Rudeness

This encounter occurred at Walmart in downtown Colorado Springs, Monday night of the storm.

 

A woman bruskly strode up behind me and assaulted something at my ear.

I removed my headphones.

'Yes? What's up-' I began.

'You're not allowed to hook up here.' she repeated, cutting off my greeting.

I took a moment to digest the meaning of her message. She was referring to my laptop plugged into the wall outlet. Then waited for her request or demand to follow. But that's all she said, glaring down while standing over me.

She expected me to make my move, watching me like I was a criminal in violation of a moral crime so obvious that the rule needed not be posted, nor the consequences of such a violation to be clarified.

She watched for me to make an objection, to mark any note of defiance that would betray me to be the scoundrel she sought to flush out.

I considered my options. I chalked up this woman's bruskness to a complete lack of social skills, let my affront pass, and followed through with the plan to leave if my presence was bothering anyone.

"Okay. That's fine. I'll leave then.'

Not a word of acknowledgment or polite gratitude came back from her. She turned and rudely walked away.

Not once did she greet me as a customer or a person. She just came at me with recrimination. 

She did not identify herself as a manager, or person with authority to chide me on store policy. She did not wear a visible name tag nor volunteer that information.

She did not state what she wanted of me. She did not state what rule I was in such grave violation of. "You're not allowed to hook up' is hardly a commonly stated, well known store policy.

So big deal, I sat down on a bench provided for customers, typed on my laptop with the charger plugged in. Did you come over here straightway to glare at me until I removed the plug from the company electrical outlet? Is there something else you want to say to me, that I am supposed to infer from your terse and intrusive recrimination?

Her only clear statement was in her glare, sending a message of intense loathing, 'You are a scoundrel. I despise you.'

As I headed toward the exit, I saw two employees nearby. I considered inquiring who the manager was, to discuss the store policy and assess this rude treatment I experienced. One of the employees was the rude woman! She was talking to a coworker.

When she saw me looking over, her gaze locked onto me and tracked my progress through the store. As if, were she to remove her hateful hold on me, I would rob the entire store out from under her.

I sized up her stature. She was wearing a shirt plainer and less costumed than the normal employees. She had no pressing work to occupy her hands, seeing as she was having a conversation with an employee. Perhaps this was the manager, who I sought insight from.

Not few employees had passed in view of me, and not one bothered to notice or remark on my use of the electrical outlet. I was simply drawing power adjacent to a customer bench, and my position was unobtrusive, inconsequential to their comings and goings. To my surprise, the reactions I have had in past encounters with employees in other stores encountering similar situations were to express a kick out of seeing me wield such a large laptop with clever exploitation of the electrical outlet placement.

This inelegant bitch was the first to come at me with mean vengeance.

'Excuse me sir, the store's outlets are not for customer use. Please, I'll have to ask you to conduct your business elsewhere.'

would have been the tactful, customer service -oriented response.

followed by. 'Thank you for understanding', or cooperation, or anything at all even. A grunt, a nod, an 'OK' thumb and forefinger. Nope, this bitch just got and turned away without a word.