OK…this is not what you think.
I have a very long wait at the airport before a flight home from a conference. While browsing for snacks at the Hudson News I overheard a conversation between a fellow shopper and the store clerk that inspired thoughts. The exchange went something like this:
Shopper: Do you have any crackers
Clerk: No, we don’t carry crackers
Shopper: {In a disappointed tone as he continues to browse} Well, just about every other store does.
–End Scene —
Now, this is a fairly straightforward exchange and by all accounts, the clerk took these comments in stride and both participants went about their merry way. You may be asking yourself, what about this exchange inspires more than the typical passing amount of thought.
What I wonder here is what was this man hoping to accomplish by mentioning that almost every other store has crackers? It is clear that he is disappointed to find that, after apparently having his tastes set or crackers, there are no crackers here to be had. I would be disappointed too! I don’t think it is even wrong to express this disappointment though, notably, this is not what this guy chose to do in this case.
A literal interpretation of his comments would be that this particular store is, somehow, substandard in its lack of cracker inventory. It is at that point that our opinions diverge as I am certain that there are plenty of stores that do not carry crackers. In fact, as this is a chain airport style convenience store, I would guess that most of them probably don’t carry crackers.
Taking a step back, who gives a sht that they don’t carry crackers other than the momentary disappointment of one who has his mouth set for crackers. Better yet, assuming that you give a sht that they don’t carry crackers, why would the store clerk give a sh*t in this circumstance. Is it likely that they will report this gentleman’s opinions to corporate in order to quickly correct this egregious error in inventory decision-making? Please note here that I acknowledge that it is probably possible for this clerk to somehow get this message to corporate but….is it likely that this will happen?
Given all of the above it is clear to me that this guy’s response represents asshole behavior. Sure, there is the potential that this is inadvertent – disappointment misdirected as hostility. Or – the guy is prone to “lashing out” at innocent or unconcerned bystanders when faced with disappointment. Either way, my immediate thought was – “why even expend the effort to say this?”. Is his comment in any way useful other than to irritate the sensibilities of the clerk or others like me within earshot?
How justified would the clerk have been had she fired back a snarky comment? Is it commendable, or at the very least expected, that the clerk would have the non-response that they had? In the end I think the optimal strategy here would have been for the cracker-seeker to indicate (in a friendly way) that he was disappointed not to find crackers but will move on to try and find something else.
Is my reading of this situation correct? Is there any way that this guy does not get the asshole tag? Please share your thoughts.
-J