Before Complaining, Try Walking A Mile In Their Shoes

(I am meeting a friend I haven’t seen in a long time for a brewery tour. I read the website to look up operating hours, product information, and anything else I might need or want to know. There are three men and three women besides us gathered for the tour. The following exchange occurs right before the tour takes off.)

Woman #1: “Babe, let’s go on the tour! It’s free!”

Employee: “Ooh, sorry, guys, but no open-toed shoes on the tour.”

Woman #2: “They’re only flip flops! I wear them all the time. Trust me, I’m not going to trip and fall.”

Employee: “We don’t allow sandals, flip flops, or any open-toed shoes on the tour because of the machinery, and it may be slippery.”

Woman #2: “How come she—” *pointing at me* “—can go, and we can’t?”

Employee: “Because she—” *pointing at me* “—is wearing sneakers.”

Woman #1: “If you didn’t want us wearing flip flops on the tour, you really should post it on your website so we’d know. It’s not fair.”

Employee: “It is on the website. We put in on there to prevent incidents like this from happening. Sorry, but the tour is leaving now.”

(The tour begins, and we walk through the door.)

Me: “I read it on the website, which is why I changed my shoes before I got here. I wanted to be prepared, so I read all about the tour times and such.”

Employee: “I know it’s on the website, but nobody bothers to check before they come. Oh, well.”

(My friend and I ended up having a private tour, since nobody else was allowed to come.)