To the Cashier That Made Me Completely Speechless – Kudos to You
It was a day of rest, and I found myself in a foul mood, filling up the family car. This was a typical gas station that doubles as a supermarket, which often leads of joining a queue customers carrying goods of somewhat expensive items. This is a dreadful thing to unfold when your only desire is to get gasoline and leave. Terrible.
My position was fourth in the waiting line. Just one person serving, a female attendant. A peculiar quality in her demeanor. After the ditherer at the head of the line had finally paid for his purchases, a baked snack, and some breakfast items, I could have sworn I heard the cashier wish him an excellent day. Odd. Perhaps I’d misheard, or maybe she did say it and used a mocking tone. I pondered if she could even be an ally in my fight against faff, sharing my contempt for people who hold up people just getting gas like me.
I moved up, now third in line. The new leader of our line finished pumping gas with notable efficiency. Again, the phrase came: “Wishing you a marvelous day.” No, actually, it was “have a wonderful day”. An American? Here in Stourbridge? She had the accent, and no British person tells people those exact words, or simply a good day. Quite out of place. You don’t get many Americans visiting this town, and definitely not holding jobs in fueling spots or elsewhere.
Now I stood second. Behind a poor older woman dealing with a protracted effort with her shopping cart, her groceries, her purse and her rewards card. It went on for ever. When she was done, the woman also got told an excellent day. Yes, American for sure. Confirming it was possible by saying something hilarious in her direction, to check for that thing their typical stare, without a smile, and state very earnestly: “You are very amusing.” Yet no idea came of a funny comment to say.
In the end, I embraced the heartfelt tone – or an impersonation of it, that equates to identical in effect – as she gazed me right in the eye, deep into my soul, and wished me an awesome day. It improved my mood. It was a good thing.
