South by Southwest Source > South by Southwest Source > Archives > 2007 > March > 18 > Entry
Turn up the Pendergrass and life is good
If you think your SXSW was hectic, try working the convenience store in the Littlefield Mall on Sixth Street. But the female clerk on duty Saturday seemed to be enjoying the drama — and the opportunity to show off chandelier-sized earrings, which a customer admired.
“I think I look cute today!” the clerk agreed, and then cried “Hey! No public bathroom here,” to head off three young women in clubwear who’d just strolled in the door, apparently with the look of women on a mission. The clerk then scolded one customer in her line over to the other register — “Cash only here, baby!” and chided the cash customer for handing her a large bill.
“You’re killin’ me with these twenties! I got no pennies in this register, baby!”
A friend of hers stopped by to say hello, and she greeted him warmly but said “Thank you for comin’ in and showin’ me some love, but I’m busy, busy, busy! It’s been bad all week.”
An hour later, things were even more hectic, as beer-sale hours were about to end. The clerk hollered at a customer who was headed to the register with a 12-pack to hand her that beer, quick, so she could ring it up. He deposited it on the counter, and as she rang it up, she ordered him to pick up a can of potato chips from the floor.
“But I didn’t knock it over,” he said, quickly handing her the potato chips.
“Oh, I know that, I just saw them laying there,” the clerk replied.
Thirty seconds later, she spotted her co-worker starting to ring up a six-pack for a customer who had failed to heed her command to hurry up.
“Don’t ring that up!” she exclaimed indignantly. “I told him. You can’t sell that to him, it’s after 1. He didn’t listen to me.”
Her co-worker checked the time on his cell phone, shrugged, and sold the man the beer. The man had the poor sense to grin at the female clerk, who exclaimed “You don’t care if we go to jail because of you!” Then she turned on her co-worker and hissed “I hate you rung that up!” She looked like she wanted to smack him, but instead rolled her eyes and said “One thing is, the music’s too low!” Turning Teddy Pendergrass up to a proper level restored her good humor instantly.
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