Today was a great day despite the our lack of sleep (Malcolm, Micah & I). Saturday is for chores, so after a great lunch at LaSalsa, we went to the shopping center at Sloat so while I find a new place to put our clothes (our little plastic shelf thingy broke), Malcolm can get a haircut - sort of hitting two birds in one stone. Well, long story short, we didn't find anything to replace the dear old $15 plastic shelf. We went to Walmart and Ikea but didn't see anything cheap or durable enough... well, in Walmart that is. Ikea was another story. When we arrived there, it was almost time for dinner, so we decided to stop by their cafeteria for some Swedish meatballs. When we were paying, the cashier (a very, for lack of better words, rude cashier) charged us another plate that we didn't order. I already noticed beforehand that she made a mistake since she wasn't paying attention as she was plugging in the numbers in the cash register. Before she finished, I asked Malcolm to ask for a receipt. When she handed him the receipt, lo and behold, there it was - another $6 charge. Now, this is where everything unraveled. Malcolm specifically said “Um, excuse me, Ma’am, you charged us another plate of the Swedish meatballs. All we ordered was one plate of this (pointing at the Swedish meatballs) and this (pointing at the Pasta Penne).” Now the cashier, instead of apologizing, accused Malcolm of giving her an attitude. Specifically, she said “Fine, I made a mistake but don’t you give me attitude.” For some reason, her comment irritated me. After she spoke, I jumped in and firmly (not shouting though) clarified that my husband was not giving her an attitude since he said “excuse me” and “ma’am," but pointing out a mistake she made that she should be apologizing for. She retorted back insisting that he did, so I asked her for the manager. She, then, raised her voice saying that she will call the manager but repeatedly saying that we should not give her attitude. Getting very irritated at this point, I asked her for her name, which then prompted her to take her ID from her chest and shove it near my face. At that point, I was infuriated! She kept on talking loudly, which for me is an appeal to other people’s sympathy, so I told her to “shush!” as I raised my hand doing the “shush” sign. She then charged me that I was pointing at her and that she is not a little girl to be pointed at, that I shouldn’t treat her as I was treating my daughter. That comment shot my blood pressure to the roof. I was so angry because not only did she disrespected me and my husband in a store where she is supposed to be providing us, her customers, service, but she lied that I pointed my finger at her and insinuated that I do that to my child. To make matters worse, the guy behind us, who didn’t really see what happened joined in the argument saying that we were the ones at fault, “showing our true colors” being mean to her. Frankly, I could care less what he says because I think he just needs attention and this is his shot at it, so we didn't really mind him. Finally the manager came and when we were talking, the cashier jumped in and started pointing her finger at me saying that I shouldn’t point my finger at her (Oh, the irony!). The manager pushed her back and apologized to us. I asked for our money back since I didn't think that eating there would help calm us down. I asked the manager if she would treat the situation like her employer did, she said she would never and repeatedly apologized. After I jumped in the car I cried my eyes out (I cry when I’m mad… my coping mechanism). I was so angry! No, I was more than angry, I was enraged! Goodness, I was so livid that I was on the brink of reaching out and beating the heck out of her and I am not a violent person! I can’t believe how such a small thing was blown out of proportion at our expense. I felt that we were being ganged-up on – it was unspeakably unfair! I worked as a cashier before and her behavior was not only unprofessional, it was plain out vulgar. I had my share of unfair moments, but her behavior was just unacceptable. Well, after a while of cursing her out in my head, I thought about why on earth would she put us in that situation. Why would anyone put unsuspecting victims in a position that provokes rage? I thought about our ethnicity – what if we were white, would she take the correction better? I mean could that be why because I can’t imagine what would prompt her to react so viciously to a comment that any paying customer would point out if he/she was charged incorrectly. I thought about God… why would He allow a very unreasonable circumstance happen to people like us? I was just feeling down, disappointed and victimized. Then, after a while of nursing my aching sense of self, I spoke to my dad. He, like every time I need someone to encourage me, rose to the occasion. He shared with me a recent experience he had where he, too, was victimized by unfortunate circumstances. But what finally calmed me down is when he said that this world can at times charge us unjust things, but my faith should know better because GOD KNOWS THE TRUTH! I have heard him say that so many times before (being a minister and all J) but today, it just hit the mark. It’s true…regardless of what happened – the lies that woman made, the man who took her side, and the anger I have within – there is a TRUTH and God knows it. After letting that truth reassure my soul, I was finally at peace.
This world can be full of invalidators, accusers, deceivers, etc. People can do unimaginable evil. Amidst this chaos, the giver of peace is Jesus. My faith in Him remains as the only source for me not to be cynical about the world and all its malevolence. With JC, there still remains the few who choose the good because of the recognition of the unmerited gift they were given, some 2000 years ago.
Despite my anger, at the end of the day, I want to have a grateful heart – a heart who believes in the good, despite of the bad day she’s just had… “This, too, shall pass!”
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