Time To Notice The Nice Ones

(I just started training at a local shop. I have worked in retail before, so I know what to expect. My coworkers are great and we get along very well. Near the end of my first shift, I have the following conversation with one of them.)

Coworker: “I bet you’re exhausted now. Time to clock off and get out of here. It will surely take you some time to get home, I suppose.”

Me: “Not really. I live right around the corner. That’s a huge plus for me. Actually, I shop here myself all the time.”

Coworker: “Wow, really? I’m so sorry, but I don’t recognize you as a customer.”

(She takes another good look at me.)

Coworker: “We do recognize all the grumpy ones, so I guess, since I don’t remember having seen you before, that you were always nice to us.”

(Having had the same experience in my previous retail job, I knew exactly what she meant, but as she said it, it somehow really got to me.)