People in customer service positions have to put up with a lot. Unfortunately, people can be quite rude, and it takes a special type of person to remain cheerful.

In today’s story, a Disneyland employee keeps his cheerful attitude even though there are park guests mocking him. In the end, he is also able to get revenge, and he thinks it was completely justified.

Let’s see how the story unfolds…

Mock me and my work, then ask directions? Ok.

This happened back in the early 1980s so all dialogue is condensed and paraphrased.

I was a 19 year old (Geek, sickening all American Boy type, male) putting myself through school as a sweeper working for the Mouse in Southern California.

We Sweepers are in every public area of the park, are the most approached employees for questions (not intimidating like security, swamped like the character actors, or isolated by queues/fences/walls like the ride operators/restaurant/store personnel) and are generally knowledgeable and friendly- it is very much a customer service position.

It was a good gig and I found the Mouse good to work for.

He worked near the “Pirates of the Caribbean” attraction.

My primary work area was centered around the “Pirates of the Caribbean” attraction which is a major traffic hub in the park.

At busy times (most summer days) it was hot, crowded and by shift end you were glad it was done and ready to go home.

I was late into the last hour of my shift, the crowds had thinned out (not disappeared- that would be hours hence) but the sun was down and the night was pleasant.

I was happily cruising about keeping my area neat (Have Pan and Broom, will Travel) when a pair of thirty something males struttingly approached. Let us call them Mocker1 and Mocker2. I am me.

He was friendly despite the mockers’ criticism.

Mocker1 – “Hey sweeper, there’s some popcorn spilled up by the Haunted Mansion. Better go clean it up.”

Mocker2 laughs nastily.

That is some hundreds of yards away, in another guys area. Not only not my problem but actually, unless some danger was caused by it, I SHOULDN’T go.

Me: With a friendly smile and a nod. “Thanks, we’ll get it.”

They got even more annoying.

Mocker1: Tossing a cup on the ground (he had walked by at least 4 trash cans between where he was and the Haunted Mansion, “Here get this.”

With a flourish, I popped it into my pan with my broom.

Mocker2: In a sneering voice, “When is the 3 o’clock parade?”

This caused Mocker1 to laugh.

He answered in a cheerful way despite the attempt to annoy him.

Believe it or not, this is a very common question. One that can be heard multiple times daily. Usually it translates to “What is the parade route and when should I get there to get a good spot.”

But this was at 8:45 pm (I was off at 9) so was just meant to annoy me and to waste my time.

Me: Cheerfully, “The 3 o’clock parade will be tomorrow at 3 0’clock.”

He did the math and knew MOST people were nice.

This pair continued on, in this vein, for another 5 minutes. Asking random, generally pointless, questions, pointing out the odd cigarette butt/leaf/piece of paper and generally mocking and sneering at me, my work, and the park. Basically, mocking me for their own entertainment, and wasting my time.

I found it mildly annoying, but had long ago (this was my 2nd summer with the Mouse) realized that if 995 out of a 1000 folks are nice, and are cheerfully set on having fun, you still get the other 5.

And when park attendance ranged from 12000 (very dead) to 55000 (screaming lunacy) that meant that you had 60 to 275 jerks running around on any given day.

Knowing that helped me maintain a cheerful perspective: people are, by and large, overwhelmingly nice.

They asked the most common question…

Still, as said, it was mildly annoying.

It was at this moment that the heavens opened and a choir of angels sang “Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa” and Mocker2 asked the single most common question.

Mocker2: “Oh hey, I gotta go. Where is the bathroom?”

Mocker1: Chiming in. “Yeah, where is it?”

There were two nearby restrooms.

Now, in a surprisingly warrenlike space behind me, there was a tiny and hard to find restroom. I never sent anyone there- it was well hidden (I think dating from park construction and it was little used) only guided “Urgent cases” personally.

Nope, not this time.

The next closest was to my right across Adventureland (straight walk can’t miss it at the end) 3 minutes, less if moving urgently.

Nope.

He sent them to a far away restroom in another land.

Me: With a nod and a cheerful customer service smile, motioning with my hand for them to turn around. “Turn around, see that rail? Go to it and follow it to the right. When it ends there will be a path on the right. At the end of that Path is another path on the right. The restroom is there.”

And they set off.

I am sure that they were quite expressive when they arrived, 2 lands away halfway across the park, to the tiny elderly restroom in Fantasyland.

Ten minutes later, I was off and I never saw those two again.

He thinks his restroom directions were justified.

Jerk move?

Arguably so, I can not deny.

But I file it under “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.”

And is an example of the lack of wisdom of asking directions from, after mocking/belittling, a stranger.

The funny thing is that the two mockers probably didn’t even realize this was a form of revenge since they probably didn’t know there was a much closer (and possibly nicer) restroom.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story…

This person likes the story and the revenge.

Here’s a similar story about a gas station employee.

This reader knows which restrooms the former Disneyland employee is talking about.

An Australian reader had no idea the Pirates of the Caribbean ride predated the movies.

Yes, the sweeper swept away the mockers!

Mocking someone for doing their job is not cool.

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.