The Forecast | September 26

 

Kindness at the Counter: Why Service Workers Deserve Respect

Friday evening at the pharmacy. The drive-thru had eight cars lined up, the counter had ten people deep, and everyone looked tired. My partner and I had already been waiting fifteen minutes, and the people in front of us had been there longer. It was pure end-of-week chaos.

That’s when the complaining started.

A woman raised her voice: “I’ve been waiting two days for my meds! Why are there three workers and only one in the window?!” She turned toward the pharmacist and demanded, “Ma’am, can you call for help?!”

I turned around and gave her the death stare. She snapped, “Well, we got ten people in line and I haven’t had my meds for two days!”

I said, calm but pointed, “Yeah, and there are eight cars at the window.”

Then my partner, in his flattest teacher-tone voice, chimed in: “So there’s two people cashiering and one running meds.” When she later tried to apologize, he answered like a stern professor addressing a disruptive student: “Thank you for apologizing.” I tried not to laugh.

That little scene stuck with me, not because she apologized to him and not to me, but because it highlighted something bigger.

The Front Line Isn’t the Enemy

I’ve heard people throw out the line, “You’re the only one here!” as if that justifies unloading their frustration. My answer to that is:

“No, I’m here four days out of seven. I’m not the only one here. I’m the only one listening and trying to help.”

That difference matters. Service workers, pharmacists, cashiers, baristas, retail clerks are not the source of the problem. They’re the bridge to the solution. Yelling at them doesn’t speed up the process. It just makes a hard job harder.

Burnout Is Real

Pharmacists especially are burning out. They’re juggling insurance headaches, new medication consults, drive-thru demands, and endless performance metrics all while keeping people safe. One of the workers I saw that night was elderly. Imagine doing a precision-based, life-or-death job while someone yells at you for being too slow. How are you going to yell at an elderly lady who’s dedicating her shift to keeping you alive?

This kind of pressure drives people out of the field, and when that happens, we all lose.

Respect Makes the Wait Easier

Look, I want my meds just as much as the next person. But I plan ahead. I make picking them up a priority so I don’t end up panicked at 5:30 on a Friday when the whole city is lined up. And when I do wait, I remind myself:

• The pharmacist didn’t create the backlog.

• The person at the counter isn’t in charge of staffing.

• The worker helping me is human, not my punching bag.

A Simple Choice

Next time you’re in line, whether it’s the pharmacy, the coffee shop, or the checkout counter, pause before you unload. The person on the other side is not the problem. They’re part of the solution.

Be kind. Respect their effort.
It makes the wait a little easier for everyone.

Until Next Time,
The Divine Forecast