I used to walk in a restaurant
And not think twice about what
The waitress
Had to do for me
My mom would say “give her a good tip”
To my dad
And with a little blaze of devilish fury
I would reply shortly it’s her job mom

After a couple years of avoiding getting a job
I finally had
To be thrown into the stressful
Abyss
Of social interactions,
Customer dissatisfaction,
And entitlement
At Market Basket

A ragged, toothless man who is on a power trip
Can only be handled
With a polite smile and a
“Have a nice day”

Struggling to price check a one dollar item
With the moseying old lady in my way
While being interrupted with questions,
And finally arriving with my price check
Only to be yelled at for taking so long
Made me realize how valuable to me the money I earned was

Instead of paying with 10 dollars
I paid with 1 hour of work
And I purchased my five dollar foot long
With 30 minutes

Then one day,
A customer told me it was customary from where he was from
To tip the bagger a dollar
I replied with a grateful smile