We went to the supermarket yesterday. It was crazy. The store was packed. In the produce section, a little girl with pink bows in her hair and a princess t-shirt was dodging around baskets while picking up fruit and throwing it at her screaming brother. The mother pretended not to see. In the canned vegetable aisle, a toddler was doing the boneless routine, effectively blocking the entire aisle. An elderly lady in the frozen food aisle couldn't get around us, so she kept pushing her cart, gently, into my ankles.
Thankfully, we didn't have much to get. We pulled into our favorite checker's line behind a lady whose little boy was hitting her in the rear. She moved. He moved. A couple with two teenaged boys and an overflowing cart pushed into line in front of her. She didn't say anything. We didn't say anything.
We finally got to the checker and put our eight items on the conveyor belt. Posted next to the register was a list of instructions for the checker. "Smile and greet each customer." "Thank each customer and ask them to return when you give them their receipt." I couldn't believe our favorite checker was in trouble for not being friendly enough! I don't care if he smiles or talks to me. I just want to get out of the store as quickly as possible. I thought I should tell the manager that the guy was doing a fantastic job, but I didn't want to take the time. Maybe I'll call.