Betcha Dimes To Doughnuts She Didn’t Learn A Thing

Once a week, I stop by the local coffee shop and pick up a drink and a doughnut on the way to work. The one near my work is always busy, and with the health crisis restrictions, most times I end up waiting outside because of the line.

Today is no different. There are about ten people in line, and I get in line behind a woman. She got in line just before I did, but I can hear her already complaining.

Woman: “Oh, my God, this place is so slow! Why do I have to wait outside?”

I have my headphones on, so even though I can hear her complaining, I can easily ignore her. It takes a good five or ten minutes until we are even in the store, and she complains the whole time.

Woman: “My kids are in the car getting cold. Why do they only have one person on the counter and five on drive-thru? I don’t have time for this!”

When we finally get in, we can see the counter girl running around as fast as she can. She definitely isn’t lollygagging or anything. But still, the woman keeps loudly complaining. There is no way the worker doesn’t hear her. Another five minutes later, it is the woman’s turn to order. She starts with an, “Ugh… Finally!” and then she orders a drink and a couple of sandwiches. It comes to $9.90 all together. The woman gives the girl a $10 bill and then sticks her hand out for her change.

Woman: “I want my ten cents back, please. You don’t deserve it.”

The girl just sighs, gives her her change, and then makes her coffee. She takes it without even a thank-you and goes to the sandwich area to wait for her sandwich.

My turn. I order my coffee and doughnut, which come to about $3. But as luck would have it, I have a free coffee today, so it is only $1. Normally, I don’t carry much cash, and I will pay with just my debit and throw them a quarter or two if I have it. But today, I happen to have $5 in my wallet, so I hand it to her, and when she tries to give me the $4 change I say, loud enough so the woman can hear:

Me: “No, thanks, you work hard. You keep it.”

Employee: *Smiles* “Thanks.”

The woman looked over at me like she had just smelled a fart or something. When I opened the bag at work, there was a second doughnut in the bag. Never tasted so good.

Hopefully, the woman learned something. She got her dime, but I got the extra doughnut.