Because Retail Workers Don’t Have Anything Better To Do Except Serve

My coworker’s mother passed away, but instead of taking time off, the coworker kept working her normal four- to five-hour shifts. She would then rush off to complete whatever was required for her mother’s final preparations. 

Today, [Coworker] has her bag in hand and about is to step through the door to leave when a customer steps into her way. The woman steps in front of [Coworker] again as she tries to avoid her.

Customer: “Stop.”

Coworker: “Sorry, I have finished for the day and have to leave.”

Customer: “No, I want you to help me pick out curtains for my house.”

Coworker: “Sorry, I can’t do that. Please go to [service counter]; they will help you there. I‘ve finished for the day.”

Customer: “The queue is too long; you can help me. You’ve now got plenty of time to help me.”

Coworker: “No, I don’t. I have finished for the day.”

The woman won’t budge. There’s nothing I can do because I am with my own difficult customer in a different department but can still overhear the conversation. [Coworker] has been very polite until this point, as she always is.

Customer: “No, you’re not leaving until after you serve me. I am in a hurry, and you don’t have anything more important to do than serving me.”

Coworker: *Glares at a customer before angrily hissing* “Nothing more important? My mother died, b****. Now get out of my d*** way and go and wait for your turn in the freaking queue.”

She stepped around the now stunned woman and left.

[Coworker] was expecting to come back to work to find that a complaint had been made against her, but nothing was ever brought up.