Dear Editor,Honestly what is it going to take for “us” to start treating each other with a little respect? I had the most horrible experience yet in the Memorial Student Center on Sunday, October 9, around 4:15 p.m. I had to be at work by 5 p.m. in the library and I wanted to eat before I went. So one of my friends (Nada) and I, went into the MSC to grab something to eat.
As I walked through the front door and handed the woman at the register my I.D. card I realized that she was having a few problems with some of the other students just before me. While I wasn’t quite sure of what the situation was (or who was at fault for that matter) I simply overlooked the issue. I continued to walk and make comments to my friend (whom I thought was right beside me) I looked back and realized that she was still at the register.
Naturally with her being my friend I was highly concerned about what the problem was at the register, so I stepped beside my friend to ask her what’s going on? She replied, “eighteen cents…” Not understanding what she meant by that I asked her to repeat what she said. Again she, at this point highly upset, said, “Eighteen cents is all that she is saying to me. She’s not making it clear to me what she means by that and why I can’t eat.”
I kindly, (key word, kindly) asked the young lady to get a manager/supervisor who could better explain to us what the heck eighteen cents was. She completely ignored our request and didn’t respond. She then turned to the next person in line and proceeded with what she was previously doing. I waited and waited. I even waited a little longer than usually…. after all it was Sunday.
After about 15 minutes of her just ignoring our repeated request to speak to a manager I headed toward the back doors into the kitchen, all the while thinking maybe this was the perfect working environment for the girl at the register; in the back not seen by the public. Even though she was attractive her looks didn’t make up for her terrible people and customer service skills.
Upon finding the manager whom I’ve always seen working very hard, he greeted me with his usual friendly smile. Already upset I tried my best to explain the situation as best I could trying to be as un-biased as possible and still giving her the benefit of the doubt. When he and I reached her at the register she all of a sudden became very talkative and was now explaining to him what she should have been explaining to my friend in the first place. He calmly asked her to be quiet and let me re-tell the story to him right then and there in front of her. She interrupt me at every word and tried to justify her behavior by saying we should have known what she meant when she said eighteen cents. Again my friend and I tried to explain to him what happened and she get louder and louder. By this time he has been forced to raise his voice at her telling her to be quiet. She continued and at this point he had to tell her to shut up. He asked her over and over again and at this point in my personal opinion she was being disrespectful to him as her supervisor.
I soon just realized that she was obviously having a bad day before we came in. I turned to her to try and make peace and just write this off as being a form of miscommunication. Before I say anything she interrupted me and told me to have a good day!
I stormed out of there highly upset. We had no problem with what she was telling us it was how she chose to “professionally” handle the situation and how she spoke to us with no respect. I didn’t eat and I’m not sure if my friend and I will for a while unless something’s done to rectify the problem. Now that I think about it, maybe I should start a protest like the students last week and boycott the MSC food services. Oh no but where will “Ms. Cashier” work then? I could insensitively care less.
If we don’t start respecting one another then who will? If you are by chance reading this and you so happen to know who that person is or better yet you are that young “lady” all I have to say is if you were in my shoes yesterday and I was in yours do you think how you handled things was according to protocol; and if you can honestly say ‘yes’ then I gave your humanity too much credit.
–LaCheryl E. Whitlow