tetradecimal

ETA: OH GOD I JUST HEARD THIS ON THE RADIO. I thought those pillows were gags from what I heard about them on 4chan. But I like how the host is like, "Isn't it weeeeird? Aren't they pedo? Isn't Japan craaazy?" and Katayama's like, "Well... kinda, but kinda not."

I can't wait till pedobear shows up on NPR. OH PLZ.

Also: I got an in-person interview! I AM NERVOUS MORE NOW. AUGH.

So yesterday, hungry after my phone interview, I trundled off to the mall to buy a copy of We ♥ Katamari and get some lunch. I ended up third in line at the food court teriyaki place and opened up my copy of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea while I waited for my food, because apparently I need to be entertained 24/7 :D.

And then, all of a sudden, the woman right in front of me, a rather tall, somewhat waifish 30-something with giant eyes (she seemed to have a lot of mascara on, because I remember her eyelashes being weirdly distinct -- why does everyone think that caking stuff on your eyes is the way to go, anyway? Isn't that uncomfortable?) speaks up. "Which is my food?" she asks loudly.

So, at this place, they basically make up a styrofoam box with your rice in it and put it in a line so they can put whatever meat/vegetables you ordered on top and you pick it up at the end. But the first box at the end (hers) didn't have any vegetables on it, and she apparently ordered vegetables.

At this point, the line cook (a Latino guy who is obviously ESL) says something I couldn't quite make out. "No, NOT only vegetables," she says even louder. She scoffs, turning to me and the other person in the line (trying to drum up sympathy? That's my guess), but apparently doesn't find what she's looking for.

The cook looks confused. "You didn't order vegetables?"

"I did order vegetables!" she says. By this time, she's caught the attention of the cashier, who glances over.

The cook puts vegetables on top of the woman's food, but she continues complaining loudly. "I ordered vegetables. WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?"

The cashier cuts in, a young Chinese lady who is also obviously ESL. "Ma'am, what did you order?"

"I paid for the chicken teriyakeeeeee!" the woman says, her voice rising to something between a shriek and a whine, despite the fact that no one has accused her of not paying. "That's what I paid for!"

"Ma'am, I'm just trying to confirm your order," says the cashier, but the woman won't have any of it. She continues acting like someone ruined her super special day while the confused cook puts chicken on her food. Apparently, this is what she ordered (or thought she ordered), because she grabs the box and stalks off, making indeterminate scoffing noises and no doubt about to tell whatever unfortunate person she came to the food court with allllll about how those foreigners tried to cheat her of her chicken teriyaki and no doubt convinced that she Did the Right Thing And Was Assertive and Got Her Way In The End.

The only problem is that if she hadn't spent all that time complaining about what she ordered or didn't order and bitching about individual components of the order without actually answering the cashier's questions, she would have got what she wanted much faster. It's safe to assume that the people behind the counter (especially if English is not their first language) simply misunderstood you, and that, y'know, repeating the entire order clearly and simply instead of treating them like cheats is much more likely to end well for everyone involved. Quibbling about individual details will likely just lead to more confusion, especially if there are several components involved. It probably doesn't help that everyone is super special and wants to substitute X for Y and add "a touch of mayo" or have non-dairy creamer or whatever.

But this particular woman seemed like the sort of person for which any kind of obstacle was a personal affront at which to totally lose her shit, anyway. Can you imagine spending every day in the mental state of an entitled bride trying to prevent people from RUINING YOUR SPECIAL DAYYYYYYY?

Customer service jobs: don't get one.