worst...and seeing them made it better. There are times where I wish I could tell them how much I've appreciated their conversations...their wisdom.

I know that this is a never ending cycle. I know that more customers will die. I know that their families will grieve more than I have for them. However, in the smallest way, they have added something to my life. They have given me something that others haven't. They have imparted wisdom without even knowing it.