Working My Last Nerve

Peace.

Alright I KNOW I said I was going to support a grocery store in my own neighborhood.... And I'm trying. But they aren't working with me. See what had happened was....

Sunday morning (1/9/11) I went to BB. I wasn't paying attention to the snow that was predicted. I was just in there to pick up 4 items. That's it. I went early too. You know our people love their Jesus. I assumed that folks would either be in church or hung over from the previous evening. I know that is a broad generalization.

That store was MOBBED. People in there pushing and shoving acting like the store was giving away for free shit. People here in metro Atlanta loose their minds when snow is predicted. It's unbelievable to a Jersey Earth. We got about 4 inches that turned into ice. I missed a week of work. SMH. Anywho...

Out of the 4 things I needed, they had 2. One of the items I was shopping for that they didn't have was chickpeas. Chickpeas? Come on son... I was going to need to go to another store. And the 2 things they did have (garlic powder- $1.45 and margarine- $0.89) were mad overpriced. But I said I was going to work this challenge. ***sigh***

I got bumped around and pinned with carts. I had to suffer through people blocking whole isles while they got their foreplay on. The register line was crazy long. But that is to be expected with the amount of people in the store. And All the registers were open. One of the things I found interesting was that this grocery store does not sell magazines. So me standing at the register was painful with no chaser.

So I'm standing at the register, with an armload of groceries, there are 4 people ahead of me, one with a shitty baby, and my patience is running super thin. The cashier makes the very ghetto announcement (you know, the kind with no PA, just her raising her voice) that she will be taking her break and that we would have to get on another line. WTF????? I have a job as do millions of people. I know that employees are entitles to breaks. But I also realize that when business is busy, you either (a) Make sure you have someone to cover people when they break and/or (b) you take said break at another, less busy, time. That is common sense. That heifer walked off and so did I. I left the few groceries I had on a shelf and bounced to the nearest Publix.

Inside the Publix the store was clean, not over run, the employee were friendly and they had everything I needed in one store. A big selection too. No need to run around. I sighed, but this time in relief. I had my own bag to put groceries in and the cashier didn't say anything to the effect that I was holding the line up... like the cashier said the last time I was in Big Bear. And a young man offered to carry my bag to the car when it was clear that I didn't need him too. I was a courtesy to the shoppers.

When is January over?

I suppose I will have to work penance for bailing on the challenge. Maybe shop at BB until mid February. But I don't know why folks give our people the shitty side of the stick and we happily accept it?

I called the store for their manager twice to lobby my complaints and have been told that no manager was there and to call back. Really? You have a store open and no one is in charge? Really?

I was hoping for these updated posts to give some insight on the beauties of shopping in one's own community. I suppose I would have to move to a better community.




Peace