Perpetual Ruminations

A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste

It's just about time to head off to work, another day of wondering about people. Sure, lots of the folks that come through are great people, and some are trying to finish things up, but I still can't understand some of them.

For instance, a person last evening pulled up to the enter gate and waited for me to open it. I was taking care of another customer that was exiting the yard, then once finished, let him out and opened the entrance gate. I'm standing right there, tablet in hand, ready to process him into the yard. He drives right past me.

I yell to him and he stops. I walk up to his vehicle and ask for his paperwork. He starts going off on me about the gate being open, and he doesn't have to put up with being talked to like this. What? I'm not sure how he thought I was talking to him, I just asked for his paperwork, the same as I do anyone else, except for having to yell stop so I can.

I explain everything is fine, I just need to scan your paperwork. He still upset and arguing over the gate being opened. I tell him I understand, he hadn't done anything wrong, I just need to see his paperwork before he enters the yard. He hands it to me, I scan it, and tell him he's good to go. He looks at me blankly and asks, "Where do I go for this item?"

If he didn't even know where he was going, why did he try and drive past me into the yard? For that matter, what did he think I was standing there for, some fresh air?

Of course, we see plenty of these kind, in  hurry, and eager to go, but no idea where they are going. We also get a lot of people who chew us out about where the entrance to the yard is located. It's like they think we just moved it on them for a practical joke or something. There are also the ones who ask if someone is waiting there to load them; what part of self-serve yard do they not comprehend?

On the same order, we get complaints that no one was there to load them and they waited thirty minutes or so. For one thing, they have only been in the yard for ten minutes, not thirty or more. Another thing about this, it's posted all over that it's self-serve, including on their paperwork.

Of course, there are those customers who have ordered something and drive a long distance to get the item, without checking to see if it has arrived yet. They show up with their paperwork, tell me they ordered something and are wondering if it's there yet. Of course, I don't work for the store, I work for a security company and have no idea, and no way of finding out if their order is in or not.

I direct them to the proper place to check on their order, they find out it's not there yet, and then proceed to chew me out because they wasted a trip for nothing. I bite my tongue and just explain that there's a number on their paperwork they can call to check on their order, and the store policy is to send out an e-mail when the item arrives.

It's like a large amount of the general population no longer has the ability to think. I suppose, the brain is a muscle, and if it's not used, it's going to get weaker and weaker, until it cannot handle the simplest tasks anymore without help. I suppose this is why there are so many individuals that don't want a government that protects their freedoms, but instead want a government to make their decisions for them.