(Note: This is the edited version of my recent facebook rant)
On a daily basis we get to see a lot of unethical behaviours in public places in India. Department stores – even the up market ones in our cities – are no exception in this regard either.
The following are some of the common scenes at super market check-out counters in Bangalore and perhaps elsewhere in India as well. On your bad day, you get to see all three of these idiots at once – just like I experienced earlier this week.
IDIOT #1 is being attended by the tardy checker. When he has to pay his bill of around 2000 rupees, he first gives 1000 rupees in currency and pulls out two or three SODEXO pass books in the lowest possible denominations. He then starts tearing a few from each book, counts them, re-checks twice and sees that it’s not sufficient. He checks his wallet again for change, finds nothing and ask his wife – who has already proceeded ahead – for another 200! And you know how long it’s going to take further from that moment. That’s a good 5 minutes per customer, Thank you idiot!
IDIOT #2 is a lady, right behind the first character, who seems to be stocking up supplies good enough for 3 months for all famine hit regions in Uganda. While she’s about to shift her things from the shopping cart to the counter, she gets a call on her smart phone which is lying somewhere in her Santa bag. With great difficulty she finds it, swipes thrice to pick the call and in the process forgets the priority job. When the checker reminds her twice, she relents but with the phone in right hand, starts transferring the shopping cart items one at a time using her left hand. Needless to say, in between the call she pauses the left hand task to pick an argument on the phone. At the end, she almost matches the record set by the first idiot. Wait, is she pulling out the Sodexo passes too? What an irresponsible idiot!
IDIOT #3 is nowhere in the scene so far. But when it’s your turn and when the checker has almost started attending you, this idiot appears from nowhere and utters “Only three items saaar, Can I? “. One can understand if it’s an old person or physically challenged individual but hey, that’s not the case! It’s just another idiot who has not even learned what a ‘Queue’ is forget alone the sign boards there in. And in all probabilities, you must have seen the same idiot skipping the queue at the vegetable weighing/tagging counter as well a short while ago. What a PITA (Pain In The …)!
Thank you Idiots for making my day!
sigh…
I have found some idiots in parking lots as well. This one time when I was in Mangalore and was trying to get out of a parking lot from a mall. I had 10 minutes left in the current hour.
A terrible driver is ahead of me and he tries to get out with much difficulty. So I am 4th in queue to check out and this driver is second and with difficulty moves out of the lot. Now its the turn for the driver in front of me and he just realized that he need to show the ticket. He is looking everywhere and then looking for change. Like wt-fudge. He was waiting for 5 minutes or so and didn’t have time to find the damn ticket?
I was pushed to the next hour and had to pay for his stupidity.
Arun, yeah it happens in parking lots too and probably anywhere else where queue system is in place. Sometimes people even storm in their vehicles to spaces that you have just found and about to pullover.
I want to add Idiot 4 and Idiot 5.
IDIOT 4: Brings a family member extra to be standing on the queue empty handed and holds the number while the shopping is on the backend. The extra member is a big idiot since he is passes turns in queue in anticipation for almost 1 – 2 hours. Finally when the cart fully loaded comes he gives his place to the Paying member. Shamelessly these all guys will stand in queue and stare at the following family in the queue with WTF!! look.
IDIOT 5: Final and Shameless of all they should be awarded at Hall of Shame in every store. Either husband or wife will continuously dump one or two items in the cart while the cart is in queue and knowing following people in queue will not like this continuous queue. If you happen to argue they would like for This I will stand again in queue. Happened to me once and I said of course u moron. But luckily I got good backing from crowd that day so counter guy told either u move ur entire cart to end or u pick up additional things or items and stand in queue.