June 19, 2008

A Day in the Life

Last night, when I checked my receipts from the supermarket, I realized that the cashier must have scanned the wrong code. Either that, or one of the items I bought might have been on sale without me knowing it.

It wasn't really a major purchase, but I wanted to make sure just the same. When I went to the same cashier today, she gave me this look, shook her head and started entering and re-entering numbers. After a lifetime of punching, re-punching and coming up with the same numbers, she mumbled something about an error. Finally, she reached for the phone.

Because the hubby is waiting, and because I knew the one thing he has no patience for is, well, waiting, I asked if it was going to take long. Yes, she said, because the supervisor is still in some other station.

Can't I just pay the balance and get it over with? I asked. It was, after all, the logical thing to do. Again, the look and a snooty reply:
"Sana kasi maam hindi nyo na lang binalik, tutal hindi naman kayo ang lugi."

What???? I was almost tempted to deliver a performance worthy of a best-actress nomination. Or launch into a monologue about character and virtue and stuff that usually creep into sermons and preachings and political speeches. The thing is, why bother? And why waste (precious) energy?

So I gave her an imitation Bella Flores arching of the eyebrows, irritated her some more by drumming my fingers on the counter, clucking my tongue and tapping my foot; and recited "thou shalt not kill" over and over until the supervisor arrived.

6 comments:

Gina said...

Tsk,tsk,tsk....


I work in retail, and if I were to say that to a customer, I might as well kiss my job goodbye.

Mel said...

wow - i salute you mench for the effort to return the excess that does not belong to you. at the risk of getting the ire of the "impatient" husband hehehehe.

who was it who said that if we can't trust with the small stuff (excess cents for instance), we can't definitely be trusted with bigger stuffs.

Forever59er said...

Uhmmm ... let me guess ... that was the fool in you. :)

Abaniko said...

Bilib ako sa yo. In spite of her snooty reply, you still waited for the supervisor to pay the exact amount. Now, that's character!

Unknown said...

Oo nga naman, di ka lugi... yung amo lang niya ang nalugi. Ang galing niya ano? Tsk tsk

docemdy said...

Walang malasakit sa amo. She should have thanked you instead.