Small, but irritating
Brief backstory – small village, mutually accepted politeness generally expected from counter staff, kids, grumpy old ladies, etc. My 14yo daughter goes in to the newsagents / corner shop, which is under new management, to pay her grandma’s newspaper bill. Waits in the queue while the checkout person deals with a till problem with the previous customer. No problem, daughter is in no hurry. Checkout person looks *over daughter’s head*, as the till problem is being sorted, and apologises for the delay to everyone else. Daughter is, obviously, invisible. Ohhhkaaaay. Daughter gets to front of queue, does transaction, is polite and so on. As she turns to go, checkout person apologises again, to everyone else.
Daughter is now wondering whether it’s even worth battling against the teen stereotype, and whether she has to change sex / wear a hoodie / haul around a Yorkie on a steel-studded collar / to convey the message that Yes, I am Here, and I’d Like to be Noticed.
Seriously, if managers want polite, considerate teens in their shops – how about treating them with the politeness *they* accord to your staff? And if you’ve taken over a shop in a place where mutual politeness is normal, how about *not* messing with a system that works?
Daughter is now wondering whether it’s even worth battling against the teen stereotype, and whether she has to change sex / wear a hoodie / haul around a Yorkie on a steel-studded collar / to convey the message that Yes, I am Here, and I’d Like to be Noticed.
Seriously, if managers want polite, considerate teens in their shops – how about treating them with the politeness *they* accord to your staff? And if you’ve taken over a shop in a place where mutual politeness is normal, how about *not* messing with a system that works?