I've had to deal with some crazy things when it comes to my job in retail. People will share stories of periods gone wrong, people shoplifting in the most ridiculous ways possible, and even some crazed American tourists. None of them were as bad as this one old lady who would come to our store weekly, and who was nicknamed Helga, after one kid who was studying abroad compared the lady to a viking's wife. You might say that this was cruel, but no, it was an understatement.859Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl031YzhTZ6
Helga was agonizingly slow. It took her 5 minutes to find her checkbook in her purse, and 20 more to sort through the coupons she wanted to use each trip, and she always proceeded to wait until the last minute to find everything she needed in the checkout line.
While restocking shelves this morning, I pulled a hamstring and my boss wouldn't let me off early and pay me, even though I have sick days stored up. She instead instructed me to go to the check-out lanes, where you have to stand for hours on end, which she claimed would allow me to rest my leg and not damage the muscles any further. And just before my shift was about to end and I could go eat my quinoa and ice my leg at home, Helga was my last customer.
My leg was literally useless at this point, and I was standing on one foot and using my most forced smile to greet Helga. "Good afternoon, ma'am. Will you be paying by cash or card today?"
"Neither, check, you stupid girl!" Helga exclaimed.
I winced. Corporate had decided they weren't going to accept checks anymore 2 days ago. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but this store no longer takes checks."
Helga stared at me for a solid minute not saying anything. I was seriously concerned I may have broken the woman when she started screaming about how stupid I was and that the store always accepted her checks. She then started to hit me with that blasted cane. I was ready to get the manager when she came up. "What seems to be the problem, Nana?"
I gawped. Oh. The manager never snapped at Helga because Helga was the woman's grandmother?!
"This stupid girl won't let me check out!" Helga exclaimed, pointing to me.
"We don't accept checks anymore, ma'am," I tried to explain.
The manager shot me a look. "You ring Mrs. Seed up, or you're fired."
I stared blankly at the manager. Was she serious?! "Fine," I said, and I walked out.859Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbKzTqE748t
I was looking for a reason to leave this place for years, and now at least I was getting paid for it. I went to my car and opened up my lunch bag, and started eating my quinoa. Retail was just crazy sometimes, and sometimes, you just needed to quit.
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