Have you ever just sat at a counter and wondered to yourself what is going on inside this persons mind?

I ask myself this a lot at my current retail job in a vape shop.

The other day, I was working with a customer who was looking for a specific brand of disposable vapes. When they initially walked in and asked for a flavor that we didn’t have. I quickly and courteously told them, “No, we only have Strawberry banana and White gummy ice in that brand currently.” Remember this sentence because you are about to hear it a lot. The following is the conversation I had with this customer.

“Oh… well how about Blue Razz Ice?”

“No, we only have Strawberry Banana and White Gummy Ice in that brand currently.”

“Oh okay. Can I have a Watermelon Ice?”

“No, we only have Strawberry Banana and White Gummy Ice in that brand currently.”

“Oh right. Well can I get a Blackberry Fcuking Fab?” (That is not a typo, it’s how the flavor is spelled across multiple brands).

“No, we only have Strawberry Banana and White Gummy Ice in that brand currently.”

“Darn. Well how about I get a Miami Mint?”

“No, we only have Strawberry Banana and White Gummy Ice in that brand currently.”

I am fairly sure that the customer could sense my irritation, which I usually am good at masking with annoying and tricky situations. Unfortunately, having to repeat the same exact sentence five times in a row really can wear anyone’s patience thin. They finally realized that, surprisingly, we only had Strawberry Banana and White Gummy ice available in this brand and chose one of those.

After they chose one of the flavors I had specifically mentioned. I continued the usual daily routine of grabbing the requested item, scanning it, and then asking the customer for their ID

…… This is when I learned that the customer had completely forgotten their ID At home, and I would not be able to complete the transaction.

Needless to say, I was baffled by the interaction with this customer. Even now, over 8 hours later, I am still trying to figure out just what exactly was on that customers mind where they would need to be reminded of the flavors available AND forget their ID

Now, I always try to put myself in someone’s shoes when something…. Unique happens in a day. That person may have just gotten off a 12-hour graveyard shift and was thinking more about the comfort of their bed rather than what some random guy was talking about in a Vape shop. Or they had just gotten some upsetting news and were just trying to hold it together.

To spin this interaction into a life lesson, and to let my teacher side show up for a minute, Let’s try to have patience for our fellow humans out there. All of us are the protagonists of our own lives, and we try our best to keep our masks on in public and shield the next person from the struggles of our current standing in the world. If the person in front of you at the grocery store is taking a while. Just smile to yourself and try to enjoy the moment. If your coworker is gossiping about the people in the other office, take it with a grain of salt. If you’re driving home and a cyclist decides that his Tour de France is the middle of the road, just give him some space and drive safely around him. Everyone deserves just a little bit of kindness.

…except for that cyclist (seriously, there is a bike lane right next to you. Use it!)