Minimum Wage is Not An Excuse for Rudeness

Last night, my daughter and I went to a 24-hour Wal-mart near our home.  You would think it would be a bit quieter and a bit less crowded at 10 p.m., but it was not.  The parking lot was still full of cars.  Pallets of merchandise were all over the place.  The cleaning crew was out in full force, and the staff working the sales floor were busy restocking shelves. 

While roaming the aisles we were constantly interrupted by these sweeper and buffer machines.  We would see one coming down the aisle right at us, its operator not even bothering to apologize for almost running us over.  People moving pallets do the same thing, without so much as an “Excuse Me!”  The cashier was sullen and unfriendly, constantly asking in a resentful tone of voice if I wanted such and such items bagged.

The rudest ones of all were the women working the ladies’ apparel section.  All three of them were busily gossiping near the fitting room attendant’s station.  My daughter wanted to try some pajamas, so we patiently stood there waiting for the three of them to stop the gossiping and realize there is a customer.  They just kept on talking, trying to ignore us by not looking at us.  I finally interrupted them and said we need a fitting room unlocked.  The attendant sighed dramatically, and without so much as looking at us or saying anything, proceeded to unlock a fitting room.

I know these overnight workers at Wal-mart are not paid much, but lack of money is not an excuse for lack of manners.  I once lived in an inner-city neighborhood in a third-world country.  I’ve met unemployed bums there who were more courteous than these Wal-martians I encountered last night.