To the Store Clerk That Left Me Completely Wordless – Kudos to You
This occurred on a Sunday morning, and I was sufficiently irritable, filling up my mum’s car. It was a typical gas station that operates as a convenience store, so you run the risk of ending up in line people bearing baskets of slightly overpriced groceries. It's an awful situation to occur when your only desire is to get gasoline and leave. Dreadful.
My position was fourth in the queue. There was only cashier operating, a youthful clerk. There was something unusual about her. Once the slowpoke at the front of the queue had finally paid for his purchases, his sausage roll, and his box of eggs, I could have sworn I heard the cashier tell him an excellent day. Strange. Could be I misunderstood, or perhaps she spoke and used a mocking tone. I wondered if perhaps she was a comrade in my battle with dithering, echoing my disdain for those who delay people just getting gas such as myself.
Advancing next, now third in line. The person ahead of our line completed her gasoline purchase with commendable speed. Again, the phrase came: “I hope you have a fantastic day.” To be precise, it was “enjoy a truly great day”. An American? In Stourbridge? She had the accent, and hardly anyone here tells people a wonderful day, or even just a nice day. Quite out of place. It's uncommon to find people from America knocking around Stourbridge, and definitely not working in petrol stations or elsewhere.
I was second now. Behind a poor older woman dealing with a right old battle with her shopping cart, her food items, her purse and her membership pass. This took an eternity. After she finished, the woman also received the wish to have a fantastic day. Definitely from the US. I might have verified it by cracking a joke in her direction, to observe that thing their typical stare, unsmilingly, and reply with genuine earnest: “That’s really funny.” However, nothing occurred of a funny comment to utter.
In the end, I embraced the genuine warmth – or a performance of it, essentially the same as the same thing – as she gazed straight at me, to my very core, and bid me to have a great day. It improved my mood. It was a good thing.
