It sure wasn't milk in his Wheaties this morning
Today, while standing in the check-out line at the grocery store, I witnessed a temper tantrum.Most of us have probably felt sympathy for the fatigued mother struggling with her young child who is flailing about wildly and screaming at the top of their little lungs while they attempt to quickly pay for their items and get out of the store. Maybe we've been embarrassed for the parents who seem to have no control over their children's behavior and not enough common sense to know when they have become a nuisance to those around them.
Today's experience was a whole different ball of wax. There were no small children involved. The commotion was coming from a middle-aged man with two pre-teen daughters.
Apparently, the grocery store had advertised a sale on milk and there was no milk on sale.
Notice that I didn't say there was no milk FOR sale. No – the store had plenty of milk in stock. In all varieties, I would imagine. (Although to be honest, the whole reason I went there to begin with was for milk, which of course I forgot, so I really can't guarantee how stocked they were in the dairy section.)
Before it was even his turn with the cashier, he began shouting at the poor woman about how ridiculous their ad was and that "you people are a bunch of liars." He then turned to me and said that if he were a millionaire, he would sue the whole place for false advertising. I think he was expecting me to agree with him or something, but he was acting like such a child, I just wanted to shove a baby bottle in his mouth to shut him up. (Maybe that's why he needed the milk?)
I merely looked in the other direction while the cashier apologized for the mix-up and subtly mentioned that, unfortunately for her, the cashiers are often the ones who hear complaints, but that they can't do much about any of them and that maybe he might like to speak to customer service. Hint... Hint...
This man obviously didn't care. He continued to shout and cause a scene, calling the store employees names and vowing never to shop there again (I'm sure they were devastated) while I left the store. This time, it wasn't the parent I felt sorry for. It was the daughters, who had both turned beet-red with embarrassment at their father's display.
The overgrown infant obviously didn't need milk that badly, because he didn't buy any. The only items I saw him purchase were three or four packs of Klondike Bars. Those must have been on sale…