Addressing the Cashier Who Left Me Completely Speechless – I Salute You
It was a weekend morning, and I found myself in a foul mood, topping off my mother's vehicle. It was a typical gas station that operates as a supermarket, which often leads of waiting behind shoppers with carts of slightly overpriced groceries. A terrible fate to happen when all you want is to pay for some fuel. Awful.
My position was fourth in the waiting line. Just one cashier operating, a female attendant. A peculiar quality about her. When the faffer at the first position had finally paid for his Viakal, his sausage roll, and his box of eggs, It seemed to me I heard the cashier tell him to have a great day. Strange. Perhaps I’d misheard, or perhaps she spoke and was being sarcastic. I wondered if perhaps she was a comrade in the war on delays, sharing my contempt for those who delay simple fuel-buyers such as myself.
I moved up, now third in line. The next shopper of our group completed her gasoline purchase with commendable speed. Once more it happened: “Wishing you a marvelous day.” No, actually, it was “have a wonderful day”. An American? In Stourbridge? The pronunciation indicated it, and hardly anyone here tells people such a cheerful phrase, or even just a nice day. Very rare. You don’t get many Americans knocking around Stourbridge, least of all holding jobs in fueling spots or anywhere else.
Now I stood second. After an elderly lady embroiled in a lengthy struggle with her basket, her food items, her wallet and her rewards card. The process dragged on. Once completed, she as well received the wish to have a fantastic day. Clearly an American. I might have verified it by cracking a joke at the cashier, to see if she did that response as they gaze at you, unsmilingly, and say with absolute sincerity: “You are very amusing.” But I couldn’t think of anything hilarious to utter.
In the end, I embraced for the absolute sincerity – or a performance of it, which amounts to identical in effect – as she gazed me right in the eye, to my very core, and wished me an awesome day. My spirits lifted. Beneficial indeed.
