Ethical Dilemma

So where does the "stranger" code end and the "just being a good person" code begin?

I faced this dilemma last night as I was taking my short 30-minute break at the bookstore last night. Like so many nights before, I grabbed my purse from the back, yanked off my name tag and ventured out into the mall to grab a bite at Chik-fil-A...because really...where else do you eat in the mall?

I walked up to find a short line and thought to myself, "What luck!" I was waiting a short time and observed the high school-age girl behind the counter being overly loud and obnoxious, claiming that her friend who was working with her was "not paying attention" to her. She proceeded to complain in this overly whiny, "I am acting like a damn child" kind of way, which promptly caused what I like to call my "eye-rolling" reflex. I thought to myself, "Where do people learn their customer service skills?" Clearly, she hadn't been taught to only pay attention to the customer, smile, be courteous or anything...you know, all of those things that people in customer service positions learn through default, by having to deal everyday with people who treat them like second class citizens or as their own personal shoppers and "go-getters."

I ordered a small box of nuggets, she typed this into the computer and did not even make eye contact with me. I said the standard "Thank You" and she didn't look up at me even then. As I waited for her to hand me my bag of chicken, I looked down and noticed her fly was down. I kind of laughed to myself and proceeded to listen to her go on and on with her friend about what they had done the night before. I thanked the Karma gods as she handed me my bag of food, I said thank you and she went back to her story with her coworker.

I thought to myself about telling her and saving her the embarrassment of walking around for the rest of the night with her fly down, but after asking myself the question of where the "stranger" code ends...I decided that she didn't treat me with enough of the "just being a good person" code for me to do the same.

I walked away, still chuckling, and thinking about how Karma might come to bite me in the ass for this...but what the hell? Chalk it up to a lesson in customer service that she won't forget.