Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Theft. Sloth. Dishonesty. All ends with Innocence.

I get four or five snide comments about my job everyday. I assume that the snide comments are made for one or both of the following reasons: the customer believes that every employee should serve them because they are special, or they are jealous because I can do whatever I want as long as I make sure to answer the phones.

I realize that as far as jobs go mine does seem pretty awesome. I mean, I sit at a desk and have to answer phones and occasionally check the cameras to make sure no funny business is going on. But in between those two tasks, I can literally do whatever I want at this desk. I can read, draw, talk on my cell phone, text, talk to people, do homework, or play on my computer. As long as I stay seated, the manager doesn't care what I get up to at my desk. The day I work behind the counter, I don't have the same freedom. But four days a week, as the receptionist, I am as free as a bird.

Because my job is just that freaking cool and laid back, I know that people are jealous and I expect the snide remarks. I didn't expect what just happened ten minutes ago.

A mother and her kid came into the store. The boy is small, maybe four years old. He has a bunch of legos in his hands. I hate it when children bring toys into any store, but especially ours. If they lose their toys somewhere in the store, they generally think they can just take one of the toys we keep here for children to play with in exchange. Sadly, that's not the way the system works. You lose your toy, that's that. We don't give out our toys. So when this boy came in with his legos, I just knew it was a bad idea.

I played my games, ignoring him and the mother as they did their business. The boy played with our toys, then took his legos off to some other location. He came back to play with iron man without the legos. When his mother was ready to leave, he went back to where he left his legos. And they weren't there. I noticed some other boys putting them in their pockets. The mother approached me, and I was prepared to tell her the other boys had the toys.

But she spoke first. "Toby, I think this girl took your legos and put them in her box."

Uh. What?

"I didn't take your legos. I don't need to play with toys, I have a computer."

And then the woman snapped at me in the most snotty voice I've ever had a woman use on me, "Oh, right. It must be so great to be able to play games all day instead of actually doing some work. Where are my son's legos?"

Excuse me, bitch?

"Actually, my job is to answer the phones, and that's all I have to do. So I am working right now, and I can play games and answer phones at the same time. I already told you I didn't take your legos. I don't know where they are."

Now, I could have still told her the other boys took them. But she'd called me lazy, accused me of stealing toys from a four year old, and by asking me where the toys were after I'd already told her I didn't take them she was calling me a liar.

Obviously, I had no intention of helping her after that. I merely repeated that I hadn't taken them, that he'd come back to play with the toys without them, and for all I knew they were laying on the floor somewhere in the store.

"Well, since he can't find his toys, can he have the iron man figure?"

This is usually the stunt the kid pulls. Adults generally know that if the kid loses something, he doesn't get it replaced. I don't know what the hell this lady was thinking, but she clearly felt some sort of entitlement.

"No, we purchase those toys for other children to use in the store. If we gave them to every kid who lost a toy, we wouldn't have any to distract children from playing with the expensive instruments."

"Well, you have his legos, so it's not like you're losing anything."

Again with the accusing me of theft.

"No, I already told you we don't have his legos. I'm sorry, but you can't have one of our toys."

She left in a huff, the kid was screaming, and I couldn't fucking care less.

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