Bad Weather and Bad People

Today we got a pretty decent amount of snow and it’s DAMM cold up here in the northwoods.  I had another 12 hour work day and it was really somewhat frustrating.  Everyone knows that by the end of October, the tourists are gone and the only people left up here are the locals.  These are locals that live here all the time, have experienced winter many times up here and know exactly what a bitch they can be.  What I don’t understand is why everyone suddenly turns in to raging ASSHOLES when it starts to snow!!!  I get a few every day in the normal course of doing business.  That’s part of the job, it’s my primary job to suck it up and deal with it.  Tonight however I was REALLY done with it.  Part of my job is to operate a fork lift.  I am licensed, I had to take a written test and a driving test and it’s a job that I take seriously.  I am expected to be a safe driver, fully aware of my surroundings etc. etc.  So tonight I am pulling down some pallets of merchandise for my morning crew to work on and have about a 300lb payload dangling in the air.  Getting this pallet down from 30 feet in the air safely is my primary objective.  Out of thin air I hear at an incredible volume “EXCUUUUUUUUUUUSE ME”.  I crank my head, break my concentration and glare at the bitch who clearly could not see the 300lb pallet swinging in the air over her head…or she simply decided not to notice it.  She rambled on about something that she needed RIGHT NOW and it was all I could do to keep from flipping the fork around and dropping the pallet on this Witch.  Calmly but assertively and professionally, I explained to her that if she would wait 2 seconds while I safely put down my payload I could help her.  She wasn’t having it.  “I need help and I need it RIGHT NOW”.  I shot back, that she needed to find it elsewhere and that she had better get out of the way if she wanted to keep her toes.  “YOU NEED TO BACK AWAY FROM THIS MACHINE RIGHT NOW!” I informed her.  She stormed off huffing and puffing.  I’m not really sure if she got what she needed but I really don’t care.

MORAL OF THE STORY:  CUSTOMERS SHOULD NEVER OPERATE UNDER THE PRETENSE THAT THEY SHIT GOLD.  If you are shopping and need help, DON’T ask a person who is clearly trying to accomplish a task without killing someone unless you want to get seriously injured yourself and NEVER – EVER distract the operator of any heavy machinery from completing their task safely.  SIT ON YOUR ASS AND WAIT if you are too lazy to find someone else to help you.  You could easily be killed and there would be very little remorse on behalf of the driver if you were completely unwilling to even consider your own safety.

Now then, the remodel is finally done at work (finished tonight) and now it’s time to prepare for BLACK FRIDAY (another day of the year where people completely go insane).