Its fun to joke about young workers trying to make change without the aid of a computer. It seems that task sends many of them into a tail spin. Fine, you're not good at math but there are other common sense situations that todays youth fail miserably at. I was unfortunate enough to be the victim of two of these unskilled laborers over the weekend.
Rocket scientist #1 is working the pass window at a major fast food chain. I had ordered and paid for a meal with a coke. At the window she offered me a diet coke. I told her that I ordered a regular coke at which time she argued with me and told me I ordered a diet. I'm not saying I don't make mistakes and there was another intervention when I placed the order so it is possible that the order was screwed up. Whats not possible is that I wanted a diet coke. I mean she could hear the words coming out of my mouth well enough to argue with me. I finally showed her the receipt and I got one of those big sighs and eye rolls that says "fine, I see you're right but you're a dick for making me give you what you actually ordered". I was asked to pull ahead. Really? She was leaning against the soda dispenser but I had to pull ahead and wait? I really am trying to be less of a dick so I pulled ahead and ate almost half my meal before they brought me that drink. If it was tampered with it didn't make me sick or at least no sicker than their untampered with food.
Rocket scientist #2 is working the big box store lumberyard. I was looking at the ceiling tile display and couldn't tell if the product hanging way up on the wall was a hard pressed board or fiberglass backed panel. When I asked for help the gal started out friendly enough. That would soon change. She pulled out her handheld computer and started punching in numbers but the answer to my question wasn't coming up. Eventually she just pointed at a box and said "there they are". Yes, there they are but are they a solid panel or a faced fiberglass product? Another sigh and she tore back the plastic and exposed the top panel to reveal the answer to my question.
Great thats what I wanted to know. How much are they?
"$6.97 each".
How many are in a case?
"32 for $111"
Does that sound right to you?
"It says right here, 32"
Yes I believe thats what it says. I'm asking if you think thats right. We can see that there is one panel per layer and that panel is just under an inch think. The box is just over a foot high. Do you think there are 32 panels in there? In a huff she violently tore open the carboard box as if to make the big reveal where I would be made to look stupid. I watched as she counted the panels and as she got closer to the end of the stack her facial expression started changing until she eventually looked like she just witnessed a Penn & Teller magic act.
Its not my place to lecture her about using common sense so I just said "Its a good thing we checked. This project would have cost me twice as much if we didn't use common sense and check the accuracy of the label. Thanks for your help".
She gave me that "what-everrrr" look.
Later she went out of her way to "get back" at the customer that bothered her by yelling at me for resting my foot on the lowest step of a nearby ladder.
"Get off that ladder! We don't allow customers on ladders!
She was technically right. I had a foot on one of those rolling platform ladders. Not to climb it but that doesn't really matter. Her point was to be right after I was so mean to her for using common sense. I guess she felt she had won against some old man but in fact she lost. What these kids don't understand is that when a company doesn't make sales due to crappy customer service, the company will eventually not be offering jobs.
I know not all young people have poor work ethics. The cream rises to the surface but these two crumbs are bottom feeders and will eventually be poured down the drain if they don't figure it out soon.
Later.
