When I got to work on Monday, the following sign was waiting for me:
Well, the smiley faced sun wasn’t there. I added it myself. But you get the general gist. And I’m not being paranoid when I say that the sign was waiting for me personally. I am the “YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE” refered to there by my boss. He frequently leaves these signs lying around the store, covering a wide variety of topics. This is a good rule of thumb in interpreting the importance/severity of these notes:
No exclamation points = General information. (“The new coffee flavor of the month is Jamaican Me Nuts.”)
1-3 exclamation points = Something to think about. (“Don’t forget to wear your name tag!!”)
4-5 exclamtion points = Look out, y’all. (“Don’t forget to swipe each bill of $20 and higher with the anti-counterfeit pen!!!!!”)
6+ exclamation points = What did Kel do now? (See above picture.)
Here is my defense. Working at a rural convenience store, you get to know your regular customers very well. You come to build up a friendly rapport and, in some cases, even friendship with them. That’s been the case with me and my regular customers (well…most days anyway). And when a customer/friend spends $20+ per day on gas at your place of employment so he can drive dozens of miles to a mill several towns away to provide for his family, you may begin to feel that it would be a kindness to charge him only ninety-five cents for a coffee (the price of a refill), instead of the $1.89 you’re supposed to charge for the 24 oz cup he gets every day to energize him for the drive home. Especially when you know that it only costs the store 37 cents to brew an entire pot of coffee.
Unfortunately, if that customer doesn’t realize that’s what you’re doing, he may balk when someone else charges him full price on your days off. He may complain, thereby giving that kind deed away to your boss, who doesn’t look at “kind deeds” the same way you do, thus inspiring him to leave overly exclamated notes lying around the store for your benefit.
So, Monday afternoon the customer came into the store once more, full of apologies for having inadvertantly gotten me into trouble. I told him not to worry about it. And this time I gave him his coffee for free. Like I’ll do from now on.
In other news, it’s my day at Publishing Renaissance (actually, it was supposed to be yesterday…oops!) Check it out!
R.J. Keller 
If you were treating the regular customers to cheap coffee at MY store, I’d be giving you accolades for customer-loyalty centred service! I think your boss is, in this regard at least, a d*** (gentleman’s private part).
I like the smiley face sun. Makes it better. Whenever I’ve been offered something at discount (or free), it’s hard for me to accept it. But I see it as an act of kindness, so it’s a good deed and should be appreciated.
I think you need to make a statement with one of the shirts I do up that says: “QUESTION AUTHORITY (Ask me anything)”…
Your “boss” is a real pip!!!!
I would also give “Coffee Man” a “This Is My Store” thermo cup to put those free refills in!!!!
I will say our local convenience store lets us use any thermo cup for a refill. We don’t have to have just theirs.
Your boss is a dope. You’re building his business by creating a warm rapport with the customers. He’s very short sighted. And dumb. And has a small dick. I know. I fucked him.
Wow, Kel, you’re so brave! Honestly. I would have been scared to death by that sign.
I wonder how you were as a teenager.
I suppose to be fair, I should mention that the “no free/reduced coffee” rule comes from higher up than my boss (I work at a chain store), but still. What corporate don’t know won’t hurt em, right? (Unless someone from corporate happens to stumble across this blog, in which case I categorically deny giving away free coffee to anyone.)
Lori, this is the kind of teenager I was: nuns hated me, free thinking teachers loved me, and my mom earned each and every grey hair on her head. Poor woman.
Awww, R.J.! You are very level-headed. I’d be offended, even though I was in the wrong, LOL! I never claimed to be rational, just hormonal. 🙂
$20 gas a day? Eegads.
Exactly, Spy. He’s thinking about staying with friends during the work week, then traveling back home on weekends to save on gas money. It’s really sad.
GOD, I only wish I got nastygrams at my work so I could doodle on them.
LOL! Well, you can always leave them for yourself, then doodle on ’em. 🙂
Kel – It sounds like your boss is acting out in a very passive-aggressive manner. There is the perfect place for his behavior to be published: http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/.
Those of us (and I know who I am) that are a bit squeamish in confrontation may behave this way. This is sad really. I have modified my behavior, when not relapsed – but others are still in denial. (You know who you are. 🙂 )
Thanks Jana!!! I just submitted it there. I’ll keep y’all posted.