Yeah, that was too far

[fbhjr]

My morning wasn’t going very well. My printer was refusing to print color, I was running late, and I really haven’t been in a good mood lately.

I decided that I’d just print my photos for my aunt at the local Staples, and pick up more ink while I was there.

I was standing by their self serve printers, which were very, very slow, when an older man walked out of one of the aisles about 20 feet away from me. He looked in my direction.

"I’m looking for a receipt book!" he shouted.

I looked left and right. No one else was around. I looked down at my mad scientist t-shirt and coat I was wearing.
I looked back up and shrugged at him, still standing two aisles away from me.

"Are you just going to stand there?!?" he shouted over at me.

"Yes," I said in my normal voice. "That is my plan."

"Why are you just going to stand there?!?" he shouted.

"I don’t work here, moron," I said, still at my normal voice.

"What!?! How dare you call me moron! I didn’t say anything insulting to you!"

"You strongly implied you thought I was lazy and that is insulting…"

"I didn’t outright say it! You said you thought I was a moron!"

"No, I said you are a moron. And, I stand by that."

"How dare you!"

At that point an associate in a Staples shirt with a name tag and everything came running over.
"Gentlemen, please stop shouting," he said.

"That man called me a moron!" the old man shouted.
"I was not shouting," I said.

While the associate led him away, my print job finally started, I took my printouts and left.

I will point out that in the 15 or so minutes it took their self serve system to give me a quote on my 11 page document, an earlier person had made a similar mistake. (The actual printing took only seconds. Getting it to give me a price was the issue.)

A woman walked in, looked over at me and came closer.
"Excuse me, do you work here?" she asked.
"No ma’am, I’m afraid I don’t."
"Do you know where there is someone who does?"
I pointed over at the desk where three people in Staples shirts were standing.
"I think one of those people could probably help you," I said.
She thanked me and walked over to them.

I know, I know, I should not say such things out loud.
Think them all I want. Keep it to myself.
My being in a bad mood and generally depressed lately are not an excuse to insult people publicly.

My assessment of the entitled shouting man has not changed.
But, I need not have shared it with him.

Comments

[ravena_kade]

Perhaps it was the Ides of March

I hope you had a nice visit with your aunt and that the mood fades for you.

[threemeninaboat]

I'm glad this isn't limited to girls. I used to get this all the time. Sometimes I'd help people and sometimes I would not.

[fbhjr]

No where near the first time it's happened to me.
But, my losing my temper is much less common.

[taz_39]

I'm sorry, but the large majority of American adults are unobservant, mouth-breathing f*cks who have lost their ability to think critically/resolve their own problems.

I.e., "Gee, I'm in a STAPLES right now. STAPLES has a RED logo. Maybe the people wearing RED polo shirts with the STAPLES logo on them, and who are standing at an employee-area desk, WORK HERE! Maybe THEY'RE who I should ask for assistance!"

As people who are too lazy to think for themselves, or who gaze around themselves dumbly any time they don't have someone telling them what to do, are my most gigantic pet peeve, I don't think that you were being remotely unreasonable. That dude needed his dried up little brain-peas rattled.

[msmidge]

I have to agree.

[palusbuteo]

Errr.... Sorry you were not having a good time, bad enough that you let loose like that.

[brickhousewench]

Anyone who asks someone wearing a COAT for assistance in a store deserves any insults that customer chooses to heave at them.