Update: O.C.Daisy
I had a 12PM-8PM shift. It's an interesting shift to work because you are with all of the people who worked the early morning shifts. They are exhausted and they are counting the hours until they leave. The rest of your shift involves the exit of the tired morning people and the entrance of the well rested people who have afternoon shifts.
Today's A.M. crew included Mad Kathy, Cake Eyes, Klepto Sue and Elvira. Cake Eyes was the first person to go home. She went home with her usual giant bottles of chardonnay. Klepto Sue came to help bag groceries at the end of my register whenever it was slow. She is always good for conversation. Mad Kathy was tired and didn't talk a whole ton. I ignored Elvira, as I planned to for the rest of my time at the store. Being nice to her, like being nice to O.C.Daisy, was a waste of energy.
O.C.Daisy was the head cashier taking over for Banshee. Apparently Banshee had been gone for a few days and head cashiers have been taking over for her. She did look more pale than usual the last time I saw her. I hoped she was okay. O.C.Daisy walked up to the end of my register to help bag groceries.
DAISY: How are you doing?
I didn't respond. I was done hoping that Daisy would reveal a nicer version of herself. Mad Kathy asked me how I was doing. I told her I found out that my battery had died. Daisy was listening to our conversation.
DAISY: Awwww!
ME: [verbally snapped] Don't act like you're concerned.
DAISY: What?
I hated myself for being mean. I have nothing to gain from being so pissed off at OCD. Being angry never hurts the the one you're angry at as much as it hurts you. Who said that? The Dalai Lama? Damn you and all your truth, Dalai. I needed to get this off my chest so I went straight to Grumpy Gill's office.
ME: Gill, I'm sure you're busy, but if you have a moment today may we talk?
GILL: We can talk now, come on in.
I was nervous. What does the shitty, late-all-of-the-time employee say to convince the general manager that a head cashier needs correcting?
ME: Before I say anything I would like to say that I am aware that I am not always the best employee. I am am totally aware of that. I am also aware that I am leaving and that nothing I say is going to really matter but I feel that I need to say something.
GILL: I actually think you're a great employee.
ME: Really? (Seriously, what?)
GILL: Yeah! I have seen you interact with your customers. You are great with them. I couldn't ask for more.
ME: I'm not a model cashier.
GILL: Sure, there are things to work on, but you know. What did you want to say?
I had to stop being shocked at his assessment of me so I could tell him why I was there. I told him about how Daisy talked about me behind my back to Gaythan. He said Emmy had let him know what happened (Yes. Good job Emmy.) He told me that the managers would address the problem. It wasn't about me anymore. I didn't want any of my coworkers to hate this job because they had a mean, two-faced head cashier, talking shit about people to their friends and making the working environment unpleasant. I didn't mention how fake she seems, how bad her hair looks or how toothless people have no business insulting others. I thanked Gill for listening to me. I told him how much I appreciated working at this store all summer.
GILL: I knew you had to go. You are highly over-qualified for this job, we get that. We were glad to have you.
ME: It isn't about qualifications. This is a great job for people who have the capacity to enjoy it. I'm glad I got to work for a team of managers that like the company they work for. It made this job more fun to do.
GILL: Thank you.
ME: I loved the customers. I love people. I like to write a lot and I wrote a lot of my customer interactions down in prose.
GILL: Really? I would love to read that.
ME: Sure! I will send you some excerpts.
I really will send him a few excerpts. I think I will be leaving out the ones where he is called Grumpy Gill, and anything about the stingwich. I think I will just send him entries about the kids and the old people.
Showing posts with label Speedy Gonzales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Speedy Gonzales. Show all posts
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Day Twenty Five
C'mon Latte...
I do not need to retell the dangers of my being tired, hungover or both. Today I was TIRED. I sang at a service this morning and logged in some office hours afterward. I left the office to come here and stand on my feet for 8 hours. By the time I reached the store I realized that I had already been awake for 9 hours. I forgot how much energy is required of me to do what I do as a choral director/solo singer at a church: Be ultra-friendly, have perfect posture, stand in heels, solve problems, have my mind fixated on constantly breathing, plan music, etc. I decided that Sundays would be the day I drink a latte between jobs. Today I had a sneaky feeling that Starbucks (or "Fourbucks" as a friend calls it) slipped me a decaf. I never regained speed. You know you're tired when the mere mention of a customer deciding to have a "lazy day" reduces you to tears.
Updates
Speedy Gonzales returned to work today. she had been gone so long that I thought she quit. Today she was not as quick as she usually is, not as spastic either. Maybe being tired is contagious.
Serious Stu engaged in conversation with me for the first time. He seems very nice. Not funny, but nice.
I went to Cute Guy, Maybe (Not Really)'s register to buy five dark chocolate covered almonds. He gave me shit for using my discount card on 39 cents of food. I understand how ridiculous it looks, but I gave myself a $1 snacking limit at work. CG doesn't understand what it means to have to be on a budget, perhaps since he is the son of the president of the company. Life must be really hard for that guy.
I found out that my head cashier, Ryan, has been dating Sally Spec for 8 months. OooooOOOOoooooh! I am happy for them. They don't act like a couple in the store at all. They do this because head cashiers are not allowed to fraternize with cashiers. Before they dated, Ryan would call Sally from work to get her to cover for someone, then used that phone call as an excuse to talk to her. Cute.
According to Sally, O.C.Daisy is still giving me dirty looks. I the next time I work next to her I think I will talk about dental care.
Social Sue
This woman was impressive. She was second in my line, talking to my current customer about something she was going to buy and laughing to the side to catch the attention of the male customer in the line opposite mine, grabbing the attention of both the customer his cashier. She expanded the social space to customers behind her as well, gathering their commentary. She had everyone talking and she was in the center of it all, with a cackling but contagious laugh. I don't even remember what the subject was, maybe hummus. All I know is the joyful, slightly crazy woman had everyone smiling, laughing and talking to each other. What's so hard about world peace, again?
A Word of Advice:
Own up to your mistakes. A woman came through my line and didn't put the PLU number on the bulk item she bought. I rang the item up as raw almonds. I should have asked her what it was, but the line was long and I wanted to move a bit faster to get people out of there. Later on that night, the woman came back, saying I rang her up for the wrong item. I apologized. My manager came over to handle the exchange. The correct PLU would have rung her up for an item that was 86 cents. She was mad that she had to drive back up to the store to get this corrected. She insisted that she put the number on there. I, for damn sure, know that she didn't. I stuck to my story. If I saw a PLU code I would have entered it. The more I said, "I saw no number," the angrier she became. Then after my manager exchanged the prices, she said she wanted a different new bag of almonds because he touched the bag. We ended up having to throw her almonds away. So what I gathered was this: She wasted more than her return in gas to come back to the store and lie about how she didn't follow procedure then bitch about the necessary procedure of handling a bag for a price correction. We would have given her the money back even without the lies and dramatics. What a piece of work.
Observation:
People from London are so charming when they speak English. They say "lovely" instead of "thanks" and "cheers" instead of "bye." When my English customers come by, I am whisked away to a marvelous place where all I do is sip tea and wear fancy hats. Also, when you bring up where they are from they instantly refer you to the best Indian restaurant in the city. I'm thinking that may be just because I am Indian, but also, maybe they would divulge that information anyway. Just an observation.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Day Twelve
Today was my fifth day working in a row. Drained of all energy, I came into work thinking, "Today is the day no one interesting will show up. Maybe I'll take a day off of blog writing. Yeah." Then I met:
Hal E. Tosis
A man walked up to my register wearing an army shirt.
ME: Hi! Are you in the army?
HAL: Ohhhhhh no. [laughs] Now that would be ironic!
First of all, the reason why I put so many of the letter "h" in oh is because this guy didn't just say the word, he breathed the word on me. That is when my lungs shut down all operation, because this guy had the WORST BREATH EVER. I held my breath and waited for an appropriate amount of time before I turned my head to breath oxygen from elsewhere. Okay, fine. No one has minty fresh breath all of the time, but if one's breath is potentially bad, it is advisable to keep from sighing out words (especially any word with an audible "h" sound, bro) or cover the mouth slightly when talking. I decided to cut this guy some slack and I continued to converse with him.
ME: So, how would your being in the Army be ironic?
HAL: Well, because I would NEVER join the army.
ME: [after fighting to urge to judge him from the incorrect use of a literary device, I continued] How has your day been?
HAL: It was great until I had to see the dentist.
ME: Check up was no fun?
HAL: No.
Wait. This guy just saw the dentist? Who leaves a trip to the dentist with bad breath? I could only conclude two things. Either he DID just see the dentist after which he chewed on a rotten raw onion while he shopped for groceries, OR his dentist doesn't believe in mouthwash. I would like to believe that if this guy knew his breath was terrible he would do something about it. Maybe I'll pass out mints to my customers.
A Word of Advice:
Never send your eight year old son to the produce section to find fresh dill while you are checking out in line. Chances are, he will be looking for something that looks like a pickle (and he will be looking for a long time).
Observation:
You can't convince a kid that anyone is stronger that his favorite superhero. Two very young boys walked up with their parents to my register and one of them was wearing a Spiderman t-shirt. I asked the boys, "Who would win in a battle between Superman and Spiderman?" The kids told me Spiderman would win. They were biased and clearly not thinking this through. I decided I would play the devil's advocate.
ME: Superman is superhuman.
BOYS: Kryptonite.
ME: Fair enough, but Spiderman would never resort to kryptonite. That would make him no better than Lex Luthor, so we can rule that out. What about Superman being the man of steel? He is stronger than Spiderman.
BOYS: Spiderman shoots out a web that can hold a train. The web is super strong (this is as close as I could gather, they were both talking at the same time).
ME: Superman can fly.
BOYS: Spiderman has a web and he can fly through the air (again, from so much being said at the same time)
ME: Superman has heat vision.
BOYS: SPIDERMAN HAS A WEB!
At this point the boys were ultra defensive, maybe even mad. They probably wondered, "How on earth could anyone NOT understand the power of Spiderman's web?" The parents were laughing. My efforts were futile. In the end I told the boys that they were right, Spiderman would win. With pride the boys had the last word. They continued to talk about the indestructible qualities of the web as their parents dragged them out of the store. You can't change change a boy's mind about his favorite superhero, don't even try. Just an observation.
Update: Speedy Gonzales
I was slowly winning over the co-workers that I did not initially get along with with the exception of one. Speedy still checked people out at the socially awkward speed of light. I never made any attempt to talk with her. If she came over to help bag groceries, the most I would say is "hello" and "thanks for helping," tops.
Today, Speedy clocked out at the same time I was on break. I picked up some food and sat down in the Deli area. Speedy was there.
ME: Howdy. What are you still doing here?
SPEEDY: I'm off the clock but I don't feel like going home. I feel like being social.
Eh? She didn't say she wanted to be social while walking off to talk to other pals. This seemed a prompt for wanting to chat. Speedy is being nice? Where did the negativity-laden overachiever go? I was looking forward to getting started reading Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut, but I decided to be nice and invite Speedy to talk.
ME: I'm sitting here on break, wanna hang?
SPEEDY: Sure!
There is apparently no gradual "getting to know" phase with Speedy. It was zero to BFF with no "in between." I was assuming she was a home schooled, only-child growing up. I wondered if maybe her parents didn't let her hang with her school friends much. The conversation played out like a job interview. She told me I was the only person of all of the cashiers she had not talked to yet. Apparently she is getting her associate's degree at a local community college and thinking of transferring to the local large college. The conversation with Speedy was all business just short of handing me a resume with three professional references. Awkwardness aside, I'll take it. I'll take any small version of Speedy's kindness. It means she is trying and I appreciate that.
Hal E. Tosis
A man walked up to my register wearing an army shirt.
ME: Hi! Are you in the army?
HAL: Ohhhhhh no. [laughs] Now that would be ironic!
First of all, the reason why I put so many of the letter "h" in oh is because this guy didn't just say the word, he breathed the word on me. That is when my lungs shut down all operation, because this guy had the WORST BREATH EVER. I held my breath and waited for an appropriate amount of time before I turned my head to breath oxygen from elsewhere. Okay, fine. No one has minty fresh breath all of the time, but if one's breath is potentially bad, it is advisable to keep from sighing out words (especially any word with an audible "h" sound, bro) or cover the mouth slightly when talking. I decided to cut this guy some slack and I continued to converse with him.
ME: So, how would your being in the Army be ironic?
HAL: Well, because I would NEVER join the army.
ME: [after fighting to urge to judge him from the incorrect use of a literary device, I continued] How has your day been?
HAL: It was great until I had to see the dentist.
ME: Check up was no fun?
HAL: No.
Wait. This guy just saw the dentist? Who leaves a trip to the dentist with bad breath? I could only conclude two things. Either he DID just see the dentist after which he chewed on a rotten raw onion while he shopped for groceries, OR his dentist doesn't believe in mouthwash. I would like to believe that if this guy knew his breath was terrible he would do something about it. Maybe I'll pass out mints to my customers.
A Word of Advice:
Never send your eight year old son to the produce section to find fresh dill while you are checking out in line. Chances are, he will be looking for something that looks like a pickle (and he will be looking for a long time).
Observation:
You can't convince a kid that anyone is stronger that his favorite superhero. Two very young boys walked up with their parents to my register and one of them was wearing a Spiderman t-shirt. I asked the boys, "Who would win in a battle between Superman and Spiderman?" The kids told me Spiderman would win. They were biased and clearly not thinking this through. I decided I would play the devil's advocate.
ME: Superman is superhuman.
BOYS: Kryptonite.
ME: Fair enough, but Spiderman would never resort to kryptonite. That would make him no better than Lex Luthor, so we can rule that out. What about Superman being the man of steel? He is stronger than Spiderman.
BOYS: Spiderman shoots out a web that can hold a train. The web is super strong (this is as close as I could gather, they were both talking at the same time).
ME: Superman can fly.
BOYS: Spiderman has a web and he can fly through the air (again, from so much being said at the same time)
ME: Superman has heat vision.
BOYS: SPIDERMAN HAS A WEB!
At this point the boys were ultra defensive, maybe even mad. They probably wondered, "How on earth could anyone NOT understand the power of Spiderman's web?" The parents were laughing. My efforts were futile. In the end I told the boys that they were right, Spiderman would win. With pride the boys had the last word. They continued to talk about the indestructible qualities of the web as their parents dragged them out of the store. You can't change change a boy's mind about his favorite superhero, don't even try. Just an observation.
Update: Speedy Gonzales
I was slowly winning over the co-workers that I did not initially get along with with the exception of one. Speedy still checked people out at the socially awkward speed of light. I never made any attempt to talk with her. If she came over to help bag groceries, the most I would say is "hello" and "thanks for helping," tops.
Today, Speedy clocked out at the same time I was on break. I picked up some food and sat down in the Deli area. Speedy was there.
ME: Howdy. What are you still doing here?
SPEEDY: I'm off the clock but I don't feel like going home. I feel like being social.
Eh? She didn't say she wanted to be social while walking off to talk to other pals. This seemed a prompt for wanting to chat. Speedy is being nice? Where did the negativity-laden overachiever go? I was looking forward to getting started reading Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut, but I decided to be nice and invite Speedy to talk.
ME: I'm sitting here on break, wanna hang?
SPEEDY: Sure!
There is apparently no gradual "getting to know" phase with Speedy. It was zero to BFF with no "in between." I was assuming she was a home schooled, only-child growing up. I wondered if maybe her parents didn't let her hang with her school friends much. The conversation played out like a job interview. She told me I was the only person of all of the cashiers she had not talked to yet. Apparently she is getting her associate's degree at a local community college and thinking of transferring to the local large college. The conversation with Speedy was all business just short of handing me a resume with three professional references. Awkwardness aside, I'll take it. I'll take any small version of Speedy's kindness. It means she is trying and I appreciate that.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Day Four
Speedy Gonzales
I met Speedy on the first day of work. I noticed she liked to check out groceries very incredibly fast. Good for her. I'm not going to do that shit. She must always be doing something at all times. She prides herself on being "better" (meaning: faster) than everyone else at this job. She wasn't very talkative or minutely sociable so I moved to another cashier. Today, she was in the register behind me. No small talk. Not mean, but not nice either. No fun. She has the pride of Pedantic Joe, but lacks the kindness. She has the one word replies of Copy Cat, but not because she is shy (or socially awkward) but because she doesn't want to talk to you. On a scale of bearable to unbearable people I don't prefer to work near, she leans toward unbearable. I wonder if this is an initial period of "player hatin'" for new employees. I have a feeling Speedy will turn around. Being this negative has to be too tiring for her to keep it up.
Old Man #2
ME: Hi! How are you doing today?
OLD MAN: I am fantastic!
ME: Wow, it's so refreshing to see a really happy person.
OLD MAN: Darling, at my age? I'm just thrilled to be alive!
He winked, and smiled the sweetest smile I had ever seen. Everyone should be just as thrilled to be alive, everyday.
Cashier Contest
Holy shit. Cashier contest. I love these. The co-op I worked for in Indiana had a cashier contest to raise the money for the Hoosier Hills food bank. I raised the most, something like $1200 by myself and won a gift basket with a gift card to the co-op. The prize, at this current store I work for, is a $50 gift card to the person who has the highest percentage of customers sign up for our mailing list on Friday through Sunday. I went in with guns blazing. I got around 90-95% of my customers to sign up the first day. Upon turning in all of my mailing list slips, my front end manager was ultra impressed.
MANAGER: Holy crap, you got this many customers to sign up?
ME: Yep! I want that gift card. Free wine and beer.
MANAGER: Well keep this up and you'll win that contest next weekend, for sure!
ME: Um...........................................................................it didn't start today?
MANAGER: Next weekend.
I officially don't give a crap about this contest.
Cute Guy, Maybe
I think I read something at some point from a Sociology book about how our attractions toward others are shifted and altered by proximity, exposure and environment. So, maybe I only found this guy attractive because he is the only good looking one working in the store, not because he is Don Draper. It could have also been because he was five registers away and I couldn't see him clearly, a "buen lejos" (good from far away), as a friend used to call guys who are cuter from the other side of the room. I decided to say hi, with the intent to maybe flirt if I discovered he wasn't a weirdo. As I greeted him, he began to check out a customer's groceries and I helped bag. After the customer left I asked about how busy the store had been so far and how new was he to the job. He replied, animatedly, but with his back facing me. Was he actually responding to me or was he having a conversation with an invisible person? Should I leave them alone? Hmm. I later found out he is the son or grandson of the president of the company. He doesn't really converse with anyone, I learned. The dichotomy among the cashiers, as far as how kind people are, was becoming more clear with each new person I met. It is disappointing to find that there are people who are not cool or fun to be around. Thankfully, there are more pleasant people than there are unpleasant.
Freckles
ME: [to a young girl standing in line waiting for her parents to load groceries on the belt, I smiled] Hi there! I think you have the cutest freckles!
LITTLE GIRL: [instantly frowns, followed by a dirty look]
MY INNER MONOLOGUE: Ummm, shit. Say something else!!!!
ME: Are you enjoying your vacation?
LITTLE GIRL: [smiles (thank goodness)] Yes!
ME: What grade are you in?
LITTLE GIRL: Goin' into second gwade.
ME: Cool! What is your favorite subject?
LITTLE GIRL: Eatin'!
Then we laughed. Whew...
I have never understood how anyone could not like their freckles. I think they are unique and beautiful and super adorable on kids. Later in the day another customer came in whose daughter was as freckled as the last kid. I made the same compliment. The little girl thanked me. So did the mom, as she had the same freckles her daughter had. I told her about the previously mentioned kid and the mom responded with an "Aww..." I found out that when the daughter asked her mom about her freckles, the mom told her they are the stars in the sky that have fallen to rest on her shoulders. That is a sweet mom.
Update: Cake Eyes
I was yet to look Cake Eyes in the shadow. She still had not said hello or smiled at me, but I haven't exactly made any efforts to be nice to her. She smiles at others and many of the customers love her, so I knew there is a cool lady in there somewhere. Surely she couldn't strongly dislike me for showing up late once. I went to pick up baskets and put them away and when I crossed paths with Cake Eyes I smiled and said hi. She smiled too and responded with a hello! Wow, a little bit of tension released.
Doin' Good in Texas
"How are you doing?" is the first question I ask all of my customers, but rather than responding with, "I'm doing well," or "I'm alright," the majority of people here respond with, "Doin' good." Often it is said twice, "Doin' good. Doin' good." You may laugh, but sometimes the longer you hear a certain colloquial phrase, no matter how poor the grammar, you begin to speak that way as well. I found myself answering the same question from my customers with a "Doin' good." At first I wanted to slap myself in the face immediately after I say it, but I have gotten over it. When in Rome...
I met Speedy on the first day of work. I noticed she liked to check out groceries very incredibly fast. Good for her. I'm not going to do that shit. She must always be doing something at all times. She prides herself on being "better" (meaning: faster) than everyone else at this job. She wasn't very talkative or minutely sociable so I moved to another cashier. Today, she was in the register behind me. No small talk. Not mean, but not nice either. No fun. She has the pride of Pedantic Joe, but lacks the kindness. She has the one word replies of Copy Cat, but not because she is shy (or socially awkward) but because she doesn't want to talk to you. On a scale of bearable to unbearable people I don't prefer to work near, she leans toward unbearable. I wonder if this is an initial period of "player hatin'" for new employees. I have a feeling Speedy will turn around. Being this negative has to be too tiring for her to keep it up.
Old Man #2
ME: Hi! How are you doing today?
OLD MAN: I am fantastic!
ME: Wow, it's so refreshing to see a really happy person.
OLD MAN: Darling, at my age? I'm just thrilled to be alive!
He winked, and smiled the sweetest smile I had ever seen. Everyone should be just as thrilled to be alive, everyday.
Cashier Contest
Holy shit. Cashier contest. I love these. The co-op I worked for in Indiana had a cashier contest to raise the money for the Hoosier Hills food bank. I raised the most, something like $1200 by myself and won a gift basket with a gift card to the co-op. The prize, at this current store I work for, is a $50 gift card to the person who has the highest percentage of customers sign up for our mailing list on Friday through Sunday. I went in with guns blazing. I got around 90-95% of my customers to sign up the first day. Upon turning in all of my mailing list slips, my front end manager was ultra impressed.
MANAGER: Holy crap, you got this many customers to sign up?
ME: Yep! I want that gift card. Free wine and beer.
MANAGER: Well keep this up and you'll win that contest next weekend, for sure!
ME: Um...........................................................................it didn't start today?
MANAGER: Next weekend.
I officially don't give a crap about this contest.
Cute Guy, Maybe
I think I read something at some point from a Sociology book about how our attractions toward others are shifted and altered by proximity, exposure and environment. So, maybe I only found this guy attractive because he is the only good looking one working in the store, not because he is Don Draper. It could have also been because he was five registers away and I couldn't see him clearly, a "buen lejos" (good from far away), as a friend used to call guys who are cuter from the other side of the room. I decided to say hi, with the intent to maybe flirt if I discovered he wasn't a weirdo. As I greeted him, he began to check out a customer's groceries and I helped bag. After the customer left I asked about how busy the store had been so far and how new was he to the job. He replied, animatedly, but with his back facing me. Was he actually responding to me or was he having a conversation with an invisible person? Should I leave them alone? Hmm. I later found out he is the son or grandson of the president of the company. He doesn't really converse with anyone, I learned. The dichotomy among the cashiers, as far as how kind people are, was becoming more clear with each new person I met. It is disappointing to find that there are people who are not cool or fun to be around. Thankfully, there are more pleasant people than there are unpleasant.
Freckles
ME: [to a young girl standing in line waiting for her parents to load groceries on the belt, I smiled] Hi there! I think you have the cutest freckles!
LITTLE GIRL: [instantly frowns, followed by a dirty look]
MY INNER MONOLOGUE: Ummm, shit. Say something else!!!!
ME: Are you enjoying your vacation?
LITTLE GIRL: [smiles (thank goodness)] Yes!
ME: What grade are you in?
LITTLE GIRL: Goin' into second gwade.
ME: Cool! What is your favorite subject?
LITTLE GIRL: Eatin'!
Then we laughed. Whew...
I have never understood how anyone could not like their freckles. I think they are unique and beautiful and super adorable on kids. Later in the day another customer came in whose daughter was as freckled as the last kid. I made the same compliment. The little girl thanked me. So did the mom, as she had the same freckles her daughter had. I told her about the previously mentioned kid and the mom responded with an "Aww..." I found out that when the daughter asked her mom about her freckles, the mom told her they are the stars in the sky that have fallen to rest on her shoulders. That is a sweet mom.
Update: Cake Eyes
I was yet to look Cake Eyes in the shadow. She still had not said hello or smiled at me, but I haven't exactly made any efforts to be nice to her. She smiles at others and many of the customers love her, so I knew there is a cool lady in there somewhere. Surely she couldn't strongly dislike me for showing up late once. I went to pick up baskets and put them away and when I crossed paths with Cake Eyes I smiled and said hi. She smiled too and responded with a hello! Wow, a little bit of tension released.
Doin' Good in Texas
"How are you doing?" is the first question I ask all of my customers, but rather than responding with, "I'm doing well," or "I'm alright," the majority of people here respond with, "Doin' good." Often it is said twice, "Doin' good. Doin' good." You may laugh, but sometimes the longer you hear a certain colloquial phrase, no matter how poor the grammar, you begin to speak that way as well. I found myself answering the same question from my customers with a "Doin' good." At first I wanted to slap myself in the face immediately after I say it, but I have gotten over it. When in Rome...
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