I work as a meat market manager in a fairly large grocery store chain in the south, and we still cut meat on site. I’ve cut meat for about five years, so I’m no novice anymore.
One week, we are running rump roasts on special, and this older lady approaches me on the floor.
Customer: *Slightly annoyed* “Do you have any more rump roasts? All these on the counter are too small.”
Me: *Polite and enthusiastic* “Well, all the ones I have cut right now are around that size, but I can cut you some however big you need them!”
Customer: “I need four, about three pounds each.”
Me: “No problem! I’ll have those ready in just a few minutes!”
I walk into the back where the cutting block is, and she proceeds with her shopping. After I finish cutting and wrapping them, I scour the store looking for her. I find her and present the roasts to her, thinking these are very fine roasts.
Me: “How about these?”
Customer: *VERY drily* “They’ll work.”
Me: “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
Customer: “No.”
She walks away without another word, and I return to my department and continue with my work.
About ten minutes go by, and our service bell rings. I go out to the floor, and it’s the customer standing there with the newly transferred store manager. The store manager has worked for the company for over twenty years; she can have a nasty attitude sometimes but she does stand by the department managers’ decisions.
Manager: “Hey, did you cut some roasts for this lady?”
Me: “Yes, I did.”
Customer: *Very snappy* “Well, these don’t look like any rump roasts I’ve ever seen!”
Me: “Ma’am, we’ve cut them the same way for at least as long as I have worked here. I don’t know of any other way to—”
Customer: “Well, I taught home-ec for twenty years, and I know what a rump roast looks like!”
I now realize what I’m dealing with, but I still try to be polite.
Me: “Ma’am, that may very well be, but every butcher here cuts rump roasts the same way that I cut those for you.”
Customer: “Well, then, someone needs to come in and train y’all how to cut meat, because y’all don’t know what you’re doing! I taught home-ec for twenty years! Rump roasts don’t look like this!”
Me: *Hiding my annoyance, though not very well* “Ma’am… I don’t know what you want. Tell me what it’s supposed to look like, and I’ll see if I can cut it.”
Customer: “Well, they don’t look like this! I taught home-ec for twenty years, and I have never seen rump roasts look like this!”
Me: *Sarcasticall.* “I’ll tell you what. I’m going to make an exception just for you. I’m going to let you come back to my cutting block, and I’m going to let you show me how to cut a proper rump roast because you clearly seem to know more about it than I do.”
Her eyes nearly come out of her head.
Customer: “Well, I don’t know how to cut meat!”
Me: “Then, how can you possibly tell me that I don’t know what I’m doing?!”
Her mouth is hanging open at this point. She looks at the store manager and ascertains from the look she gives her that she isn’t going to do anything. After a few seconds of silence, she throws her hands up.
Customer: “I think I’m just wasting my time!”
She starts to walk away.
Me: “Yes, ma’am, you are. Ours, too.”
The store manager gave me a huge smile and a high-five and walked away without saying a word. I heard her laughing on her way back to the front end.
