Is there no where to go for peace and quiet now?

Well, I hate to use this blog as a place to rant like a cranky old man.. BUT that is exactly what I'm going to do today...

What is it with the service industry?  With all the people supposedly out of work, are the ones I had to deal with today the best there are?  Are we, as a civilization, becoming that slow brained and dim witted?  Spending time with the public can make one seem so.

Cliche'?  Yes.  

True?  Absolutely.

Normally I do not harbor these thoughts.  An occasional realization that I have met one of the men or women that bring down our species average IQ usually stops right there.  I feel sorry for them, sorry for my having had to deal with them, sorry for their families, and sorrier for the public that has to deal with them daily.  But I try to keep it focused on the person who has proven themselves to be someone who should be hidden away from the public in a backroom.

Today though, it has been one after the other...

This morning I had to run out to get some errands done.  Some lumber for a project I am building, then swing by Ikea to get the basics for a livingroom piece that my wife would like...  nothing unusual.  Some good workers, some bad, a lot who are trying to do as little as possible for their pay, unfortunately.

And then I had to head back home.

I stopped at a fast food restaurant.  Drive thru.  That was my first mistake.  Look, I understand that there need to be jobs for immigrants.  For those who do not speak the language well yet.  I understand that there need to be jobs for people who are below average intelligence (hal of us are, right?).  But is a drive-thru the place for them?  A drive-thru clerk needs to do a few things: take orders from the customer and enter the orders.  Some also handle the money, put the orders together, etc.  Some do not. But if the main part of the job is communication with the public, shouldn't the ability to speak english be a qualification?  Isn't there any standard?  Hey, I might like to be a brain surgeon, but I need to be trained and meet some standard.  Shouldn't a job requiring asking me questions to help me require they should be able to speak to me?  Well, after an Abbott And Costello routine at the drive thru window and 2 wrong orders, I finally went inside to get it right.  'Fast Food'?  Ha!

Afterwards, I figured I'd stop for coffee.  At Starbucks.  Normally I can expect efficient and friendly service there.  Instead, I stood there trying to get my order in and listened to this exchange:

"... but you can't put them both on the same tray."

"Why not?"

"The manual says only two food items per tray..."

"Three!"

"...fine! Three! Thre food items per tray but they have to be similar."

"They are."

"No they aren't."

"Yes, they are."

"No, they aren't."

"Why not?"

"One is a lemon danish and one is a cheese danish."

"They are both danish!"

"But one is fruit and one is dairy!"

"Look, I can understand if one was a cookie and one was a danish.  But its so that you don't put bacon sandwiches on the tray with brownies or something."

"Nope."

"Nope?! What would you put on the tray?  What three things?  Fruit, a fruit cookie, and the lemon danish?  Would that satisfy you!?!"

At that point they took my order...  I was almost disappointed I was so riveted in the outcome.