Rant #2,939: Down On Me

How was your weekend?
 
My perfect weekend was marred by one incident that was so ridiculous, and really didn’t have to happen.
 
My computer pretty much went on well each day, so while it is going into the abyss, at least I can use it right now.
 
We actually used the pool this weekend, and boy, did it feel great! The weather certainly accommodated us well, with temperatures in the 80s, and it only rained when we were not using the pool.
 
My son and I went to eye doctor, one of several eye doctors that I have to go to this reek—more on that later. Anyway, we passed with flying colors—which is a really big deal for me, what with my well-documented vision problems—so we don’t have to worry about this for another several months.
 
And the New York Yankees blew out the Boston Red Sox on Saturday and Sunday, and that is always a good thing.
 
So the living was easy … or so I thought.
 
As I always do, I went to get dinner on Sunday evening for my family, including my mom, who seems to eat more when she is eating with us on the weekend than when she eats by herself during the week.
 
Anyway, I went to a local Taco Bell, because that is what my mom, my son and I wanted to eat—my wife wanted Boson Market, and since they are back-to-back where I went, it should have been an easy pickup on Sunday evening.
 
I drove up to the drive-through at Taco Bell first, and placed my order, but the worker had trouble with the order from the get-go, asking me to repeat myself several tines.
 
Finally, the order read correctly on the drive-through screen, so I pulled up to the window to pay for it.
 
The woman at the window—the same one who took my order—handled me three drinks in a drink caddy, those heavier cardboard things that hold up to four drinks at a time.
 
As she was handing it to me, she almost dropped it, and as she regained the hold on the caddy, she handed it to me—
 
And as she handed it to me, it appeared that one of the holders on the caddy had buckled—that is why she almost dropped it herself—and one of the drinks popped out of the caddy, mostly exploding all over me but somehow, getting the rest of the front of my car in the process.
 
(Look at the photo at the top of this Rant, and you can see exactly where the caddy had buckled.)
 
So not only was I absolutely drenched, but the whole front of my car was too, including the passenger seat, everything in front including the radio, the drink holders in front … you name it, and it was engulfed in soda.
 
I went into a rage, never using profanity but coming thisclose to using those words, screaming at the woman about the damaged drink caddy and why she didn’t see that as she herself nearly dropped the thing handing it to me.
 
I screamed for towels, which she gave me, and as I tried to mop up everything—ever try to mop up soda with a paper towel?—I demanded to speak to the manager.
 
Another woman came up to the window. “I’m sorry” was all she could say to me.
 
“Do you think I am going to leave here with just ‘I’m sorry,” I replied, as I continued to try to clean things up.

 
She gave me a $5-off coupon, gave me a new set of drinks in a doubled-up caddy (see the second photo),and then someone else—not the woman who gave me the ruptured caddy—gave me my food.
 
“Have a nice day,” the worker said to me.
 
“How good a day could it be?” I said as I drove off, still mopping up errant soda all over the place.
 
I pulled into Boston Market next door, still mopping up everything, and I discovered that my pants were even more wet than I thought they were, and that I literally was sitting in soda, with my pants reflecting that (I will leave that image to your imagination)..
 
Happily  not too many people were in Boston Market, and I got in and out of there—they do not have a drive-through—in record time.
 
I got home, and eventually stripped down to my civvies because little had dried up, and in the meantime, I reported the restaurant on the web site that they provide to “Rate Your Dining Experience” or whatever they call it.
 
I am still pretty upset about this incident, which really should have never had happened if the person at the window would have been more alert.
 
(And by the way, the person taking my order got the order all wrong, putting sour cream where it shouldn’t have been and neglecting to put it where it should have been.)
 
Again, it goes back to what I said in a Rant not long ago, that since the pandemic, the quality of service has fallen to record lows, because it doesn’t seem that many people take pride in their work anymore … they just mosey about, puttering around until it is time to leave for the day, taking zero pride in what they are doing.
 
I have noticed that this is true across the board no matter where I go or need services done, and while it is certainly not every worker who simply goes through the motions, it is an increasing amount who really are neglectful.
 
And here I sit, told that I am unemployable, except for my freelance job.
 
Go figure. 

I have a very early doctor's appointment tomorrow, so I will next speak with you on Wednesday. 

Have a good Monday and an even better Tuesday!