Just A Nudge Away From Crazy
(I am a utility worker, which roughly translates to a cart pusher most of the time. While working, I encounter a mother texting on her phone and her two children, one of whom is sitting in a cart despite being disallowed, and the other obstructing the cart bay.)
Me: “Excuse me!”
(The family ignores me. Since I have to fill the cart bay as much as possible, I push the row of carts I was moving in, and I unintentionally nudge one of the children. Suddenly, the mother whips around and starts screaming!)
Mother: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”
Me: “I’m sorry, I couldn’t see how far the carts extended for, and couldn’t accurately judge my distance. Sorry!”
Mother: “CLEARLY YOU F****** CAN’T, YOU S***HEAD!”
(I recoil in shock, not expecting her to use such language in public, let alone in front of her children. The one I bumped seems largely unamused. Her yelling attracts my team leader.)
Team Leader: “What’s the problem?”
Mother: “THIS F***** ASSAULTED MY PRECIOUS CHILDREN!”
(The team leader merely looks at me, where I am behind a now fully-stocked cart bay, and thus can’t do anything without climbing over the carts or weaseling my way between them.)
Team Leader: “I apologize. I’ll be sure to talk to him about this.”
Mother: “GOOD!”
(Now placated, the mother and her children leave. I walk back outside and meet up with a coworker waiting on his ride home and my team leader.)
Coworker: “She was a real b****, huh?”
Team Leader: “Yep, but the customer’s always right. By the way, good job keeping a cool head, [My Name].”
(For the record, I wasn’t written up.)