“Could you go get me some ice?” the wife asked.
The wife likes ice. She likes to eat ice from her iced drinks. I’m convinced she’s actually a polar bear.
She is a connoisseur of ice. She has specific places she gets her ice from because they have better ice than other places. I don’t know how she tells the difference. To me, ice is just frozen water. It may come in different forms (blocks, shaved, chipped, crushed, those funky round ones with the whole in the middle …) but in the end it remains frozen water.
Since we ran out of ice two days ago, the wife’s need for the stuff resurfaced. Thus her request for me to go out and procure more.
I got in the car and made the fifteen minute trip to her favorite fast food place for ice. I got there and the place wasn’t busy, maybe three cars parked in the parking lot, zero in the drive-thru lane. I pulled into the drive-thru lane, went to the speaker box, placed my order for a bag of ice, and pulled forward to wait.
In the meantime, three other cars pulled in behind me in the drive-thru lane.
So, I sat there and waited for my bag of ice. A few minutes later, an employee walks up to me with a to-go cup and asks if I’m “Adam.”
“Uhmm, no.”
“Sorry.”
Then I watched him walk to the other end of the line of cars behind me and give the drink to the guy in the end car, who promptly drives off.
I see the same employee take a bag of food to another car that has been there the entire time I’ve been there on the other side of the parking lot. OK, fair enough, they’ve been waiting longer than me.
As I waited, I saw another employee taking food out to one of the other cars, so they do have more than one person on duty.
After ten minutes I finally get my bag of ice. I handed over a five-dollar bill for a two dollar and eighty-cent bag of ice.
“Do you want your change?”
Several snarky comments cross my mind but I settle on a pleasant “Yes, please.” I’m not interested in giving the guy a two dollar and twenty-cent tip for a two dollar and eighty-cent bag of ice. He trudged back into the store and came out a minute later with my change.
“Have a good evening,” he said as he handed over the change.
“Thanks. You too.” He walked back into the store and I pulled away.
Yes, I realize there are lots of factors that could be in play in this scenario. I’ve worked in restaurants and know how crazy they can get, but again, this place was not crowded. A bag of ice is pretty basic, and should have been done before the guy three cars behind me got his drink. Yeah, drinks are quick and easy, but so is the bag of ice.
I’m probably just being petty, but the wait time, and the guy wanting to keep my change, just don’t add up to a good customer service routine in my opinion.
I hope service in your part of the world is better, my Hordeling.
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