Turn My Back on You

The title of today's blog post isn't in reference to the great Sade song from the Stronger Than Pride album, it's in reference to something that happened to me today during my visit to a fast-food establishment (that shall go unnamed) for lunch. I went to get lunch from a fast food place (mistake #1 because I really need to start eating better). The restaurant was crowded, so crowded that I chose to go inside and get my lunch to go rather than wait in the drive-thru line (mistake #2). The restaurant was crowded inside also, but they had three people working the cash registers: an older white woman, a young black woman, and a young black man. The restaurant is situated in such a way that everyone forms a single-file line and the cashiers just pull from that one line. So when I finally got to the head of the line, the young black woman finished up with her previous customer and I expected to have my order taken next. (The older white woman and the young black man each had customers they were serving.) Well, the young black woman turned her back on me and decided to tidy up the area behind the registers instead of taking my order. And I wasn't the only person in line either. There were people waiting behind me. The young black man finished with his customer and took my order and then, only then, did the young black woman turn her attention back to the register and start taking orders again. Clearly, she didn't want to provide me with any customer service, but she was happy to provide service to the folks behind me. Was I pissed? You bet I was. Did I complain to a manager? You bet I did. Did I, as a black person, feel slightly bad for complaining about this young black woman's behavior to her white manager? Yes, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat because some people need to learn the hard way that you can't treat people like garbage. I don't care if you're black, white, Latino, Asian, whatever. If you're rude to me and you're supposed to be providing service to me as a customer, I'm complaining. I didn't deserve to have that woman turn her back on me. I was there to purchase food just like everyone else in the restaurant and customers like myself help that young woman to remain employed. I did tell the manager when I complained that I'm happy to see young black people working but, clearly, some additional customer service training was needed for the back turner. As tempted as I was to let the Detroit out and go off on the cashier, I didn't. I wasn't there to embarrass her or anyone else. I just wanted to make my complaint, get my grub, and be on my way with the hope that the cashier would get it together and not treat any other customers the way she treated me today.