Texaco

We had a great Thanksgiving. I will share a couple of recipes and how our holiday was at some point in the next couple of days. However..... I feel the need to let some steam off mentally......

This is some of an email I sent to Texaco headquarters after an experience I had tonight. I had to vent. And emailing and blogging and phone calls have helped. So here is some of the email:

I frequently visit the Texaco in Florence, Mississippi on Highway 49 north. It is less than 2 miles from my home and we buy our gas and many "last minute" items from there --- such as milk. We do business there a minimum of twice a week.

Tonight I stopped by there on my way home to buy a gallon of milk. I had my five year old boy with me. As a lot of five year old boys, he was wanting to be a "big helper" and grab the milk out of the fridge and carry it to the counter. I didn't think it was any big deal. As he was going to place it on the counter, he dropped it, and it hit the ground and exploded. I personally felt horrible. However, the girl behind the counter treated my son and me so rudely. As most parents would probably agree, you can mess with me, but don't mess with my child. She proceeded to explain-- VERY rudely--- that she was the only person there on staff and she didn't have time to clean it up. At this point there were 2 customers behind me watching this unfold. I try to be very nice and help out whenever I can or SHOULD, so I felt I should ask her for a mop and I would be more than happy to clean it up for her. (And I told her I would be more than happy to clean our mess WITH a mop if she could point me in that direction--- I even went searching for it on my own.) She REFUSED to tell me where a mop was and mumbled under her breath where some paper towels were. Then she turned her back to me. I was not about to clean up an exploded gallon of milk with a few paper towels, ESPECIALLY after she acted so rude to my child and me.

I proceeded to ask for a manager's name and number. She refused to give me a name, but said I could go look outside on the door for a number. So, I did. Before I called any of the numbers I went back inside to find out the cashier's name. She had on a jacket and refused to give me her name and kept her name tag covered. She told me she was not allowed to give out that sort of information. She had a teenage girl with her, who also refused any additional information. As I was asking this, they were getting a mop and bucket ready to mop it up, after I was told there was no mop, and they were also saying some really nasty things about the incident as I walked back in the store.

I called one number, who was listed as the manager. She was VERY nice, and told me she was no longer over that store, but gave me the updated info of the person who was currently in charge. I called her. She wasn't quite as nice, but was still willing to help.

The bottom line is, it was an accident. It could have happened to any adult just as much as it did my child. He saw how rude the lady was being, and was even walking around the store trying to find a mop and asking for a mop so he could clean up the mess he made on the floor. It broke my heart. I don't appreciate being treated so rudely. If you can't deal with the public, you shouldn't be in that line of work. I don't like drama and I certainly don't like any confrontations with ANYONE. I REFUSE to do business at that Texaco or any Texaco from this point forward. I will not buy gas from there, and I will certainly not be buying anything else from inside the store. There are 3 other gas stations within walking distance from that Texaco.

As I explained this story to my husband, he knew exactly who I was referring to, and has seen her act rudely to other customers when he's been inside the store.