People are generally polite in our little country store. Most everyone knows everyone else in our small town. If they don't they know your dad or your cousin or your uncle. There's always a connection somewhere. I love the closeness of the little store. It's always something new, and I get learn a lot about different people. Many people pass through the store on a daily basis. I really get to know my costumers on a personal level. Occasionally though I have the rude customers that make me want to jump over the counter and punch them out. I always put a fake smile on my face until someone comes along to put a real smile on my face. I can categorize my customers into three groups. There are the polite customers, the rude customers, and the regulars.

     The first type of customers are the polite ones. These people are nice to have around. These are the people who always enter the store with a smile. They have manners. They say please and thank you, and make small talk for a more comfortable atmosphere. The polite customers understand that things don't always run as smoothly as they should. I sometimes get over whelmed with orders, and they are more than willing to wait a few extra minutes for their service. Some people just don't understand how much easier they make my life by just being polite. I really didn't understand just how important it is to be kind and polite in public until I worked here. I would never dream of being rude to someone for something that they can't control.

     The second type, and my least favorite is the rude customer. These are the customers that you can never satisfy. They walk in like they own the place. Wont even crack a smile, and tell me my cookies are burnt. One example I consider to be a rude customer was just the other day. A man bought a soda with a ten dollar bill. I gave him his change and he went on his way. The very next day my boss gets a call from this guy telling him that he gave me a fifty and I short changed him. It was later determined that I didn't actually make the mistake, but because the guy didn't get his free money he preceded to tell my boss that I was doing drugs at the counter and he knows this because he was an old hippie himself. All the time people are trying to get free things I have heard it all. Glass in the pizza, pizza with no sauce, spongy haddock, half filled propane tanks. These are the people who are unhappy and insist on bringing others down with them. It really sucks to have a rude customer. I just don't understand why people cant be happy and understanding like me!

     Last but not least is the regular customers. I start pushing buttons on the cash register before they even get up to the counter. I already know just about everything they're going to pick up. There's the 3pm beer guys all purchasing either bud or bud light 12oz cans. The 5pm beer guys. Rodney with his 16oz bottle of bud light, Carl with his three 16oz bottles of bud, Gary with his six pack bud cans, and so on. The regulars are generally also polite. Some days people just have a bad day, but for the most part these are my favorites. These are the people that I have really gained relationships with over the past two years. They know a lot about me as do I about them. The regulars are good people to have around. A lot of them stick around and keep me company on a slow day. They're the good ones to have around for the occasional creeper who might come in and try to pull some crazy stunt. They are also the most dependable. The store often has slow days and cash ups aren't very big. At least we can count on the regulars to keep us going!
     It's always something new and exciting at Lloyd's store. It's getting a $20 tip from a customer I only cooked one lobster for. Getting crap from men because I'm a girl and I'm filling their propane tank. Then having them try to "teach" me how do it even though I took the training I still may not be qualified because I am not a man. Wasting endless amounts of company money at all my failed attempts to bake. Or just enjoying the slow times where I get to catch up on the latest gossip with the regulars. I wouldn't trade this job for any other. Someday I suppose I will have to give it up and go somewhere to work for more than peanuts but until then I will be loving every minute I spend working there. And if your ever driving by feel free to stop to enjoy a bit of the organized chaos!