A word about customer service . . . I know what it's like to feel degraded on the job. I've worked many convenient stores where scum who worked about as often as they changed underwear treated me like I was somehow beneath them. Still, I was somewhat respectful to them until they pushed my button. Then, God help them. But that's another story.

Rudeness is a sign of poor breeding. It doesn't matter how bad your day has been, or how shitty the last customer was, everybody who walks into a retail establishment initially deserves a "Hi, how are you?" Everybody.

That being said, I never frequent Murfreesboro convenient stores these days. Until recently, I still patronized a store close to Taco Bell, one in which I used to work. One particular evening, about 8:30 on a Friday night, the store was closed for stocking. The clerk was outside, and I thought she'd surely sell me a coke. Not so. When she saw me drive up, she literally ran inside the store and locked the door. All I wanted was a goddamned coke.

Unfortunately, this is more the rule, not the exception. Clerks here seldom make eye contact, offer a greeting of any kind, and seem to do their best to pretend you're not there. When I purchase gasoline, I always pay at the pump.

If more people ceased patronizing these cretin-infested shitholes, maybe the management would do something. Most people, however, don't care or even notice the lack of manners. Who cares if the guy's an asshole, as long as I get my beer and cigarettes?

When I leave Taco Bell, I now drive all the way across town to Walgreens. Yes, the drive sucks, but the staff is friendly, the store is clean, and there's always a manager on duty to take care of things.

Plus, they sell these huge chocolate bars for only 99 cents!