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SODA JERK LIVES UP TO NAME
Wednesday July 19, 2006
By Chad Elliott
MOCKINGBIRD, Md. -- At Pop's Downtown Drugstore, soda jerk Tommy Wiseman, 19, lived up to his job title by insulting and ignoring customers and serving them lousy milkshakes.
"The kid was terrible," longtime customer Joe Friendly, 62, said. "He was single-handedly running Pop out of business."
According to Friendly, the surly soda jerk went out of his way to mock and harass store patrons, even giving one man an eyeful of seltzer when he ordered a "soda."
"Another time a heavy-set man came in and ordered a milkshake," Friendly recalled. "So the kid slops one together and slides it down to the guy, saying, 'There you go, Fats!' The poor man got so red I thought he was going to have a heart attack."
Other customers were altogether ignored by the prankish youngster.
"One woman waited more than half an hour for Tommy to serve her," Friendly said. "He kept saying, 'Be with you in a minute.' After a halfhour she finally started to leave, swearing under her breath, and he came and took her order, laughing."
Customer complaints regarding the jerk's behavior eventually found their way to store owner Jim "Pop" Evans, 75, who immediately had a talk with his employee. Wiseman's attitude and behavior changed virtually overnight.
"It was a misunderstanding," Wiseman said. "I thought soda jerk meant that I was supposed to be rude to the customers. I figured it was all a show to entertain them.
"Pop set me straight," he added. "I'm doing the job the right way now -- though it's not as much fun."
MY GOODNESS! :eek:
Wednesday July 19, 2006
By Chad Elliott
MOCKINGBIRD, Md. -- At Pop's Downtown Drugstore, soda jerk Tommy Wiseman, 19, lived up to his job title by insulting and ignoring customers and serving them lousy milkshakes.
"The kid was terrible," longtime customer Joe Friendly, 62, said. "He was single-handedly running Pop out of business."
According to Friendly, the surly soda jerk went out of his way to mock and harass store patrons, even giving one man an eyeful of seltzer when he ordered a "soda."
"Another time a heavy-set man came in and ordered a milkshake," Friendly recalled. "So the kid slops one together and slides it down to the guy, saying, 'There you go, Fats!' The poor man got so red I thought he was going to have a heart attack."
Other customers were altogether ignored by the prankish youngster.
"One woman waited more than half an hour for Tommy to serve her," Friendly said. "He kept saying, 'Be with you in a minute.' After a halfhour she finally started to leave, swearing under her breath, and he came and took her order, laughing."
Customer complaints regarding the jerk's behavior eventually found their way to store owner Jim "Pop" Evans, 75, who immediately had a talk with his employee. Wiseman's attitude and behavior changed virtually overnight.
"It was a misunderstanding," Wiseman said. "I thought soda jerk meant that I was supposed to be rude to the customers. I figured it was all a show to entertain them.
"Pop set me straight," he added. "I'm doing the job the right way now -- though it's not as much fun."
MY GOODNESS! :eek:
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