What Do You Use That For???

Do you ever do something simple and mundane, such as going to the grocery store, and have it turn into some sort of mind blowing, life altering, monumental experience? This past Sunday I went to the grocery store across the street from my apartment and had just such an experience. It started off rather pleasantly as I loaded up the cart to fill my fridge for the next two weeks, and everything was shaping up for a normal shopping experience as I approached the cashier. This is when things began to go slightly awry, and it took several hours of reflection to take in everything that happened.

I put all of my groceries on the conveyor belt, and the young cashier lady began to scan and bag the items for me. The girl eventually got to my carton of Half & Half and stopped to give me a puzzled look. In a rather negative tone, she looked and me and asked, "what's this for?" as if to really be saying, "why in the world would you ever use Half & Half." I was a little taken back as I thought to myself that maybe she only drinks her coffee black and looks down on those of us who use creamer. Before I could dwell on it further, I answered with some timid hesitation, "It's for my coffee...?" I was expecting a clever reply to antagonize my Half & Half consumption, but instead I was encountered with something far more shocking as I stood in line that Sunday night at the grocery store. It was as if I had given this girl some valuable information, or answered the question of all questions as she responded, "OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! So that's what that is for! I always wondered." Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but I would consider Half & Half to be a commonly known consumable item to coffee drinkers and non-coffee drinkers throughout the world. There are pretty good odds that if you have ever gone out to eat in your life there has been a little bowl with Half & Half creamers at your table. Regardless of this reality, I find it absolutely shocking that you would ask a customer at a grocery store what something is they are buying because there are not too many scenarios where you could ask such a question and not look like an idiot.

As I recovered from this moment, my story only continued to progress, and I was not out of there yet. She cashier girl had finished scanning all of my food so I handed her my savings card to scan. She took the card, but it didn't look like she scanned it, and then she handed back to me. I noticed the total price didn't go down at all, so to be polite I asked her if I had any savings. Her response only scared me further as she said, "Oh, do you have a savings card?" I handed it back to her and she went ahead and scanned it. To be fair, I'm convinced she did not have any type of disability, and if she did I recognize this post would come across as harsh. The fact of the matter is that this girl was THAT dumb.

At this point it was time to pay so I swiped my debit card, entered the pin #, and hit OK for the total amount. The girl asked me if I wanted debit or credit and I said debit, even though I had already selected it and entered in my pin. There was a pause and she asked me yet again if I wanted debit or credit. On the THIRD TIME she asked me, I finally let her know that I had already chosen debit and paid.

I left to drive home a little flustered, but at the same time very amused at the whole experience. When I got home and unpacked I realized that she did not bag any of my chicken or ground beef, and I had paid for food I didn't even get! Maybe she was having a bad day and just hit one of those points where everything she said or did was completely stupid. Maybe she really was just that stupid. I don't know the answer, but I do know I am going to spread the word to people like the cashier girl and anyone else who needs to know... Half & Half is 50% milk and 50% cream that is commonly used in coffee around the world.