Down here at the pawn shop

[lumberjim]

Well, as long as we're all flaggellating.... it's all good.

[neilt0]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

One of my personal theories is that Britain is self-flagellating about class as America is self-flagellating about race.

Kinda. It's improving, but I think Thatch said we were "a classless society" and that's clearly bollocks.

[sexobon]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Truth is really the most important thing in the world to me. It's the basis of trust, which is the basis of all relationships.

The determination of truth is my lifelong mission. It is the foundation that we stand on. Without it we have nothing. ...

... Does reality matter? It definitely does.

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

No it doesn't, we interact with what is presented.
If they are phony, it's their loss, not mine.

Originally Posted by Undertoad

That's exactly what I have done.

I saw through lies and interacted with what was actually presented, instead of what was attempted to be presented.

Originally Posted by Undertoad

... But at the same time, honesty is one thing that's strange about the shop, because there are so many lies going on at all times. Being a relentlessly honest person was one thing that made it hard to work there. Half the customers are lying to us when they bring things in; people make up all kinds of stories about why they need money, or what their item really is. Half the time we give an explanation for something, we are lying just because it makes it easier to do the job. ...

[Bold mine.]

Your customers are under chronic financial stress which may influence their value of truth and perspective on reality. There are other circumstances which do the same and you're not alone in the way you deal with it; but, you're shortchanging yourself when you said "... just because ...". For instance, healthcare workers at all levels are trained to interact with people who have dementia, psychosis, developmental disability... etc. within the framework of that person's perception of truth and reality, to the extent that they can without causing significant harm, rather than calling them out on every disparity between their presentation and the truth. It's done primarily to keep the lines of communication open by giving enough leeway to those with challenges to accord their self-perception of dignity (though sometimes to protect them). People challenged with living at; or, just above the survival level, whether in Philly or Cortez, often can't afford to have that perception on their own.

Originally Posted by Aliantha

... you cant make a grand statement about the search for truth and then agree that you're interacting with a falsehood knowingly. One or the other. ...

Not.

[Undertoad]

Right; maybe I should have said "makes it possible to do the job" when trying to align financial reality with ghetto ignorance and lack of polite culture.

Today I was in the shop, and it was a weird day (as all days in the shop are). During the morning, people were polite and intelligent and simply did their transactions; and during the afternoon, there were three separate incidents with older women who had left their jewelry in pawn for too long and lost it.

When people put things into pawn, they have 5 months to retrieve it. At the time they pawn, they're given a ticket which lists the price after 1 month, 2 months, 3 months and 4 months. At the 4 month mark, they are sent a registered letter, which tells them their stuff is due and they are being given 30 days of grace period to come get their stuff. All this is explained to them when they put their items in.

But people lose things all the time anyway, because they are ghetto ignorant and simply don't have the tools in their personal tool chest to manage their shit.

And so they come in, one day late, and they are denied their stuff, and it is at that point that there is a good chance they will go apeshit. This is particularly true of older ghetto women. For some reason, they are deeply endeared to the jewelry items that they put up for a $30 loan, left in our care for five months of their miserable lives, and failed to keep track of.

This only generally happens about once a week, but today it happened three times; so I had a lot of compassion for new guy Steve, who works the main window and is only just now finding that he has to figure out a way to deal with this, emotionally.

The first woman just tore him a new asshole for ten minutes, complete with obscenities and whatnot. He kind of just had to deal with it, because she had a second item still in pawn that she was figuring out what to do with. Her first item was past due by two days; her second item had two weeks left on it. So she renewed the loan, then got so angry that she wanted to get her second item out, but didn't have enough money for it.

But then it turned out she was 75 cents short the money to take that second item out, which led to another retarded argument over why that 75 cents should be magically granted, until some gentleman customer in the store gave her the 75 cents and she found a way to move on.

I've mentioned this lie before, but when someone's stuff is late, we lie about it; we tell them that it's gone, that overdue stuff is taken out of the shop the night after it comes due. If this woman knew that her item was still locked in the safe, she would still be there tonight, yelling at the empty storefront.

The lie becomes necessary for self-preservation. In polite culture she would acknowledge her role in her reality; accept that she had mismanaged the situation; and never take it out on the nearest employee, because that's bad behavior. In polite culture she would be given the complete explanation. In polite culture, if a woman goes apeshit, she is taped and put up on YouTube and Vine for all to see and mock. In the ghetto, it's just another childish emotional day.

[Undertoad]

By the way, Steve dealt with all three of these emotional women in the afternoon, talked with Alan and Sammy about how to handle these things, and then ran for his train to get to the hospital, where his mom has about a week to live.

[Pete Zicato]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

In polite culture she would acknowledge her role in her reality; accept that she had mismanaged the situation; and never take it out on the nearest employee, because that's bad behavior.

I've had to wait on too many entitled rich women to buy that.

[lumberjim]

It doesn't happen to me too often, but on thursday, I had to shut down a women (who was clearly rich enough to have had some plastic surgery on her face) because she did not buy the tire and wheel protection. She first insisted that it had never been offered, and when I printed and pointed out the waiver she signed saying it had been, she shifted to the position that we didn't do a good enough job convincing her to buy it. (Not me. I would have closed her ) she will NOT be buying another Nissan.

I said, "you got a flat tire. What does that have to do with what kind of car it is? "

"I'm not happy. Someone has to do something about it. "

That was really her main complaint. ... that she was not happy. $400 for the tow, and new tire. Probably cost her 2 nights at the bar.

I actually had her laughing by the time she left. .... She threatened to call Nissan customer care, I said, "if you truly feel like the people here mistreated you, then I think you should call. Do you really feel that way? Really? We did this to you? "

That's when her act broke up and she admitted just being frustrated because she didn't want to deal with it. I wonder how often that one lady intimidates clerks at low levels. She clearly had the routine down, and the only thing that ended it was her absolute lack of any progress with the 2 managers she had hammered on before she got to me... where she got nothing but sympathy and advice on buying the tire plan next time.

My ex mother in law is one of these women. If you have a legit gripe about a retail experience, you want her going to bat for you. But I would NOT want to be on the receiving end of her shit storm.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by lumberjim

My ex mother in law is one of these women. If you have a legit gripe about a retail experience, you want her going to bat for you. But I would NOT want to be on the receiving end of her shit storm.

Pete's cousin is the same way. You'd love to have her on your side when you're in the right, but she's a damn embarrassment in most situations.

[monster]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

One of my personal theories is that Britain is self-flagellating about class as America is self-flagellating about race.

This is spot on IMO

[Undertoad]

I had to lecture Steve about trigger discipline.

Spoiler: It's a paintball AR-15. Pawn shops in Philly do not deal in actual weapons.

[Perry Winkle]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Spoiler: It's a paintball AR-15. Pawn shops in Philly do not deal in actual weapons.

That's one of the main things Montana pawn shops deal in. Buy a car, an old toaster and a second-hand assault weapon in one place.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Pawn shops in Philly do not deal in actual weapons.[/color]

No shit? Zat a city ordinance thing, or what? I've never been in a pawn shop (and I've been in a few) that didn't have multiple racks/display cabinets full of guns.

That's kinda odd.

[Undertoad]

Yeah it is the City of Philadelphia that has issued the ordnance ordinance.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

...issued the ordnance ordinance.

I award fifty points for wordplay.

[Undertoad]

Today's "picture left on pawn shop electronics" is of Donte's ammo. This is Donte's iPhone and Donte had it stolen or just didn't want to wipe his phone when selling it. Donte himself is in the photo following this one. I will leave that photo out to protect Donte.