You need a muzzel

Sometimes, I just want to reach across the counter at the people serving me at a fast food joint and strangle them. Either they're 16 years old and have no idea what the concept of cash back means or they're in their 50's/60's working for minimum wage and hating every moment of it.

Today, I took my mother out for a day of retail therapy. She and I both needed it. We've been through a lot these last few months with people playing mind games, pitting children against us and using every means possible to track what we're doing and finding ways to push us down even more. I called her up and told her "today, we're going out!". Towards the end of our shopping spree, we both noticed that we hadn't eaten anything all day so we went to the local pretzel factory to grab in a good munchie and a drink. The older woman behind the counter took my order first (even though Mom and I were ordering together). I asked for a simple plain pretzel. My mother asked for an "almond pretzel" but when the woman reached for the pretzel in the display case, my mother stopped her. "Do you think you could give me another one? This one looks like it has been sitting for quite a while". The woman behind the counter gave her this stare that I certainly did not like; you know that look someone gives you when they think you have three heads because they can't comprehend what it is that you're asking of them. Still, she pulls the pretzel out of the case and holds it up to her face, like she was inspecting it. Looking at my mother, she just continues to stare and then turns her eyes to me. "Don't you haven't anything more recent?" I asked. "That looks old and I wouldn't want to eat it." The woman in the back preparing the other pretzels stated that we'd have to wait for about 15 minuets before another almond pretzel would be available. My mother, who is starting to become hard of hearing, asked for the young lady in the back of the room to repeat herself but since I had heard her myself, I just repeated to my mother "they won't have any for a bit". The older woman at the counter, STILL HOLDING the old almond pretzel like an idiot holds a pencil, stares at her. "Well, then do you have something else?" my mother asks. "Like what?" Asked the woman. At this point, I am getting pissed. Her tone of voice, her body language and facial expression all said to me that she thought my mother was half stupid for asking for a fresh pretzel. "We have salt pretzels." she said. My mother asked her to repeat herself one more time, as the noise in the mall was loud and even I could barely hear her. "Salt." the woman said "S. A. L. T."

When she did that, I about lost my mind! I knew then she was not going to like what I was going to say next. She even glanced at me, knowing she had crossed a line and tried a smile at me to check to see how receptive I was of her nasty and condescending tone. I did not smile back and she knew she was in trouble. After ordering up our drinks, I handed my mother the pretzels and told her to go take a seat at a table behind us, that I would be over in a moment after I treated her to her pretzels.

"$9.95" the woman said to me.

"I did not appreciate the way you spoke to me mother" I said .

"I'm sorry, I didn't know-"

"You knew exactly what you were doing, and frankly it was rude and wrong. One of these days, you're going to come across someone who won't be as reserved as I and they'll really rip you one."

I took my drinks and turned to walk away, with her shouting behind me "I'm sorry, I didn't know-"

to which I turned and said "You knew EXACTLY what you were doing and I didn't like it."

After that, she was a nervous wreck behind the counter. I was watching from my table. All of a sudden, she became this pleasant, upbeat, kind "order taker". Where was this kind, caring, laughing soul when we came to visit her? She wasn't there. Finally, telling someone off actually HAD an effect!!!

Rachel -1
Pretzel Bitch -0