Man Insists He’s Too Busy To Wait In The Line, So The Employees Make Him Wait Until The Entire Line Has Been Served
by Ryan McCarthy
Waiting in line is one of the unfortunate realities of the modern human existence. Whether its traffic, or during an errand, or waiting for a table, everyone has to wait their turn.
But some people feel like they’re somehow better than the rest of us, that since they don’t like waiting in line, they shouldn’t have to.
And when you witness one of these monsters in person, it feels like an episode of Seinfeld, like someone has egregiously broken the rules of society right in front of you!
But this user’s workplace got their revenge on a line-skipper by making him wait over 40 minutes until everyone in the line had been served, only to reveal they actually couldn’t help him in store!
Check it out!
Too busy to queue? OK, enjoy your 40 minute wait.
I worked security for a popular phone company in Dublin city centre. It’s the flagship store and it gets very busy.
We have this one guy, I’ll call Mark, mostly because it’s his name. He is rude, entitled, and ignorant.
He comes in one day when there is a queue of maybe 6 people and walks right passed it. I call him, he stops and I tell him to join the queue.
He tells me he’s too busy and needs to speak with someone. I’m about to approach him when the manager looks at me and gives me a reassuring nod. He’s got this.
But Mark may have wanted to just brave the line, because the manager was not in the mood that day.
So Mark walks straight to the manager who is clearly doing some managerial stuff and the manager tells him to wait, he’s clearly busy.
It’s Ramadan so the manager is fasting and in not a great mood. I’m waiting nearby because I can feel this is going to kick off.
The manager is hangry, and you can smell the food from the upstairs break room wafting down like the harbinger of tastiness and/or hypoglycemic rage.
I know the manager will probably kick off as bad as Mark will.
But as time ticked on, Mark still hadn’t been waited on.
I wait about 10 minutes, my eyes darting between the rest of the shop and the two would-be culprits. I see the manager put his pen down and close the log book thingy he was working on.
Still looking down, he takes a deep breath and looks up with a smile. Mark steps forward and the manager puts his hand up.
“Not you, I’ll serve the ones in the queue first.” He says in his sternest but professional voice.
“Fine.” Is all Mark can say, giving me a serious amount of side-eye. At this point the queue had grown to over 15 people.
I had to move away from that side of the shop to keep an eye on everything else. Mark looks at me and I tell him (again) to join the queue.
Reader, do you think Mark took this opportunity to join the queue?
“No. I’m OK.” Is all he manages to get out. Fine then, wait outside the queue.
Every time the manager finishes with a customer, Mark takes a step forward only to be rebuffed by a hand wave.
The manager alternates between this and directly addressing the next customer to come to him.
But the manager was his only option, because his luck had run out with the rest of the staff!
Mark won’t go to the other member of staff because she has made an absolute show of him in public. Mark is a creep and up until then was barely tolerated by staff.
He knows better than to try her. So Mark waits. And waits.
People come and go, Mark sighs loudly every time the queue grows. He mutters something every time the manager tells him to wait.
And after the line had finally dwindled down to one person, it looked like the end was in sight for Mark.
40 minutes go by and the queue is down to one person. The manager goes for a glass of water and its just me, Mark, the other staff member, and the customer.
He is fuming. His fat face is pure red and he is clenching his fists.
I slowly walk near him and stand nearby, he knows to keep his mouth shut around me so I watch him quietly burn in impotent rage like an incense cone.
The customer leaves and he stomps to the staff member who gives him a look and says “What?”. This woman has negative time for him and less patience.
She’s a lovely woman and a great member of staff otherwise, this is just how crappy Mark is of a person.
Mark starts to blather on about an issue. The staff sits there for five minutes and let’s him rant. It’s vaguely offensive but he knows better to insult the staff directly.
But after all of his waiting, the staff member told Mark that they couldn’t even help him with his problem, and that he would have to call support!
When he finally finishes, she just tells him that’s a contract issue and to ring the call centre. Technically she could have helped but didn’t have to.
Mark gets mad. He demands the manager. A staff member that was working the floor goes up. Take his sweet time.
Comes back down with a cup of tea for himself and the other staff member. Sits down and tells Mark the manager is on lunch.
Queue a bunch of insults and slurs and I ask him to leave. He squares up to me. He doesn’t even reach my chest.
I struggle to keep a straight face as the staff start giggling and he slinks out.
Have to admit, not an ounce of sympathy in my body for this man. If you don’t respect the rules of the line, you have to suffer the consequences!
Reddit loved the chemistry of this workplace, and said it was amazing they all had each other’s backs.
And this user said nothing felt better than being able to put a jerk in his place.
And finally, this user said that if everyone was required to work retail or customer service, then maybe they would treat service workers with respect!
What did we learn from this story? No one is above the line! No one!
If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.
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