Paradoxes and Problems

You know, I've complained on several occasions here about the continuing downfall of customer service. Let me take the complaint to another level. Here's a story to illustrate.

Last night, Dave and I stopped at a Subway in a mall for some food to eat on the way to the Penguins' game. Right away, this girl had an attitude, and it's always fun to poke at the bee's nest of people who are pissy for no tangible reason. Dave wanted banana peppers on his sub, and as she was putting them on, he noticed that the majority of the slices had the stems attached. Normally, he would just remove them himself later, but then again ... bee's nest ... so he asked her to remove them. She was getting frustrated and flustered because she couldn't see them, so he calmly reached over the counter to point them out. Now, it's time for us to pay, we've got the credit card out and she gives an exasperated "Cash only, sir." We're excited to have another unintentional poke there, and tell her to hold on a second while we run to the cash machine. It's on another level, so we're completely out of her vicinity, you understand. We come back, pay with our cash, give her huge smiles and "thanks" and leave.

We start chowing down on our sandwiches and here's where the disappointment comes in. They were exactly the same as when we left to get the cash. Back in my day, in that same situation, Dave would've had handfuls of carefully placed banana peppers -- all with the stems -- all over his sandwich. Where's the creativity? Where's the entertainment (even if it's at my expense)? I wouldn't be so upset about poor customer service if the people dishing it out could also be creative in how malevolent they are. Kids these days, you know?