This Scares The Hell Out Of Me

Humble Readers,

I came across this story online a couple of days ago, and it just blows my mind. 

The gist of it is that presumably a group of kids, incensed that one of their neighbours didn't hand out Halloween candy, wrote him a letter of complaint.  Here's what the letter said (spelling/grammar is copied verbatim from the letter):

Dear Mister:

Just in case you didn't know, last night was Hallo'ween.  The lady who lived there before made us candy apples.  Last night there were no candy apples.  Come to think of it there was no candy at all from your home!
We think that is just wrong and would like you to rectify this for next year. 
Chocolate bars would be ok since you are a mister and probably don't know how to make Miss Toby's candy apples. 
Chips we get too much of.
Thanks

Children of the Hood...

Ps:  Don't give us apples we're not allowed to eat anything that isn't packaged.
If you feel bad, you can deliver the candy to us all on the weekend.  Maybe Sat, we are all pretty much out of candy by then, and it's cheap to buy now.

I am absolutely appalled that any kid would write and deliver such a letter.  It seems clear to me that the parents were involved, at least a bit, as the language of the letter doesn't strike me as that of an elementary school or middle school student.  It sounds like an adult trying to sound like a kid. 

The attitude of entitlement and greed exhibited by these kids (and their parents) is shocking, and honestly it scares me for the type of world in which Ginny and Halfling 2.0 are going to grow up.  I hope and pray that my Beloved and I will be able to instill an attitude of thankfulness and understanding in our children. 

(I think this qualifies for Kristin's WTF Wednesday, don't you?)



I have another post percolating about the culture of false fairness that seems to have developed over the last few years.  It seems to tie in with this one, but I need to think it through a little bit more before I put it out there.

The Hobbit Vs The World: Where Have All The "Excuse Me's" Gone?

Good Evening Humble Readers...

This post has been percolating for a while, and I hope you will bear with me.  I have ranted about some of these things before, but I need to revisit for the sake of my sanity.

You are probably aware that I work in retail.  In general I love my job.  I enjoy interacting with our customers, and I enjoy our staff.  I know I gripe a fair bit about work, but really, there aren't many other jobs that I think I would enjoy as much. 

But one of the things that I love about the job also makes me want to tear my hair out... the customers.  I could go on and on about how the customer is NOT always right, and some of the loony things that I have experienced over the years, but that's not the point today. 

Today I'm talking about manners...

Now, it may be because I am a large hobbit and I take up a fair bit of space, but I think everyone appreciates their personal space.  So when meandering the aisles of my store, why do customers find it acceptable to push past me without saying 'excuse me'?  Why do they think it's okay to practically knock me over (as happened two days ago, without so much as an apology) to get by?  If they were to simply do the polite thing and let me know they are there, I would gladly get out of their way!

And when someone needs assistance and I am focused on tidying up a shelf, why don't they speak up, say 'excuse me' and ask for help?  Why do they feel it's alright to either tap me on the shoulder & scare the bejeepers out of me, or just stand there staring at me until I get that creepy feeling of someone watching me?  All they have to do is say 'excuse me' and I would be happy to help them. 

Do not even get me started on the people who snap their fingers at me, or start our conversation with 'hey you'.

People who work in retail are not less intelligent than anyone else, and do not deserve to be treated with anything less than the same respect anyone hopes for in their work. 

I will confess, the way I am treated by a customer is directly related with the quality of service I give them.  I'm much more inclined to be go above and beyond for someone who treats me with dignity and respect. 

My mom always taught me to treat others as I want to be treated.  It's just good common sense. 

Okay, rant over.

Whatever Happened To Miss Manners?

I have been growing more and more cynical about our society over recent years. Maybe I'm hitting that age where everything isn't as good as it was when I was a kid. Maybe I'm destined to be a grouchy old bat who yells at little kids (please God, I hope not!). Maybe my expectations are just too high. Maybe I've just worked in retail too long.

What is wrong with people? Where have all their manners gone?

No one says thank you. No one says excuse me. No one picks up after themselves.

Let me give you an example of how far our society has fallen. A few nights ago, Valentine's Day actually, my Beloved and I went to a movie. I knew that the main theater in our small city has notoriously slow lines for tickets and concessions, so I planned accordingly. We arrived early and my Darling One got in the concession line while I stood in the ticket holders line outside the theater. While in line people pushed past me to get to the ladies room without so much as an 'excuse me' or a 'sorry'.

Then there were the 'crowders'. You know who they are. The people who have no understanding of personal space and persist in bumping you with their elbows or purse or whatever while they are in line behind you. No matter how many half-steps forward you take to move away from them, they just take it as a cue to move even closer.

And once I was finally in the theater, things went from bad to worse. First there was the man behind us who was loudly shoveling popcorn into his mouth... and chewing with his mouth open. *ICK* There were the two teenage girls sitting two rows in front of us texting each other throughout the entire movie. Then we were serenaded by a chorus of burps and belches and other disgusting chewing sounds from every side. And finally, there was the I-need-to-pee-every-ten-minutes-because-I-just-drank-a-large-Coke girl in our row.

People, the movie theater is not your living room! If you are that free with your bodily functions in the privacy of your own home, that's one thing. But please, don't subject the rest of us to it!

Another area that continues to shock me is people's behavior in a retail environment. I know that I am jaded in this area but sometimes people can still amaze me in their lack of manners. People interupt conversations, they snap their fingers at me when they want assistance, they pull product off the shelf and leave it on the floor. They get grumpy at me when I ask that they return to the coffee shop in our store to get a lid for their drink (Hello... our product is paper... one drop of your venti half-caff mocha with extra caramel drizzle and a book is ruined!). Then there are the ones refuse to get a lid, spill their coffee, and don't bother to clean it up or even ask for help in cleaning it up. People use language that twenty years ago would have had them banned from any store, and they verbally abuse my staff (no, a 16 year old cashier is not resposible for the difference in Canadian and American pricing and calling her a b*tch isn't going to get you anywhere except escorted out of my store).

And my personal favorite... parents who bring their children into our store, plunk them down in front of the toy table in our kids department, and then wander off to go look for something on the other side of the store. We are not babysitters! Heaven help us if something happens to one of these little abandoned angels while mommy is off perusing Oprah's latest pick.

Ok, so this post has wandered a bit. Basically, it comes down to three things...

Say Please!

Say Thank you!

Live the Golden Rule!

(And for those who have forgotten... Do unto others as you would have done unto you!)

Ok, rant over... for now.