One way or the other I suck at customer service.

[raisedbymoogles]

Kinda-but-not-really seeking reassurance that I'm not an asshole, here? I've reached the point where I just Cannot anymore when someone asks me where I'm from*, for various reasons ranging from "it is fucking embarrassing being from the US given the state of our politics right now" to "I don't wanna." I used to try to explain as quickly as I could that my family was military and I moved around a lot, etc., but - again. Just Cannot anymore. (I said I was from Virginia, that being my most recent place-where-I-kept-my-stuff before I emigrated, exactly once. I was promptly lumped in with the Confederacy. Never again.)

Don't think I haven't thought about lying, but for some reason I can't do it. Even if I plan for it, when I'm in the moment I just freeze up and what falls out of my mouth is the truth. I've started saying lightly, "Nowhere, really!" which is true from a certain point of view, but people almost seem... offended by that? Like, I've gotten a few scolding "Everyone's from somewhere!"s, and today there were two guys in near succession who just would. not. let it go. Was I from America? Was I from Canada? Well, I'm certainly not English.

No, dude, I'm not, chill out about it.

I get it, you know? I'm a cashier. I'm supposed to be amiable and friendly and yield to the slightest impulse of everyone I talk to. I am aware that I fall well fucking short in this regard - I am blunt and frequently stressed and I'm not very good at smiling on command - but on this issue, I feel like I am well justified being irritated. Why do I owe complete strangers my backstory, again? Just because I run a register? Buy your crap and leave me alone, goddamn it. Why is my reluctance to talk about where I'm from taken as a personal challenge?

...you know what, I take that last sentence back, I'm totally an asshole. And I don't care. I'm tired of my existence being available for other people's gratification.

Jesus in a cat dish, I need a new job.

*As happens at least once every shift. For those of you just joining us, hello, I'm a Yank living in the UK.

Comments

[raisedbymoogles]

That first one seems doable, but 2 and 3 involve lying, which I'm not opposed to on principle but I just can't do in the moment for whatever reason.

You'll still be a filthy immigrant

....ahahaha, that's a whole 'nother can of worms. XD American accents are actually greeted with warmth and interest in my experience! It's my coworkers' French or Spanish or Eastern European accents that get treated with the 'filthy immigrant' thing. And I resent the fuck out of that.

"Nowhere" != a silly or nonsensical answer to serve as a token to lodge, though...? I don't get it. -_-

[megpie71]

The thing with "nowhere" is it's explicitly marked in people's heads as an invalid token, and throws up a mental error message. Whereas "Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh" fills the token space, and it might take someone (particularly a younger someone) a couple of parses to realise they've been handed a dud token. Sort of the equivalent of handing over entirely the wrong sort of coin as incorrect change, or handing over very similar ones.

(Here in .au, I'd use the example of NZ currency - their 5c and 10c pieces are the same size and weight as the Australian version, but not, strictly speaking, legal tender here in Australia - thing is you have to be pretty attentive to spot 'em in your change. So an obviously fictional answer is the equivalent of a kiwi 5c piece; whereas "nowhere" is the equivalent of one of those flower-shaped coins from Bangladesh)

[raisedbymoogles]

Fair enough. ...I mean, I still don't Get It, but I don't Get most things so I'll trust you on this.