With little snow, but moderately cold weather, lakes and ponds have frozen sufficiently to attract ice skaters. Skate rentals are a meager source of revenue, at $8 for the first day and $5 for subsequent days of a multi-day rental, but a little income is better than no income.
A freelance writer from New York rented skates on January 9, and paid through January 13. Days passed after the due date, and her voicemail was full. Eventually we made contact. She said that she was still using the skates and would pay the remaining charges when she returned them. We do this a lot for renters. Just let us know, and pay the difference. You use a product or service, you compensate the provider.
When she finally returned, she owed $25 in accumulated charges. According to the store manager, she stood there with her nose hanging over her mask, and whined, "Twenty five dollars? Can't you give me a deal?"
The manager indicated to her to please raise her mask the rest of the way. According to his account, she refused to cover her nose, snapping abruptly, "No!"
Not wishing to have her exhaling in the vicinity for any longer than necessary, he said, "Fine! Twenty dollars," and moved quickly through the lift gate in our backshop service counter. The bioterrorism gambit had succeeded. The woman got a discount, just for being petulant and irresponsible during a pandemic.
The speed with which the manager emerged from behind the counter apparently alarmed her, because she hastened out of the shop to conclude her transaction by phone. But she still got her discount. She can now add bioterrorist extortionist to her resume. Weaponized breath gives a new tool to chiselers.
3 comments:
The "average" human is a sorry creature, think about it , half the population is worse than them!
After observing the emperor perpetually demonstrating petulant and irresponsible behavior, it is to be expected that many of the peasants will feel justified in acting similarly.
I have seen this sort of thing (without the face mask bit) recommended in a book, under the name of "consumer karate." I remember in my own retail days we would give in to such jerks, just to get them out of the store, especially if there were other customers about who might hear the disturbance and decide to take their business elsewhere.
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