At The Grocery Store During Coronavirus Season

Who are the people in your neighborhood
In your neighborhood
In your neigh-bor-hood, oh
Who are the people in your neighborhood
The people that you meet each day

Around 9pm tonight I decided to make a grocery store run.  I thought perhaps fewer people would be there since the store would be conceivably cleaned out, and perhaps there were fewer people there than during the day, but there were more than I imagined there would be, especially for a store that closes at 10pm.

Yes, there were entire aisles that were empty.  Who is buying all this toilet paper?!  It just seems so funny to me.  I went there for fruits and vegetables, having none in the house, and even those had been picked over pretty well.  I bought a salad mix and some apples and some chunk pineapple (gonna make an Asian-style chicken wrap with the pineapple and cashews!) among other things.  My mother asked me to pick her up some hand sanitizer and wipes--no can do, all out.

But I'm not here after 10 at night to talk about what's in stock and not in stock at one grocery store in suburban Sacramento.  I'm here to talk about the people who were there.

After 50+ laps around the sun I've learned that some people just like to complain.  They complain to complain.  They'd complain about not being able to complain if they weren't able to complain!  I've gotten wrapped up in that before, but fortunately was able to see my way out of it.  No one wants to hear you complain.  It sucks that you had to wait in a long line at the checkout and, just as it was your turn, then they opened another checkout.  What do you expect the cashier to do with your complaint?  No, all those other people shouldn't be hoarding TP and hand sanitizer, but complaining about it alone isn't going to change the situation.

After 50+ laps around the sun I've learned that some people are just a-holes.  They're rude, they use foul language in public, they care only about themselves and have no interest in the people around them.  They can't imagine why things aren't exactly the way they think they should be, and they speak to everyone in general and no one in particular about how effed-up everything is.

There are others.

Some people cannot handle change.  They cannot handle uncertainty.  They cannot handle the slightest amount of stress.  I feel for them, but they should have a little more decency than to make everyone else deal with their particular issue.

On the other hand, some people just allow themselves to shine.   Like Matt, the cashier.

Matt's a kid who takes classes at the nearby community college.  He makes the California minimum wage as a cashier.  He's been working crazy hours lately, with no end in sight.  He has to put up with everyone's commentary.

And he has the most cheerful demeanor you could imagine.

Each new customer, he apologized for the line being so long--as if it were his fault.  He found something positive to talk about as he rang up every purchase.  He sympathized with his college instructors who are trying to find a way to deliver classes online given next to no notice or training.  I asked him if he ever thought his job would be considered "essential" to the state of California--no, he never thought his minimum wage job would be "essential"!  He smiled the entire time he rang up my purchases, and thanked me for being so friendly and positive!

Matt's what I like to call a "decent human".  He's got the right attitude.  It's people like Matt who are going to help the country get through this unprecedented trouble.

Update, 3/20/20:  Just did my good deed for the day.  I called and had a brief chat with the manager about Matt.  She was very pleased to hear the compliment and "can't wait to share it with the team." 

When it comes to comment cards and the like, I'm far more likely to leave a positive comment than a negative.  If something's really bad I can just go somewhere else, but if something is really good I want them to keep doing that.