righteous indignation
today has been a day of not speaking up enough.  in the first incident, i stopped for lunch at quizno's to enjoy a yummy grilled sandwich.  i love quizno's.  i fell in love with quizno's in college, as there was one in town.  but i digress.  when i got there there were two people in front of me in line.  the first guy was taking a long time to order.  i couldn't hear what they were talking about but i think he was just really particular about his order.  i got kind of annoyed, but it was only a minute.  not long to wait, but something one is unaccustomed to in a fast-food type situation.  when the same guy went to pay, the cashier, who i think was also the manager, asked for 99 cents more because the sandwich somehow required "extra meat".  the customer was kind of making a fuss, not understanding why he was being charged extra.  but the cashier dude was really obnoxious.  he was essentially loudly berating the customer in front of a crowded store.  do you want the sandwich?  no?  then he took it away and put it behind him and the customer was confused because he did want the sandwich.  i felt sooooo bad for him because he was really being embarassed.  it only occured to me later as i was "enjoying" my own lunch at a table next to this customer that i should have gone up to the cashier and asked him if it brought him satisfaction to embarass this guy in front of the whole store.  because that's essentially what he was doing.  he wasn't trying to make a point that the customer was mistaken or anything.  the cashier just wanted to belittle the guy, and what the fuck is that about?

in situation number two, i went to ikea.  during the checkout, i was wrapping some glass items i bought in plastic so i wasn't supervising the cashier.  but i did notice him ask the people behind me if we were together.  we weren't.  when he told me the total, i thought it was a little high but didn't say anything because i can easily go into stores like ikea and target and spend more than i intended.  but after i paid, as i was walking away, i looked at the receipt and noticed some items that really didn't seem like mine because they were more expensive than anything i had bought.  after taking inventory, i realized that they really weren't mine, so i went back to the cashier and asked him about the items.  he looked and within a few seconds explained that they were items of the customers behind me.  he finished the transaction he was in the middle of, then asked me if i could wait five minutes while he rang up the next few customers in line.  i said no.  first of all, when was he going to stop and take care of me if the whole concept of checkout lines is that when one person is finished, another usually takes his place.  second of all, it wasn't my mistake, i wasn't making an unnecessary fuss so i refused to wait.  all i said, though, was no, i want to go home.  but do you realize what happened?  this guy scanned two items that were on the conveyor belt, asked the two guys if we were together, they said no, didn't cancel the items on my receipt, and then scanned the items again so the people behind me could pay for them!!  and how do i know this, because i asked if i had paid for their stuff and he said no.  so after taking my credit card, he turned around scanned the exact same items again and was going to let me walk out paying $50 more for stuff that i never bought.  i mean, really, what nerve!!!!!!!!!!!!! it isn't THAT difficult to void an item or two.  i know because i've worked at target as a cashier and it's just a few keystrokes.  he just thought i wasn't going to notice or something?! grr!