today was a beautiful day... but two unkind acts ruined it for me.
so i was enjoying the gorgeous weather while walking to work. i normally like to have a cup of coffee while working, so i stopped by tim horton's to get one. i only had a $100 bill on me, so i was courteous enough to ask them before placing my order if they would have enough change for my bill. since the tim horton's was one of those drive-thru ones, they told me that they didn't have enough change, but maybe i can change my bill at the gas station. so i went over to the gas station, but the sign on the door said they don't accept bills over $50 and that the till doesn't contain more than $100. i know they do it to discourage robberies, but i was frustrated because it meant they wouldn't be able to change my $100 bill. so i walked back to the tim horton's and i told them i wasn't able to change my bill, but would they accept my "free donut" rim plus some change? i had 90 cents in change. such a simple request, i figured they would give it to me. but you know what? they wouldn't! i couldn't believe it. i wasn't trying to cheat them or anything... i was honest with them about my whole situation from the beginning... and even if it is store policy to punch in a 'win a donut' as nothing other than a donut... fine, punch it in as a donut, but they can't afford to give me a cup of medium coffee?? how the heck does the store track coffee?? my goodness! it's not much! but it would have made the biggest difference if they had given it to me. and the fact that they didn't just ruined my afternoon. this is one of those examples where rules don't always have to be so black and white. c'mon people, show some kindness to a poor girl who wants nothing more than a cup of coffee to complete her afternoon! if i were in their shoes, i would've given me a cup of coffee. of course i realize i'm biased. i know i wasn't trying to scam the store. maybe that's what they thought of me. maybe the fact that i was carrying a $100 bill was shady to begin with. STILL! all that trouble for a cup of coffee, it was obvious that i really wanted one, and i was willing to make a fair trade of it by using my 'win a donut' and paying for the remaining difference. and they couldn't show a little bit of compassion? it's not like their jobs were at stake. i'm sure they drink coffee for free all the time. they couldn't spare a cup for me?? i'm still trying to get over it.
so i'm walking the rest of the way to work in a lousy mood and trying to figure out why people can't be nicer. i was approaching the entrance to the building where i noticed two people about to go in... i'm guessing a high school kid and his dad. the boy looked at me before going in with his dad... i was about 20 feet behind them. by the time i walked in the door, they were already in the elevator. let me explain this elevator that i'm so familiar with since i've been working in this building for over two years. it takes FOREVER for the door to close. without pressing the 'close door' button, i know for a fact that i would've made it to the elevator and still had a few seconds to spare before the door closed. so... take a guess at what happened. of course they closed the door on me! i was obviously heading towards the elevator, and they didn't even have the decency to wait. i was beginning to get angry... i raced up the stairs because i knew i'd be able to beat the elevator (which i did), and since the dental office is right outside the elevator, i waited for the elevator door to open and then i glared at the father and son for a couple of seconds before i walked into the office. now... i realize what i did was very immature of me. i didn't have to stoop to their level... exchanging one act of rudeness for another isn't going to make this world a better place, and it certainly doesn't make me a better person. i succumbed... sorry folks. i guess the point i'm trying to make is that the smallest things can make or break a person's day. if we only knew the impact that random acts of kindness can actually have on people, we would want to be kind more often.
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3/30 - i got so caught up in the rudeness i totally forgot to mention the kind gesture someone made the day before. so i drove to school, and in the parking lot i pulled up to one of the machine dispensers to get myself a ticket for that day. i guess someone paid for an all-day ticket and left early, so that person was nice enough to stick the ticket into the coin slot so whoever finds it won't have to pay for parking that day. wasn't that nice of them?? of course, before i realized what i was holding, i had already inserted my money into the machine. and i couldn't get it back! so i just paid for my ticket and inserted the other ticket back into the slot for the next person. but it didn't matter that i still paid for a ticket... just knowing that someone was nice enough to give away their ticket to a total stranger had made my day :)
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4 comments:
Hey Grace.... I'll buy you coffee! :)
Speaking of coffee... after all our exams and papers are handed in we should go out and celebrate by having coffee ice cream. :) ha ha...
I think we'll both feel sick to our stomachs with all the coffee we'll be drinking over the next few weeks but who knows maybe it'll be ok if we have coffee ice cream. :)
xoxooxox
Did you know that the Win a Free Coffee is for ANY SIZE hot drink??? Yes, that includes extra large. I saved mine for my "big coffee days".
Grace! When am I going to see you again???
Whooah. You in a bad mood, remind me never to cross you. well you could always take things in a different light. Stores yeah I understand why they can't bargin with you, Afterall they hire kids for $6.95/hour with a manager hovering over their shoulders. If you really wanted to you could just ask the guy behind you who is buying a donut to get you a coffee and give him the rim and change. Who know you might make a donut buddy. As for the elevators, If you can really beat the elevator up stairs, is it really worth taking it? plus you get free exercise that you would otherwise pay for at goodlife.
lynnie - thanks for the coffee! and the chocolates. and... well, everything else :)
J - i do the same actually ;) i *PROMISE* i will call you to meet up before i leave for BC in june! just trudging through my final round of papers... uuuuuugh... hope you're faring better than i am.
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wise words. very universal. if a person (or an animal for that matter) is in a bad mood, don't cross them. of course some ppl go ahead and do it anyway... but they're just asking for it.
unfortunately the 'different light' contexts you've provided aren't applicable to my situation. the two tim horton's employees are adult women that work there regularly. i know because i drive through there all the time and i recognize them. i'm surprised they didn't recognize me... maybe cuz i'm not sitting in a car. the manager-behind-the-back thing doesn't apply either. like i said, there are only two of them and they're regulars. i don't know how tim horton's takes inventory of their products, but how do you track a bit of coffee from a pot? i'm sure they spill or make mistakes all the time. they just didn't want to do it for me. also, it's a drive thru. chances are slim that there'd be anyone else *in* the store. when i went (and i stood around for a long time trying to reason with them), no one else had come in. as for the elevator, the exercise suggestion doesn't really apply because i usually do take the stairs. i only ride the elevator when it's open as i walk into the building or when my hands aren't free to open the door to the stairs. that afternoon, it was open when i walked into the building. my issue was not about whether elevators are worth riding... if it was, i would've addressed it. i was specifically addressing the act of allowing the door to close on someone that was visibly intending to step into the car. when i'm in an elevator and the door starts to close and i see someone walking towards me, i push the 'open door' button to wait for them. on the other hand, the people in the elevator saw me approaching and allowed it to close anyway. i don't really care about the exercise. it's negligible... even if i took the elevator every single time i worked. if productive exercise amounted to boiling water, then the stairs equate to something like heating up the water for a few seconds on the stove. makes no difference, really. i get more exercise going from my bedroom on the second floor to the bathroom in the basement.
nice try though.
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