In Need Of An Empathy Sandwich

(I’m working as a manager on the night shift at a sandwich restaurant. One of my delivery drivers has just been involved in a very serious car accident just half a block from the store. I’m walking back into the store after watching the paramedics pull him out of the wreckage and I’m understandably shaken. As I come in, I notice a customer standing at the counter.)

Me: “Have you been helped yet?”

Customer: “I’ve been waiting for my sandwich.”

Me: “I’m sorry for your wait. I had to step out for a moment because one of our drivers was just hurt in a wreck on the corner.”

Customer: *very angry* “Well, that’s not my problem! That’s what the ambulance is for.”

(For a moment, I’m just stunned by the utter callousness of the statement. Then I open the register and pull out a refund on the customer’s order.)

Me: “Here’s your money back. We will not be serving you tonight or ever again. And, if someone you care about is ever hurt, I hope they are surrounded by people with far more empathy than you.”