Whiskey a Go Go!

November 27, 2013

I didn’t witness the theft. The entire staff at the MGM Liquor store flew out the double doors and into the night after the robber. A customer attempted to step in front of the bandit’s black BMW but got nervous and veered off to the side as the car careened through the parking lot to escape. There was no license plate on the back of the vehicle and the Manager was furious she failed to stop the criminal who stole two large bottles of Whiskey. The crook wasn’t even attempting to hide the evidence as he ran away, the glass gleaning in the light, from his bare hands. The store was murmuring indignation and upset.

I stood at my little table, three wine bottles askew in the black plastic tub filled with ice, wishing I had been witness to the incident first-hand. I’d been assisting a customer who came in for Asti Spumante. A man requested Mogen David’s brand made from Concord grapes. I hadn’t even realized it was still on the market. Silly me, I sold him one of our Barefoot brands and he was happy. In the meantime, a crime scene is taking place, and I am busy doing “not” my job.

Like last week, the staff is talking, mostly to one another, and leaving the customers to their own devices. I can’t help but step-in and stumble around the unfamiliar store with them, in the hopes of finding what they are seeking. What has happened to customer service, I wonder, as clients roam the store, clearly confused and need assistance.

Three other demos going on simultaneously. I was compromisingly situated in the middle of the store, just past the first three sampling tables, set-up like an obstacle course. Once the first Menage a Trois wine-pusher got ahold of the client, then Bailey’s Irish Cream was doled-out, Cupcake wine was next and I could hardly expect people to want to taste my Barefoot wine after all of that, and no cheese or nut chaser.

I came home to find a thank you card, with several cheerful stickers plastered all over the front side, leaned forward in my mailbox. It is from my cell phone carrier service representative, telling me “It is a pleasure helping you out today. Glad to have you at Ting! Have a great day, Sinead” (with an accent on the “e”) On the backside it holds a caricature of each of the employees head and torso, in a cozy light blue ink. It is the only piece of mail I received that makes me smile. I am pleased they are my company. Ting rocks.