Now now, corporations of Subway. Before you hunt down my account and find out who I truly am (and then probably fire me), I just want to point out that I like my job, okay >.> Just not the customers.
For the rest of you non-subway owners...If you ever came into subway and were mean to me over the past 2 years...you'll definitely be mentioned here. I don't know your names though, so don't worry about me 'exposing you' or whatever. *Sucks in air through teeth* That doesn't sound good out of context. Please, read the passage twice if your mind is stuck in the gutter.
ONTO THE FIRST STORY.
So, there I was standing in the small backspace of subway doing what I did everyday. Wiping things down, or sweeping the floor because my coworkers can't seem to keep their gloves and veggies in the right containers. A lovely old lady came in wanting, if you can believe it, a sandwich. A coworker of mine was already pulling on the plastic protective pieces for his hands, and making his way to end of the line to help her.
I figured he didn't need help with a single sandwich and left the front to take care of something in the back. I could hear her asking for her veggies and such, just like any other customer. She smiled, joked with my coworker, and was just friendly in general. She paid for her food and had ordered a drink (How would be able to eat her food without her drink, am I right?).
This was when things really went downhill. In the middle of summer, people want refreshing things like water and iced tea. Subway just so happens to sell the very iced tea everyone seeks, and you can well imagine that by the end of the day (at a very busy Subway) sometimes we would be out.
It had to be the unsweetened iced tea, didn't it? She turned pressed that lever and when nothing came out she just stood there, staring at it for a moment as if she was contemplating all of her life choices. I imagine one of those decisions she ran over in her mind was buying that $2 cup only to not be able to get the drink she wanted.
She stepped over to the counter and my coworker was saying something to her that I couldn't hear. It didn't look like she was particularly upset, but when he nodded and turned back around with his eyes widened like he'd just been shot I grew worried.
"We're all out of tea." He told me. I, being the good citizen I am, offered to go make some more for her. A he passed me he said two things that only confused me more. "Be careful."
As worried as it made me, I grabbed the required items to give this lady her tea fix and made my way out to the front where she was standing near the tables by the tea machine. At first I thought she was not going to say anything, but then she opened her mouth as I got closer.
"This is unacceptable! As a restaurant you shouldn't be running out of tea!" Harmless enough right? No. It didn't end there.
"I'm sorry ma'am. I'll make some right now." and what she said next managed to shock me a little. Poor newbie me had never dealt with such an angry customer before (I had only been working for a month or two at the most).
"Damn right you will."
WHAT.
"I shouldn't have to come in here and wait for my drink! What the hell is wrong with places these days!?" She was so angry about this tea. I understood to a degree, but then I lost my ability to empathize and understand after saying the next sentence.
"I know, I agree with you. Oh, just a warning. The tea is gonna be a little warm when it's done so you'll need to get ice." I had never seen someone's face glass over with fury as quickly as hers had. I thought that I was being helpful and informative. I was being polite like I was supposed to, and treating her kindly...but it didn't stop the mad rage inside of her from blowing up on me like a canon that was backed up.
"WHAT KIND OF IDIOT DOESN'T KNOW THAT TEA IS HOT WHEN IT'S MADE!?" I stared at her, unsure of how to react at all. I didn't have time to, though. She stomped up to me, arms flailing in the air, screaming in my face. (I'm not kidding. Any closer and I would have been able to touch her nose to mine.) "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?"
"I...I'm sorry ma'am. I just wanted to let you know..." I wasn't sure at this point if I wanted to laugh or cry, but for the moment I was blank-faced. I was shook at her explosion.
"I'm not stupid! How dare you sit here and tell me the tea is going to be warm! You're insulting my intelligence!" After several seconds of me leaning back on my heels she moved away and sat in the chair, still yelling about it. I couldn't do anything but get back to making the tea. I caught sight of my coworkers in the back, each and every one of them looking at me with pity and shock. It must have looked as bad as it felt to be in the situation based on their expressions.
"Um...the tea will be done in a bit. We'll make sure to let you know." I told her, still a little worried she was going to yell at me again. She didn't yell, but she gave me the nastiest glare I have ever seen and said,
"I get that you were probably trying to be helpful, but you insulted my intelligence. Why wouldn't I know the tea is going to be hot? You need to work on thinking before you speak. You're just plain rude." And with that I apologize as earnestly as I could while struggling deeply to stifle the laughter that wanted to escape me suddenly. With that, I left her to wait for her tea.
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For those of you who made it this far and want a little more...I never told her the tea was done, and she waited for a long time. It's okay though, because she had a newspaper to keep her busy u_u
