Needs A More Powerful Explanation

(The supermarket I work in has recently had a fire in the roof which has left us to power the store using only the backup generator. The technicians are currently trying to fix the problem when one of them cuts all power to the tills. As a result, not only can we not scan ANYTHING, but since it’s all electronic we cannot process ANY payment as the drawers will not open. Many people are waiting patiently for it to be fixed while others have decided to leave their groceries and either come back later or go to another store. We have someone standing at the entrance advising customers of the problem as they come in. We are also handing out cups of water and cookies and cake to those who have chosen to wait, while others are returning cold products to the fridge and freezers. A woman in her late 20s comes to the front with a product and proceeds to barge past the 80 or so other customers who are waiting with their trollies, including an elderly man who is sitting on a chair at the end of my counter as he was getting a little dizzy.)

Customer: “What the h***? Why is everyone just standing around?”

Coworker: “Sorry, miss, all our registers are currently down and we can’t scan anything.”

Customer: “Oh, well, I only want this one thing. Can you just put it through for me?”

Coworker: “No, sorry. We have no way of scanning it and, as all the registers need power, we can’t even process a payment.”

Customer: “But I’ve only got one thing and I’m paying by card.”

Coworker: “Like I said, the power is out. We can’t scan anything, let alone process a payment. You’re more than welcome to leave it here and come back in about half an hour when everything should be back up, or there are other stores in the mall that sell the same product.”

Customer: “I don’t have time for this; I’m in a massive hurry. I just need this one thing. Why won’t you help me? You’re all just lazy. I’m going to [Competitor down the mall].”

(She throws her item at my coworker and storms out, muttering about bad service and only having one thing.)

Elderly Man: *to my coworker and me* “Is she serious? What doesn’t she understand about you having no power? I may not understand technology, but I know all this stuff runs on electricity.”

Me: “I really don’t know how else he could have told her.”

(Five minutes later, the power was back up. The elderly man was out about one minute later but came back to tell me the young lady was still standing in line at [Competitor], ranting about how incompetent we were.)