Thursday last week, I had a leiu day from work. So, that was one whole day to do whatever I want. Essentially I cram in as much stuff as I can, to make up for the days I can't get anything done 8-5pm with work.
I told my daughter Sage," you be studying up, so we can go get your Learner's Permit". She had tried 5 times with no luck. She has a bit of test anxiety that makes it very difficult to retain the info in a stressful situation. Her Dad made her a study book, with a very artistic cover, she was very proud of it, and used it quite a bit to help her gain the knowledge for the test. (I knew if we didn't get it this time, it would be a long time before I would get another convenient opportunity to do this for a while.) As we got ready to walk out the door I said "let's say a prayer, you have really studied hard this time, now we will ask Heavenly Father to help you get the right answers to pass the test."
We drove over to the new DMV just off I-15 and Bangerter Highway. It is very nice, and one of my girlfriends from Provo High School Days works there too! So, I try to get in a quick Hello, when she doesn't have another customer to help. We got in line, filled out the long form, measured her height on the wall and went to the first check in person to get ready to go to the other side of the room where the testing computers awaited her arrival.
Sage went to take the test for the 6th time, I sat down to wait, and make phone calls and organize my schedule for the day. I told her to take her time and really think about the answers that are wrong for sure, and then try to decide from the others left to determine the correct answer. She smiled and went over to take the test happily. After she got all done, the Test giving guy came over to inform us, that she was SO close, but because it had been so long since we last paid, we would have to pay the $15. fee again. We had a hunch, so we had gathered all our many many coins and last few dollar bills in a Tupperware container for the payment. The Test Guy was very nice about it....I said how close was she? He said "VERY close, and I'll just call this one a "sample test", so that it wouldn't count and she would be able to take the test two more times that day IF needed.....which was very nice, I might add!
So, we got back in line again, and filled out the long form, incase they needed it. We got our number and went to wait again, for about another half hour. This time we were sent to another older gentleman in another area....the paying area. I took out the Tupperware and set it on the counter, all ready to make the payment, the counting of coinage, the clink clink of stacking the moolah....(I digress!)
That guy took one look at the Tupperware and said "you're not going to pay me with that are you!" I said "yes, I am....I'm a poor single mother...this is all we had today. Then, he got mad and said, "why didn't you stop at Coinstar and exchange them?". I said "there wasn't time....anyway we are in a recession, I work at the movie theatre and I take pennies from customers all the time, we only had quarters, dimes and nickels, NO pennies!" He said "well you should have stopped and changed your money." I said "I AM going to pay with this, and when you go to the watercooler with your co-workers after I leave you will have a story to tell at my expense!"
I did stay calm, because I knew this would be putting much stress on Sage with her having to take the test again. He was STILL MAD! He said to Sage "put your head up to that machine and read me the letters." He didn't make it very clear which line to read and the machine was tilted way too high, so she read him the wrong line, he got mad and said "DO YOU NEED GLASSES?" We both said NO. Then he said ''WELL YOU GOT IT WRONG, READ IT TO ME AGAIN." Luckily this time she got it right, meanwhile the Test Guy came and brought over all her paperwork, and I said quietly...."this guy is not being very nice and I am worried it is going to make it really hard for her to take the test again."
Then, I said to the older gentleman "you know this has been a pretty tough week, my home went into foreclosure and I lost all my inheritance, and we are doing the best we can here today, I'm sorry about the coins, but, I will count them all out for you so you won't have to do that part." He said "That is NOT my problem, my wife left me after 32 years of marriage, and this is NOT the life I planned out." I said "I am so sorry, but if you try hard you can find something good in everyday, it IS there if you look for it. I have had a hard few years too, but, I am nice to all the people I take care of at my job."
I counted out all the coins, and few bills left, and he loudly threw them into his till and said "I hope I balance at the end of the day" and I said "you will!" He was still very upset about the coins, he insisted on a debit card, which Sage's Dad had provided for her out in the car, but after his attitude, and the line, there was NO way I was going to have her go get that card. (And, frankly money is money, by law he has to accept the cash, even if it was all in pennies, which one of my sewing clients informed me later that day, when I went over to alter some suits for his work and take a quilt for their son over.)
So the older gentleman gave us a receit and Sage went to take the test again, I could tell she was close to tears, I said "no matter what he said, you just remember what you studied and we said a prayer so just do your best to take that test again, you will be fine."
I went back to my seat and then I thought, this was not the proper way to take care of customers, so I went over to the boss and very quietly told her what had come down, I said "I don't want this guy to loose his job, but customer service is very important, I do realize he has had some personal issues of his own, but..... this can be stressful to the people who need to go take their tests also, he needs to take better care of his customers."
Mean while... the older gentleman went over to the test guy and said in a very loud voice while giving Sage a dirty look...."That WAS a nightmare!" Of course by then, she was totally tramatized, I wasn't sure she would be able to concentrate at all. I waited and waited and finally she came up to me sobbing "I didn't pass!" I said" do you want to take it one more time? " She said "NO!"
I said"wait here", and started to go over to the test guy to see what we could do. He knew the whole situation by then, we had been there for 3 hours going thru this whole process. He gave me the "come here" with his forefinger....and then said in a loud voice, "SAGE, SAGE...come here. He held up her certificate and said loudly "Congratulations!"( I guess he had asked her verbally the two questions she had missed, and she got them right.) By then we both started crying, I said "Thank-you, thank you!" and we left the building. As we walked to the car I said "well, our prayer WAS answered today, you got your learners permit, if it hadn't have been for the mean guy, you may not have been able to pass today, sometimes bad things happen, so good things can happen too." And we both agreed, I asked her if she wanted to drive, she said "NO!"...but, later that day, after eating something, she felt alot better and drove me to Federal Heights to the client appointment, and she did VERY well I might add!
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