I got caught in the middle of some nasty series of exchanges between the grocery store manager and the check out clerk today. It was quite the scene. The store is running a promotion for Legos – for every 5 Euros spent, I get a special sticker. After 20 stickers, I get something like 45% off a Lego set. (Perfect, as the girls and I have been spending hours on end with Legos the last few weeks.) So I go up to the counter with my 20 stickers, a coupon I got last week for “an extra 5 stickers free with any purchase,” and my grocery basket full of apple juice and raspberries. Should be no problem, right? Ha! The girl has no idea how to ring up my order. So she calls the manager. Manager tells cashier how to ring it up. Cashier says no. Manager says yes. [At this point I lose the ability to understand the bulk of what’s being said.] Cashier gets louder. Manager gets louder. People start looking. Cashier talks mumbo-jumbo, manager talks louder, more forceful mumbo-jumbo. More people start looking. The other cashiers stop what they’re doing and watch. I just stand there. Cashier gets even louder, followed by a screaming manager. Manager storms off to some back room and comes back a minute later, forcefully explaining whatever it is that the cashier is supposed to do. Cashier is adamantly not doing whatever it is. Manager finally snatches my sticker sheet, my coupon and the receipt for the items I’ve not yet paid for and storms off. Without exaggeration, the entire store is quiet and is literally standing in a large circle around the check out counter. I’ve put all my things in my backpack by this point, and as I’ve not yet paid, I just stand there. Cashier starts ringing up next customer. Several minutes later, manager comes back yet again (with all the papers) and word. By. Word. Explains. What. Is. To. Be. Done. Cashier gets the lightbulb look and says “oh.” They both look at me and say mumbo-jumbo. I indicate that I have no idea what they’ve said, and some guy in line explains that I have to go to the back of the line and begin again. Really? I’ve already waited in line over 10 minutes for my juice and berries, and now I have to go to the back of the line? After all that? So, back I go. Unpack the backpack, and wait. When I get to the front of the line, the cashier moans the one German swear word I recognize and calls the manager back to the front over the intercom. All who are left in the store who saw the first exchange come back to their place to watch Act II. The manager doesn’t appear. Another clerk calls the manager and she comes right out. He indicates that she’s needed at my line, and she is clearly NOT pleased. Again we go. Word. By. Word. And all for 4 liters of apple juice, some berries and a Lego Jumbo Jet set.
When I get home, not only have I forgotten my eggs, but I see she’s charged me for a few things I didn’t buy. I figured the 3 extra Euros weren’t really worth the hassle, but I did send H out for some eggs. J
In other news, the girls and I watched "The Wedding" yesterday, apparently along with the rest of Germany. I got a post on Facebook right before my phone died about the wedding starting, so we tuned in to CNN. I realized that I was Grace's age when I watched Charles and Diana tie the knot, and figure that maybe G will remember this one day 30 years from now. Here's the conversation that followed:
C: I want to marry Corbin.
G: Hey - that's who I'm going to marry!
C: We can both marry him.
(silence)
G: Yeah, on different days! Hey Mama? Did you get married on dry ground and in the water?
M: Huh? Um, just on dry land, sweetie.
G: Oh. (disappointed silence) I'm going to get married in the water. With flippers and snorkels and everything! Are flippers and snorkels in the real world?
M: Yep.
G: Good. Because I want flippers and snorkels at my wedding. I'll have flippers and snorkels at my wedding with Corbin and flippers and snorkels at my wedding with Brock.
C: Hey - you can't marry Corbin and Brock!
G: Yes I can. I'll get married 2 times. I can get married 2 times, right Mama?
M: It's best to get married only 1 time.
G: But I can do it 2 times, if I want to, right?
M: Um, let's try for just once. That's why I want you to be very careful about who you choose.
G: So I have to choose between Corbin and Brock? (silence) I'll take Corbin. Nina, you take Brock.
Pics from the last few days:
Precious photos. There's nothing like those chocolate drop eyes!
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if we humans really do inhabit the same planet. The cultural differences are astounding. In Germany everyone looks like us, but they certainly do act differently.
Lewis and I just returned from three weeks in China. We were bombarded with differences from chicken's feet on the breakfast buffet of a five star hotel to saturation of respect for elders and a shared heritage that goes back for centuries. (And let's not mention the public bathrooms.)No matter how long I lived in China, I could never understand the customs. I would always be a wacky, if not ugly, American.