The future of our society

[Guest PistolProof]

I know what it's like to be a teenager and work at a bullshit job just to have a few dollars in your pocket. I really do. I did it myself starting at the age of 15. I do not, however, remember being as stupidly robotic as the kids I'm running into these days.

I asked my wife to pick up two packs of Camel Wides for me on her way home from work. When she got home, she handed me a bag with two packs of Camel Lights. So, off I went to the store to get the proper tobacco products.

Upon arriving at the store, I walked up to the first register and said to the cashier, "Hi, my wife stopped in about 20 minutes ago to get two packs of Camel Wides, but she was given Camel Lights." I handed the cashier the receipt and the two packs of Lights and said, "I need to exchange these for two packs of Camel Wides."

The cashier, without even looking behind him at the rack, stated, "We don't carry those."

Ignoring my instinct to run from the store, I persevered. I gestured with my chin and said, grinning, "Yes, you do. They're right behind you next to the Pall Malls."

The cashier looked over at the rack, bent over searching for a second or two and upon spotting them, asked, "Oh. Are they the same price?"

I said, "Yes."

The cashier, now following the script he was taught, asked, "Do you have the card she paid with?"

I answered, "No."

Having reached the point in the script that says, 'CALL THE MANAGER', he picked up the phone to call the manager over the PA. The inconvenience store that I frequent is busy at this time of day and there were two people behind me in line at this point. He looked at me and determined that I needed an explanation, so he said, "I need the manager's key if they're not an even exchange."

"The Wides are the same price as the other Camels." I replied.

Apparently, once the Manager is invoked, all brain function shuts down immediately as all I received in return was a blank stare. Having dealt with me in the immediate, he seemed to be in some state of indecision between asking me to stand aside for a moment and calling for another cashier to open a register. I sensed his discomfort and was on the verge of stepping aside as I could see this was going to take some time. Just then, three or four more people queued up and triggered his 'CALL FOR HELP' script. He picked up the phone, got on the PA and called for another cashier.

Always trying to be helpful, I offered, "I just bought two packs on Saturday. They should be the same price."

The cashier gestured behind him with his head at a sign carrying the Pall Mall logo and informed me, "No, the sign says the Wides are $4.60." He then examined my receipt again and continued, "Your's are $5.44."

For some reason which escapes me, he still hadn't pulled the packs of Wides out of the rack and I began to wonder if I should switch to Lights. Again, trying to be informative and helpful, I said, "That sign is for the Pall Malls. Why don't you scan one one of the Wides?"

This seemed to annoy him and he dismissed me with, "I need the manager's key." He began drumming on the counter with a pen as I heard some mutterings of impatience behind me.

The second cashier arrived to open her register. I heard a loud sigh from the woman standing immediately behind me when she wasn't quick enough and several people standing behind her headed her off at the next register.

The manager arrived and looked at the cashier, who pointed at the two packs of Lights on the counter. She scanned her key and ignored me to begin the script from the top with the cashier. "Is he exchanging them?" She asked.

"Yes." Was the brief and simple reply.

Are they the same price?" She asked.

"No." He replied.

Following the script further, she asked, "Does he have the card he paid with?"

"No." Was the response.

Moving on to the managerial portion of the script, she fixed me with a look of disdain for the troublemaker that I am and informed him, "Well, you'll have to put it on a gift card."

Now that he again had a purpose in life, he acknowleged her direction with, "Ok" and proceeded to reach for a gift card on the rack behind him.

I tried, in futility, to move things along and said, "That won't be necessary. It's an even exchange."

But, now that he'd been given instruction by someone who obviously knows more than either of us, he ignored me, selected a gift card, transfered the balance, and completed the return. He placed the gift card on the counter between us and printed out the receipt for the return. He placed the receipt on the counter, handed me the pen he'd been drumming with and asked me to sign for the return. He, finally, reached for the two packs of Wides and rang them up. Guess what the price was?

He acknowleged his error with, "Oh, you were right."

I rolled my eyes when the woman behind me sighed again and pulled out her cellphone.

Now back in familiar territory, the cashier stated, "That'll be $11.53, please."

I stared blankly at him for a moment expecting him to reach for the gift card. He didn't, so I put my finger on it and moved it towards him. He thanked me politely.

He scanned the gift card to pay for the cigarettes, double checked the price again to make sure that I didn't owe a balance by advancing the receipt tape a few inches from the slot, and asked if I want a bag. I held up the bag from my wife's purchase that I'd had in my hand since we started this run around and said, "No, thank you."

He handed me the pile of receipts and the now depleted gift card and said, "Have a nice evening."

I pulled the receipt that I signed for the return out of the pile and held it out to him, asking if he needed it.

He said, "Oh, yeah. I definitely need that one."

I tossed the gift card in the trash on my way out of the store after wondering if I should keep it as a souvenir.

Please...help...me....

[Dorian Lasseter]

I feel your pain.... I really do....

Hell, go to any fast food joint like McDonalds or the like... The cash register has pictures on it so they don't have to think... And don't even confuse them by trying to give them exact change or something other than a solid 5, 10, 20 dollar bill....

[callenish gunner]

had the same sort of thing the other day buying a jug o' milk ...price $3.26 i handed the clerk $10.26 ....she couldn't figure the change even when the total change came up on the register why you may ask??? because she didn't have any $5 in the register to add to the 2 singles in her hand from the slot in the drawer that was overflowing with singles ....she literally had to call the manager to tell her how to solve the problem even after i had said i didn't mind it all in ones or hell even quarters .....obviously a product of selective breeding ....the offspring of two parents who stayed up all night studying to take the pregnacy test -they tossed the sticks and pissed on the box

[Captain_Jack_Sparrow]

Well thats quite a sad occurence mate, I've dealt with things of that nature in the past, but I can't pull them out of my memory at the moment.

Though I hope you haven't lost ALL faith in the youth of today, myself being one o' them.

[i'm 19, and I try not to be a dipshit]

:angry:

[LadyBarbossa]

Amen! I hear ya.

Tis sad when it's an everyday occurance.

Even worse when it's at your job and your superoirs. Or even if you try to look for another job...

Every day it's like this.

Drivers are horrible enough.

Society? What society? It's utter chaos!

Makes one wish to escape this stupidity and live like a hermit in the middle of nowhere!

I've forgotten some stupid stuff that's happened to me for a reason. I just wanted to slap folks upside the head for some random acts of stupidity.

~Lady B

:angry:

[Christine]

Ugh, yeah, some people are just not too bright. Sorry that happened to you, guess it's time to quit smoking huh? :angry:

[Captain Bob]

... guess it's time to quit smoking huh? 

Quit smoking? With stress like that he's already smoking. The cigarettes are just so people will stop asking him where all that smoke's coming from.

I am very fortunate in that I am not only very patient but derive sadistic pleasure by flummoxing the youth behind the counter by the simple act of presenting $5.03 to pay for a $4.53 purchase*. I've actually had cashiers attempt to refuse the pennies, explaining that $5 is enough. I am almost invariably rewarded with looks of astonishment when the register shows I'm owed exactly two quarters instead of the usual jumble of coins.

Occasionally a cashier will ask me how I knew that would happen. My answer? "I learned arithmatic."

~~Cap'n Bob

*Stated amount is for example purposes only. Actual amounts may vary

[PyratePhil]

LOL!!!

Pistol - ever consider a career as a stand-up comedian? You've certainly got enough material...and they say the best jokes are based on real life...

There's a discussion going on at another board I'm on about "this generation"...some folks think that each generation gets worse and worse - less polite, less respectful, less intelligent...

I said that the older generations ALWAYS like to bitch!

Remember too - I'd think most of these clerks don't WANT to be there, but HAVE to be - aren't WE bitchy at our work once in a while?

Of course, that doesn't explain the failure at arithmetic...I like the "$5.03" story - I do the same thing whenever I can - just to make people's day a little more surreal...

[Capt Grey]

The smart kids don't take those kinds of jobs.

Great story, Pistol.

However it's not just the kids that don't think. Back when I used to be a manager in a corporate job, there were some people I had to draw a friggin' map to get them to do their work correctly - and even then a couple of them couldn't do the damn job right!

And these were supposedly college educated adults.

Stupidity knows no age group.

[Winston]

Now I'm in my mid 20's so it hasn't been very long at all since I was working at the local fast food joint.

I can vouch that stupidity has no age limits....you should hear some of the stories from the OTHER side of the counter.

I was working at a Hardee's once in our town (my first job yaa! ) and it was time for my break. So I am out in the parking lot talking to one of my cousins when a lady walks out of the building and walks over to us.

"Excuse me...I'm legaly blind could you help me find my car?" She asked us.

? What...

I told the lady I don't think we could do that...she just walked around the parking lot for a minute then got into a car and left.

[Rumba Rue]

Pistolproof, my words to you are: STOP SMOKING!!!

[Dusi Sparrow]

The smart kids don't take those kinds of jobs.

Great story, Pistol.

However it's not just the kids that don't think. Back when I used to be a manager in a corporate job, there were some people I had to draw a friggin' map to get them to do their work correctly - and even then a couple of them couldn't do the damn job right!

And these were supposedly college educated adults.

Stupidity knows no age group.

Doesn't have to do with age. I know studied people who don't know how to copy properly. I'm refering to my former boss. He's a lawyer. I really was astonished to find out my new colleagues are able to copy and put paper into the empty tray of the printer. I'm still working at a lawyers office.

[Winston]

I think he represented me once lol

[Dusi Sparrow]

Don't think so. I live in Germany.

[The Doctor]

Stupidity knows no geographical nor political boundries. (Yes, I know Rumba will hang me with that statement.) My team is spread literally all over the known world, and I run into the same brand, make , and model of mouth-breathing dumb.

My fault in all of this is having built in a high degree of automation, which lulled the workers into a false sense of not having to think their way through their job. My grand design was to ultimately blow away that shell of automation, and have them think for themselves. But since they've suckled too long at the teat of automation, they can't think for themselves. I've created a monster I can no longer effectively control, not can I kill it.

Wow. Is anyone getting a sense of "Metropolis" here? I know you are, Phil.

My only hope is to step away, and let it die on it's own. All I have to do is convince a higher manager that I can bring a high degree of automation to his/her delivery, and life will be swell....

Oh, God. This cycle will repeat itself again, and again.

But the pay's not too shabby. I can live with it.

[PyratePhil]

"We shall build a tower that will reach to the stars!"

"Having conceived Babel, yet unable to build it themselves, they had thousands to build it for them. But those who toiled knew nothing of the dreams of those who planned. And the minds that planned the Tower of Babel cared nothing for the workers who built it. The hymns of praise of the few became the curses of the many - BABEL! BABEL! BABEL!

...Between the mind that plans and the hands that build there must be a Mediator, and this must be the heart."...

Yes, Jack...a slight sense of it...

[Patrick Hand]

AAAACK.... I see stupid people......

[Silkie McDonough]

"Excuse me...I'm legaly blind could you help me find my car?"

Hopefully she had corrective lenses in the car.

[Winston]

our jaws hit the ground as soon as she headed out...

[Red Dog]

I'm off to the corner now, to weep for our future. I take comfort in the fact that in my declining years, there will be an unlimited amount of gas station attendants so I don't have to pump my own gas in the rain.

Is preservation of the future, grounds for justifiable homicide? We can just categorize it as a late term abortion perhaps?