Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Ultimate in Bodohness

A couple of days back I had a run-in with a rude Malay woman shopper in a flaming red tudung, in Tesco Mutiara Damansara.

There I was, making up the rear of a two-man queue in Lane One when the aforesaid woman almost bumped me with a half-full trolley.  

Thinking she couldn't read English, I quietly told her that she was in the wrong lane; lanes 1, 2 and 3 were Express Lanes for shoppers with 10 or less items.

Not only had she no less than 20 items in her trolley, the nearby non-express lanes too were available, so I couldn't understand why she was where she was.  

Instead, the woman gave me a defiant look, uttering "Takper, itu kawan saya" (that's okay, the cashier's my friend), her snout pointing at the sullen-looking cashier behind the counter.

Then she added, "Ni pun bukan saya punya semualah! Saya bayar dua kali!" (these aren't all mine, okay! I'm paying in two parts!).

By that time, I was already pretty pissed. Worse, I couldn't even comprehend the basis of her argument. It sounded so stupidly lame!

But I didn't say anything further. Instead I stared long and hard at the girl cashier. She pretended not to notice my gaze. 

Frankly, I was contemplating being a bitch, but decided otherwise. No point losing my temper so early in the morning just to prove a point, no matter how valid. 

Deciding one dimwit was already one too many, I paid for my things and walked down to Jom Bali Cafe for a hot cup of Kopi O and a bowl of wantan.

Later I saw the woman triumphantly pushing her semi-laden trolley past me, perhaps feeling great for being able, and allowed, to beat the system.

Sometimes I wonder; why bother having such lanes if exceptions are made for your colleagues, friends and family members? 

Better still, they should just create a special lane for these privileged folks. It would make life a hell of a lot easier for the likes of us common shoppers.

16 comments:

Unknown said...

..and I thought you r only pissed off by those holier than thou ppl..:)

Kama At-Tarawis said...

heheheh pakmat... that too!

Frau J said...

So true, how irritating! Those kind of people think express lane is faster so they selfishly line up there resulting in making other people slower! Beating the purpose of having express lanes in the first place!

It's the same like cars switching lanes during jams. They exacerbate the jam!!!! They make traffic slower. If we'd all stick to our lane, then our lane will go as fast as the faster lane!

Oh sorry for the kinda wacky analogy. From Tesco lanes to road lanes =|

Mat Cendana said...

One thing that I like about Tesco when compared to Giant and Carrefour - its range of engine oil and their prices.

This is one section where I would spend quite a few minutes on, reading this and that label and making comparisons. And the dissatisfaction of knowing that the Castrol Magnatec semi-synthetic I had paid RM100 for at a spare-parts shop near Sunway Giza is only RM89 at Tesco. Okay, so this will be where I'll buy the next time. (By the way, the Tesco brand of synthetic and semi-synthetic oils are really reasonable)

But other than that, Tesco Mutiara Damansara has that feeling of being rather crowded. And you should know about the congestion in that particular area; especially when you are coming from Taman Tun Dr Ismail. For me, Giant Kota Damansara is more comfortable; it's really nice and clean. But its engine oil section sucks with just a few `Chop Itik' brands.

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Puteri,
Lain kali, just whack her with your Birkin. har har har "bitchy laughs*

Anonymous said...

aiya.. itu pun nak marah ka? baru sikit saja tuhan test, sooodah gagal.

_deli said...

Wahai Sang Anonymous,
Persoalannya bukan gagal atau lulus diuji... Duh!!!

Hidup ni bairlah kesenangan kita menyenangkan orang lain dan bukannya kesenangan kita (diri sendiri, in this case) MENYUSAHKAN orang lain! Double DUH...

Kama At-Tarawis said...

anon 10.59 - mulut you ni kan, tak ubah macam pungkoq ayam.. awat lagu tu :-) udah-udahler menyindir orang, buat dosa kering aja. takkan lah you ni ngok sangat sampai tak paham maksud tulisan saya. ni bukan tentang test. ni tentang orang tak ikut peraturan. tapi you apa tau pasal peraturan kan, sebab mulut you pun takder peraturan .. asyik nak mengata orang jer ...hehehe

Kama At-Tarawis said...

frau - i concur.. what to do, some folks just dont have what it takes to be civic-minded.

mat C - i prefer shopping at tesco sebab the prices are cheaper compared to my previous fav place, jusco.

cat - saya orang miskin mana ada birkin.. hehehe

deli - dia peminat setia saya. sentiasa datang untuk menyindir apa yg saya tulis. dia takder life, apa nak buat.. ini ajalah the highlight of dia punya day :-))

ninotaziz said...

It must have been the highlight of her day, Kak Puteri. Pitiful existence really if you have to live for cheap thrills.

And she has the audacity to justify!

Despite the rigorous 'follow the rules' training in school, or perhaps because of it, this is what we get!

remgold said...

sebab kama, macam michael douglas dalam movie Falling Down, saya bawa shortgun.
'u talk rubbish, bee-itch', blam! blam!
problem solved.

Tarmizi said...

Knowing that they can hide being anonymous, they will simply write anything to provoke you. Most of them are cowards not brave enough to own up. The best way to deal with them is to ignore or thank them for their feedback.

JohorMali said...

Pn,
I wish to relate an incident that occurred a few years ago during my weekly trip to a Pasar Tani at JB.
I was walking nonchalantly, with my wife, and as I slowed to stop at a gerai, I accidently bumbed into a tudung clad woman (or maybe she bumped into me !)
What shocked me , and the crowds around, was when she blurted aloud, ".. Eh...saya ada wudhuk la...tak nampak ke?"
I was too speechless to respond, for a pervert I am not!
My wife too did not respond but said quitely to me that she should have stayed at home if she really wishes to maintain her state of ablution from dawn to dusk!

Anonymous said...

sama2 bodoh

Kama At-Tarawis said...

ninot - semoga dia bahagia.. lol

rem - hahahaha.. terkedu & tak terkata!

pak abu - saya ingat pun itulah yg sebaik2nya..

JM - astaga, ini macam pun ada ka? knowing my mouth, besar kemungkinan i kata "next time bawak placard ler.. 'jangan dekat, saya ada wudhuk".. lol

anon 1.22 - alhamdulillah syukur. orang bodoh masih banyak ruang untuk belajar jadi pandai.. kalau dah pandai sangat, susah jugak kan?

JohorMali said...

Anon@1.22pm,
Could you kindly elaborate?