Fatigue is real. I wish stores could put "no colored" signs up again
Ughhh, this reminds me of working overnight at a gas station. There was a night with a black woman just like this one that was easily one of the worst nights I had while working there.
I was still fresh into my shift, and the guy that worked the shift before mine had just left, so I was alone. I started my usual routine, but it got interrupted by a sudden influx of customers. I had to get behind the register and help them, but I wasn't ready to be stuck helping a big line of people, so everything started going to hell around me; the mop bucket was still out on the floor, there wasn't any coffee out because I'd emptied the carafes but hadn't gotten the chance to refill them, and the ice buckets I had been draining were left open and now flooding the entire front area of the store. JOY!
And that's when a black woman came up to the register.
She was mean from the jump, giving me attitude for no reason and just being generally hostile. All I wanted to do was get her rung up and out of the store as quickly as possible. I saw a lighter sitting by her stuff after I'd rung everything up, so I innocently asked her "is that lighter yours?" Turns out no, it hadn't been hers, she was trying to shoplift it and I had caught her in the act, so she started losing her mind and screaming at me, totally freaking out.
Joke's on her, I'm autistic!
I CAN FREAK OUT EVEN WORSE!!
I had a total meltdown. I was hyperventilating, screaming uncontrollably, openly crying, it was so humiliating. Just when the situation couldn't get any worse, that's when an off-duty cop showed up! I was losing control of the situation, but in hindsight I'm so grateful he arrived when he did. He lead the other customers out and turned new customers away, had his buddy call paramedics for me, and he started asking the shoplifter and me about what was going on. The shoplifter was totally traumatized, she had no idea what to do. At one point she came around to the opening to the register pen and offered to come in and give me a hug, but that just made me panic worse and start throwing up. I was NOT about to let her into the employee-only space with all the tobacco and money!!!
I got to go home early once my manager showed up. A few days later I learned she was a regular shoplifter at our location, but that after that night she hadn't come back like she usually did. In fact, she never did come back to that store. She was so shocked by the whole ordeal she decided it wasn't worth the trouble! Ha! My autistic meltdown saved the day!
I would say the moral is "never relax," and it makes a more satisfying story that way, but in the interest of honesty I ought to mention the off-duty cop that saved my ass was also black. He was a good man helping his community and I'm grateful for him. It's so easy to feel fatigued, but at least for every dozen or so Shoplifting Shaniquas there's one Officer Jermaine to make everything a little less black and white (pun not intended.)