One of our twin sons wants to purchase a t-shirt with this expression on the front, “I see stupid people”. I tell him he is not big enough to defend the shirt at school. But we do seem to experience it too often. Yesterday’s experience was at one of my favorite diners. Having a late lunch I sat on a stool at the counter near the front door and exchanged greetings with the staff. You know you eat there a lot when you are asked if you want your usual.
Someone came in and sat to my left. Two of the wait staff walked past him and said nothing. As it is a short order grill, at one point a cook did turn and acknowledge the new customer. Finally someone came to take the order. The customer said they wanted their order to go, at which point the wait person told the customer a ‘to go’ order had to be placed at the checkout which was all of 10 feet away.
In disgust the customer said they had already waited to long and left. And then (this is where stupid comes in), the cook and wait staff begin to discuss ‘that stupid customer’, having their discussion within hearing range of all the other customers.
Of course you begin to wonder what they are saying about you as a customer when you are not there, but simply having the conversation was stupid on their part. Telling the customer to get up and place their order at the checkout was stupid. Not waiting on the customer initially was stupid.
Am I to think business is that good that you can tell the customer what to do? Why would any business give a customer a set of rules for behavior when they could have easily given the customer what they wanted?
Excuse me while I go order the shirt because, “I see stupid people”.
