Ms Wilson's Replacement

3: Why So Rude

"It is a wise thing to be polite; consequently, it is a stupid thing to be rude. To make enemies by unnecessary and wilful incivility is just as insane a proceeding as to set your house on fire. For politeness is like a counter--an avowedly false coin, with which it is foolish to be stingy.
~Arthur Schopenhauer

†

Six months later

“Are you even listening to me?” demands an angry voice and I snap out of my daydreaming and see a middle-aged woman looking— more like glaring at me.

Although her screaming in my face was the very reason I zoned out, I try to recover myself and be polite. “I am sorry ma’am,” I say and her pink whipped face becomes a red one.

I glance down and I see a doll on the counter before me. Yes, she was saying something about the doll. Was it malfunctioning or is she having a change of heart about it?

Remember, shit! Quynn remember.

Oh, damn!

“Ma’am, I’m sorry,” the more I apologise, the angrier she gets, what does she want from me?

I look away from her and I see the young boy standing beside her, sharing similar features with her and even he doesn't look happy. Then it hit me, she was complaining about the malfunctioning of the toy before I wandered into my thoughts.

Yes, this doll is malfunctioning!

She specifically told me that her son couldn't get the doll to talk. Not judging, but aren't girly dolls, girls toy?

“I’m sorry that the doll malfunction, take this slip and show it to the security over at the toy section and you can get another at the counter for your son.”

My answer doesn’t help decrease her anger, in fact, if she could reach over the counter and strangle my neck at my words, she would.

She seethes, but doesn’t take the slip from my hands, “My son? She's my daughter, you bitch!” She exploded, I guess I finally set her off. “I’m reporting you to the management, you’re not supposed to be at the customer care counter because you’re incompetent and paying zero attention to customers' complaints.” she fumed.

Although wanting to snap at this rude and annoying woman across the face, she happens to be a customer and as the saying goes, customers are always right. “Amongst the both of us, one has been yelling and calling the other a bitch, I think we know that is rude and uncalled for. As I said earlier, please take this slip and show it to the security at the doll section, you will be able to get a new doll for your lovely daughter and have a nice day.”

After she yanks the slip and walks away from me, I pick up the returned doll and make my way into the repair room to drop it off. I see Luke the engineer, working on another toy and he is now coupling the parts together with his screwdriver.

I drop the toy beside his table and he looks up removing the magnifying glass he has on before looking at me. A wide grin comes on his face and doesn’t leave, “Quynn Hudson.”

“Luke Dante,” I respond with a small smile and nod.

Luke is a twenty-eight-year-old mechanical engineer and one of the few friends I've been able to make in the last six months I've worked here. He's cool and one of the most down to earth guy I know.

“How’s your day going so far?”

“Just like my sense of fashion, it could be better,” I answer and he laughs out loud before shaking his head.

“You have a great humour though,” he points out.

"Oh well, whoever said the customer is always right never had a customer be rude for no damn reason before," I whine and Luke just studies me without saying a word for a while.