Times *I've* confronted people (strangers) for being rude...

by Kudra 53 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Kudra

  Here are two instances where I had had enough and confronted people when they were being rude. Was I over the top?? I am sure you will let me know!

  Instance 1.

  I was at the supermarket and there was a group of kids (~17-19 years old), wanna-be hoodlums, hangin out in the produce section and two or so of them were eating sunflower seeds and spiting them on the floor.

  I said in a loud voice (I was ~10 ft away) "hey- are you throwing shit on the floor?!" They looked up, kind of taken aback. I said "You're just throwing trash on the floor for someone else to clean up??" They kind of grinned and mumbled yeah... I said "who do you think is going to clean that up? Do you want to throw your trash on the floor in front of a worker here?!?" They seemed to be trying to be macho and mumbled "yeah" again. By this time I was yelling at them. People were looking on, interestedly...

  The kids uncomfortably left. Later I passed them in one of the aisles and glared at them and they wouldn't make eye contact. An onlooker that watched the inital confrontation gave me a smile.

  Instance 2.

  This falls into my category of major pet peeves. My unbrella pet peeve is people who are rude to service workers- people who won't make eye contact with wait-staff, people who don't say thank you when given a drink or food or tickets etc, people who don't smile at construction flaggers etc, you get the idea.

  This sub-pet peeve is about people who don't put things back on the rack when they knock them off in the store. You know, folks who take a shirt to look at off of the rack and just let it drop on the floor. It happens a lot.

  So, I was in a department store and I see a girl taking shoes down to try on and even though the spot on the rack is right in front of her she just lets them fall on the floor and goes on to the next shoes she want to looks at. She is ~15-20 years old.

  I say "oh, are you done with those?" She says, "oh, yes", thinking that I am wanting to try them on next. So then I say, "Well then put them back where you found them. Do you think that the workers here are just waiting to clean up after you? Do you think they're here to just clean up after your mess?" I didn't yell at her but I am sure I sounded pissed off. She actually looked embarassed and put the shoes back on the rack. I guess it was a productive encounter...

  Anyhow, let me know what you think... I believe that I would behave in the same way if I were in similar situations again. Unless someone here has good reasons to persuade me otherwise.

  I am sick of people not being responsible citizens- throwing their trash on the street, cutting in front of people...

  -K
• 

  SixofNine

  You're my gyro.
• 

  beksbks

  I can't disagree with you at all Kudra. I have a couple of pet peeves my self.

  As a person who has worked in customer service in one way or another my whole life, I am particularly irritated with workers who only have a job because of customers, yet act as though the customer is a bother. Customer service is just an extension of polite manners in my book.

  The other, is being interrupted when I (as the employee) am with a customer. The Library I was at previously was really bad for that. I would look the person in the eye, and say something like "I am with this customer right now, I'll be with you in a moment".
• 

  VIII

  So, were you in menopause or on your period in either case?

  I only ask because that seems to be the blanket excuse when female confrontation occurs? ( I did read that thread about the library, btw)

  Personally, confronting teenagers, in this day and age, could get you shot. I wouldn't. Telling people how they should act never seems like a good idea.

  Which is different from intervening if you see someone being hurt or someone in need of help.

  Trying to get people to act to my personal standard of what I feel is *good behavior* is a waste of energy.
• 

  Kudra

  I think, in general, people feel a lot of entitlement- they act like infants- throwing their shit around and expecting others to clean up after them.

  I see a lot of this attitude in my universtiy town. These richy-rich kids come here and rent these houses and trash them- there is literally garbage everywhere, in their yards, in the street in front of their house while their brand new BMWs, Land Rovers and Mercedes SUVs are parked right in their driveways.

  Its like at home, everything was done for them and now they can't even handle themselves.

  I've called the "garbage police" and reported the ones who do this in my neighborhood.

  I swear I am turning into the crazy lady who goes around yelling at everyone!

  I have had many more "encounters" like the two in my initial post...

  -K
• 

  Kudra

  VII -yes- I thought about the posibility at the store when I confronted the kids. It seemed safe to me though... Could have been foolish...

  And hah- no PMS or anything. >:-E

  Sometime I feel like th guy from the movie Network- "I'm mad and I'm not gonna take it anymore!!"

  ...he would never get blamed for anything as insignificant as PMS...
• 

  SixofNine

  Oh, and #1 (it's like people tossing their ciggy butts) is a little more clear cut than #2, imo (although I just think you learn about people from the way they treat service workers - you can't force someone to have character). But yeah, people should leave things as they found them where possible.
• 

  Kudra

  One of my friends was at a stoplight and this guy tossed a cig butt out onto the street and my friend junped out of his car (it ws an open jeep) and tossed the cig butt back into the guys car and said "don't throw your trash on my street" before the light turned red.

  Could have been dangerous -but I love that kind of stuff...
• 

  aSphereisnotaCircle

  The other, is being interrupted when I (as the employee) am with a customer. The Library I was at previously was really bad for that. I would look the person in the eye, and say something like "I am with this customer right now, I'll be with you in a moment".

  I really appreciate it when a employee acknowledges my presence, even though they are with another customer.

  If they look at me and say “I will be right with you” then I can wait my turn without wondering if they even know I am there or not.

  I do not think it is rude to interupt them if the employee has not so much as even glanced in my direction.
• 

  bluecanary

  When I worked at Wal-Mart I was a cashier and HATED it. One day I got to take someone else's place facing shelves. I spent the whole day just making sure everything in my section was tidy and pulled to to the front. I LOVED it. I could get paid to do that all day. So it didn't bother me at all to find stuff on the floor or out of place and put it back because as long as I was doing that, I didn't have to be at the *%! register.