About once a week, I stop at a drive-thru coffee hut near my apartment. Occasionally at this coffee hut, the magnet strip on my bank card doesn't work. I always give the cashier a heads up, so they punch the numbers in instead. It's typically a safe enough interaction to have before my morning caffeine fix.
"Typically," being the operative word in that sentence...
This particular morning at the coffee hut, there was a new girl who seemed well caffeinated and extra excited.
I pulled up to the window as she chirped out the cost.
Handing her my card, I gave her the usual warning, "just a heads up, the magnet strip on my card doesn't work here."
Caffeine Cathy assured me it wouldn't be a problem.
Caffeine Cathy started taking a reaaaaal long time for something that wasn't a problem.
She came back into the window holding my coffee in one hand, and my card in the other,
"Uhm, your card doesn't work."
I smiled, (so that when I came off condescending, at least I would look polite) "Yes, I am aware. That's why I told you the magnet strip doesn't work here. You should be able to type the information in, instead of swipe, and it will be fine."
By holding both my coffee and my credit card, Cathy left me in a position of vulnerability that I was not comfortable with when she responded, "Uhm, I don't know how to do that."
This is where most women often will go into the insincere obnoxious courteous spiel resembling, "oh my goodness I am so sorry. I should have brought cash, I'm sorry this is such an inconvenient blahblahblah." This interaction usually leaves you with no coffee, and overwhelming frustration.
Nope. Not today. Not when you have my coffee and my credit card. That's when it is time to be assertive.
So I asked a totally valid and reasonable question, "What are you going to do?"
It was like nobody had ever put the ball in her court before. Or, it was like she was un prepared for a job serving addicts in the wee hours of the morning? Either way; she handed over my card while doing some movement where by simultaneously shaking and tucking her head back into her neck, she started to look like that Boss Nass guy from Star Wars.
Then she handed me the coffee.
My reaction for the last 25 years has been to apologize for every awkward interaction, despite it rarely getting me anywhere.
Lesson Learned: Asking, "what are you going to do?" is a much more effective AND entertaining way to resolve issues.
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