Don’t tolerate rudeness

#Middlebury #Seniors

I’m not the only one who’s been muttering around town about drawing a line over how we seniors are sometimes treated. Some of us have decided to take a stand and speak up. Want to join us?

One elderly man was in the middle of placing his order at the counter of a coffee shop bakery that he visited every day. The cashier stopped in the middle of taking that order to speak at length with someone who came into the shop. There was no, “I’ll be with you in a minute,” to the person who was interrupting. The elderly man was just ignored for a very long three minutes … when he walked out. He won’t be going back, I’m sure, but he did call the bakery’s owner.

Then there was the senior who’d made it clear (or so she thought) at her doctor’s office that she couldn’t make morning appointments, that they needed to be scheduled in the afternoons because of transportation reasons. She was irritated when she received a message from the office that her appointment would be at 8 the next morning. Her solution? She left a message for the doctor himself.

Another person who gets delivery of his drugs from the pharmacy in town asked for a one-hour window when they’d be delivered. He was told, “They’ll be there sometime this afternoon. You weren’t going anywhere anyway, were you?” His solution? He called the pharmacy manager.

When we’re trying to make a fairly large purchase and we’re continually steered toward more expensive items … when the tech guy thinks we don’t know how to operate a computer … when it’s assumed we’re uninformed … when we’re not amused to be called “young lady” or “sweetie,” we won’t necessarily cause a fuss, but we will speak up.

© 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.