If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
Whenever I have an encounter that I believe encapsulates the political and social issues of the day in just a few moments, I wonder if I’m making too much of nothing. Like Pat Sajak said in this week’s podcast, I worry that I’m perhaps overanalyzing the situation like we do a Dickens’ passage. Nevertheless, after much mulling, I’ve eventually convinced myself that it’s a worthwhile anecdote, and one worth sharing with the Ricochet community.
One of my many hats is as cashier at the University of Minnesota bookstore. This week, we had our annual Valentine’s Day-themed Rose Sale. Here’s how it works: each register has a vase of fake roses that have different discounts attached to their stems, so when customers walk up to make their purchase, they pick a rose at random, we reveal their discount, and it’s applied. It’s simple, it’s fun, and it’s generous; every rose has at least a 20 percent discount, so customers are guaranteed a minimum of a fifth off their purchase for just walking up. It goes up by increments of 10 percent, reaching as high as 80 percent off.
On Friday afternoon, an hour or so into my shift, a middle-aged, curly-haired woman – perhaps a professor, maybe a student too though – came up to my register with eight or nine books.
“Would you like to pick a rose to get a discount?” I cheerily chimed, putting years of retail customer service into practice.
“Oh yes,” she replied as she reached for her dyed-linen flower, “I’m hoping to get a good one.” She plucked her selection and she handed it to me.
“Looks like you’re saving 20 percent,” I informed her.
“Ah, man. I was hoping for a bigger one.”
“Well, 20 percent off isn’t bad,” I responded. “And you get to keep the rose too,” trying my hardest to provide a “glass half full” outlook – on something that was already good to begin with.
I proceeded to ring up her books, which were all leisurely and recreational; none had tags signifying they may have been textbooks for a particular course. I believe there was a travel book in there too. She carried on reminding me how much she would’ve liked a bigger discount, how great it would’ve been if she got had gotten at least a 40 percent one. While still acknowledging her desires, I continued to politely point out that she’s still getting a pretty good deal. After all, it’s better than getting no discount at all.
It rang up to about $93. “How much would it be if I got a 40 percent one?” Somewhere around 70 bucks, I told her, meaning she was saving a little more than $20 already, the price of a book itself.
“Well, I can’t pay for that $93, so I guess I’ll have to pick one that I can’t get,” she said sharply. I smiled and waited for her to proceed. With little consideration to the line of people she was holding up, she took her time, flipping through the pages, reading the précis (for which I have Mr. Lileks to thank for teaching me that word). She may have said something under her breath once or twice, but she eventually chose one after several minutes. Some novel set in India.
“Okay, comes out to $74 then.” She reluctantly handed me her card, I swiped it, and bagged her books.
Just as I was handing her the bag, she looked and said: “I just wish you had been a more compassionate person throughout all this.”
I was slightly taken aback. “Well, it’s just sort of the standard procedure for this sale – you get what you picked,” I responded with care.
“Standard procedure, shmandard procedure.”
“I’m sorry – I’m just doing my job.”
“Just doing your job?” she answered much louder than before, attracting eyes from other customers and coworkers. “You know who else was ‘just doing their jobs’ – concentration camp guards.” To anyone who was half-listening at this point, they were now paying full attention. It’s not every day they’re in the midst of someone analogous to a concentration camp guard.
I let out a subdued “Wow” before saying, “That’s a bit of an extreme jump to make.”
“I don’t think it is at all,” she retorted. “You’re showing the same line of thinking as they did.” I stood there, resisting the urge to validate her statement with a response. “And you know what – you made the choice as an individual that now led to this situation,” she went on.
“No,” I calmly but assertively responded. “You made the choice as an individual when you chose that rose that had the 20 percent discount. That’s why we’re in this situation.”
She seemed to realize that I got her with that one, so she scampered back to her fallback line: “All I can say is that you’re just like a concentration camp guard.”
The mood was noticeably tense, and this conversation was hardly worth anyone’s time – not even hers – so I decided to put an end to it.
“Well, then if, in your mind, the difference between me being a morally sound individual and a concentration camp guard is about 20 bucks, then I guess I am a concentration camp guard,” I replied. “I can’t refute that if that’s really how you distinguish between the two.”
The standoff came to an end with that shot. She must’ve acknowledged how trivial she was being. No, she didn’t say so, or even apologize for comparing me to an instrument in genocide. She simply turned away and walked out the store.
Fortunately, my managers and coworkers supported my handling of the situation; she was undeniably out-of-line, they said. I carried on with the remaining three hours of my shift before slipping into the weekend.
Now, where does this reflect our overarching societal problems? The real question is, where doesn’t it? It began with a lack of accountability, as she is fully responsible for that interaction even occurring, despite her wishes to same I was the individual with the utmost choice. She made a series of decisions that day – to go to the bookstore, what she would buy, and how much of a discount she would get – and when the results of her decisions were unfavorable, it was someone else’s fault, be it the equal opportunity system itself or the person facilitating it.
If the situation isn’t lining up as planned, then those responsible in her mind are inherently bad and therefore fair game for name calling, no matter how nasty and inappropriate those names are. Whether it’s harassing a cashier or Wall Street, this rationale is what justifies making a scene at a register or camping out in Zuccotti Park, doing so until she gets what she not only wants, but apparently deserves. Never mind the generosity already exhibited by providing her automatic savings; it wasn’t enough. Somehow though, it’s someone else who’s the greedy and selfish one.
I’m curious to see what other examples, contradictions, inconsistencies, and analyses we can pull out of this encounter, ones that I may have missed. In fact, a part of me wonders if I was in the wrong at any point in my handling of the situation, so feel free to share.
Or maybe, as I suggested in the beginning of this post, I made a mountain out of a molehill (make that a gopherhill, to fit my school’s mascot). But as Jane Murdstone said in Dickens’ David Copperfield, “I don’t profess to be profound; but I do lay claim to common sense.” I can only at least hope that I had the latter when I look back at this situation.
- Comment (29)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (3)
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
Comments:
Jun '10
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
I'm sure there's a clause somewhere in ObamaCare that we haven't noticed yet that says everyone has the right to free books. She's just ahead of the curve in her righteous indignation.
Jul '10
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
Wish there had been a WWII vet or death camp survivor behind her in line to smack her in the head for the comparison.
What's sad is that her being asinine enough to say that to you, still doesn't tell us whether she's a student or a professor.
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
I think Wylie is right to say that the degree to which this story is genuinely disturbing depends who she is: America is full of harmless nuts, and we let them roam free because, well, everyone in America gets to be free unless they commit very specific criminal acts. If indeed she was a professor and entrusted with the education of University of Minnesota students, we're simply nationally doomed. But if she's just a random local whacko, then it sounds as if you handled it politely and shouldn't think twice about it.
May '10
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
What a nasty, unpleasant experience! I hope you can shake it off.
My guess is the Rose sale will soon be discontinued.
The entitled can't bear romance or surprise or difference of any kind. They demand dreary, bureaucratic sameness for all. And with the State looming over business and lawsuits threatening everywhere, most comply.
We're not doomed, but we're very far gone.
May '11
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
Actually, professor, student, whacko, butcher, baker or candlestick maker, Andrew handled this very well.
Nov '10
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
The rose exercise was essentially a simple form of gambling -- a roll of the die. I think her nonsense was an entitlement freak's heart's cry at the sheer unfairness of random selection.
I'd like to have seen her try to pull that tantrum in a casino.
Feb '11
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
I'd guess the odds are pretty high that she's a professor: (1)her behavior doesn't correspond to "Minnesota Nice," suggesting she likely comes from somewhere else rather than being a purely local person, (2)she was in a bookstore, which increases the a priori odds that she is an academic, (3) professors, at least those outside the hard sciences, are generally hostile to business and to "the system."
May '10
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
This reminds me of ~Paules's adventure with Naji, the most horrifying fare any cabbie could encounter (can't link to it at the moment). Here's hoping she bought the travel guide - and uses it.
Edited on February 12, 2012 at 2:57pmOct '10
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
You met my mother in law! She never graduated, but she made A's in Confrontation 101 and Introduction to Righteous Indignation.
This is really the problem with collectivist redistribution in a nutshell. This woman was getting a 'goody' from the 'man', but was envious of others getting bigger benefits.
To make the promotion more conservative, require each customer to earn their discount; a quiz on the Constitution, perhaps.
Edited on February 12, 2012 at 3:26pmAug '11
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
Andrew, you showed great presence of mind in this encounter. This had little to do with politics or ideology--your customer was a bully, plain and simple. As others are cautioning you here: reflect, absorb the lesson, and do your best to shake off the unpleasantness. Back into the fray!
Aug '10
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
katievs:
The entitled can't bear romance or surprise or difference of any kind. They demand dreary, bureaucratic sameness for all. And with the State looming over business and lawsuits threatening everywhere, most comply.
A wonderfully astute observation, K.
Mar '11
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
I didn't know one of my ex-girlfriends took up residence in Minnesota.
Apr '11
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
I don't know what you're complaining about. The customer is always right.
Mar '11
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
You dated her too? Small world...
Jan '11
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
“I just wish you had been a more compassionate person throughout all this.”
It is obvious I do not know the meaning of compassion. I would assert that Andrew was quite compassionate with this woman. I would have responded poorly, with volume and malice.
Sep '10
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
It's grimly amusing that, as everyone recognizes, the choices of (1) professor or (2) local wacko are the most likely. They're not mutually exclusive, of course.
If she's faculty, she's almost certainly from some dim corner of the humanities or social sciences, most likely something ending in "studies". I'm a professor and I recognize the type.
However, it's less likely she's faculty just because at most campus bookstores, faculty get a discount if they show their university ID. Also, most faculty aren't buying 8 books at once at the bookstore. They're already way behind on their reading as it is.
May '10
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
Another Progressive vote for Obama.....
Jul '11
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
I'd have maced her or if she had a laptop computer then maybe I'd shoot it and you tube the whole event. Joking aside, mentally ill liberals are strange creatures who have unrealistic expectations.
Sep '10
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
Oh, and Andrew--you handled this with far more tact and patience than I would have. I would have been too tempted to explain to her that she was a self centered, idiotic drama queen with an overdeveloped sense of entitlement and that she should do the world an enormous favor and just shut up. Of course, that's also likely to get one fired at a campus bookstore, so don't do that.
Oct '10
Re: If The System Ain't Broke, Fix It To Benefit Me
Yes, they prefer the equal sharing of misery to an unequal portion of wealth. Can't think of the phrasing exactly, but that's roughly it.