Rain Man was right
Why is it that when getting into the checkout lines at Kmart, no matter how few there are in your lane and how few items they are getting, time comes to a crashing, crushing halt?
All forces of inertia are gone, replaced by a grinding entropy that slowly dissolves the walls within that support my patience and good temper. Meanwhile the people in front of me mumble things about forgotten PIN numbers and getting them by using their phone numbers, and swiping cards that don't do anything and oh, you pressed the wrong number, as the clerk turns that theory of insanity on its head by doing the same thing over and over -- takecardswipelookblanklypushbuttons -- and yet, on the severalith time, it works.
I look over at the next lane, just one couple there, still standing there as they were when I first walked up, so that wasn't the right lane to choose either. The man stands, round-eyed and slack jawed, no doubt a person of over 100 IQ outside the store, now reduced to a helpless shell, as his clerk tries another thing that doesn't seem to work, while the supervisor looks over her shoulders, just as clueless as her charge.
Finally I reach the register with my two items. She asks if I want a Rewards Card. I ask if that was what the others were using. She says yes.
I say, no, I will not subject others behind me to the same ordeal. And naturally, the credit/debit card reader refuses to read my card.
I eventually leave, wondering, why to these stores still stand? Perhaps it would be better to have a Wal-Mart there. I know, I know, Wal-Mart is of the Devil -- but Satan is a powerful ex-angel renowned for his charisma, intelligence and efficiency. I have no idea what being is responsible for Kmart.
(I know that this doesn't exactly jibe with "Drama-Free Thursday" but it's healthy to vent, right?)
All forces of inertia are gone, replaced by a grinding entropy that slowly dissolves the walls within that support my patience and good temper. Meanwhile the people in front of me mumble things about forgotten PIN numbers and getting them by using their phone numbers, and swiping cards that don't do anything and oh, you pressed the wrong number, as the clerk turns that theory of insanity on its head by doing the same thing over and over -- takecardswipelookblanklypushbuttons -- and yet, on the severalith time, it works.
I look over at the next lane, just one couple there, still standing there as they were when I first walked up, so that wasn't the right lane to choose either. The man stands, round-eyed and slack jawed, no doubt a person of over 100 IQ outside the store, now reduced to a helpless shell, as his clerk tries another thing that doesn't seem to work, while the supervisor looks over her shoulders, just as clueless as her charge.
Finally I reach the register with my two items. She asks if I want a Rewards Card. I ask if that was what the others were using. She says yes.
I say, no, I will not subject others behind me to the same ordeal. And naturally, the credit/debit card reader refuses to read my card.
I eventually leave, wondering, why to these stores still stand? Perhaps it would be better to have a Wal-Mart there. I know, I know, Wal-Mart is of the Devil -- but Satan is a powerful ex-angel renowned for his charisma, intelligence and efficiency. I have no idea what being is responsible for Kmart.
(I know that this doesn't exactly jibe with "Drama-Free Thursday" but it's healthy to vent, right?)