The sonofabitch at Park N' Shop

There is a tiny 'supermarket' in the Chong Yuet Ming Amenities Centre at HKU. If it weren't part of the Park N' Shop chain, I would call it a store. I suppose it's no coincidence that the supermarket in that building is a Park N' Shop, which part of the A.S. Watson Group, which is owned by Hutchison Whampoa, which, as we should all know, is owned by Mr. Li Ka Shing, a.k.a. "Superman" (EDIT: Mr. Li, with assets of $18.8 billion USD, is the world's 10th richest man, according to Forbes Magazine). Chong Yuet Ming, by the way, is Mr. Li's late wife. Until last year, Mr. Li was far too modest to allow donor recipients to name buildings and institutions after him. The CYM Amenities Centre is adjacent to the CYM Chemistry Building and the CYM Physics Building.

There isn't much variety in this supermarket, but I do buy some things, e.g. biscuits, once in a while. I normally go to the big Wellcome Superstore (owned by rival Jardine Matheson via Dairy Farm) at The Belcher's/Westwood down the hill.

Because I will screen a movie at Graduate House tonight, I'm responsible for buying snacks and drinks. I went to the Wellcome Superstore after my Muay Thai class yesterday, but the vast amount of fruit I bought prevented me from buying the snacks and drinks I need tonight. I'm a bit pressed for time today, so I went to the mini Park N' Shop at Chong Yuet Ming.

Every time I go to the mini Park N' Shop, I'm reminded that the store manager has something against me. I don't know what I ever did to him, but every time I shop there, he finds way to annoy me. He usually gets me at the cash register. Every time he takes up cashier duties when I'm ready to pay, he distracts himself with something else for at least a minute before he pays attention to me. In the past, he has picked up the phone to call his colleague in the storage room, put pricetags on untagged items, and even stepped away to rearrange some items on the shelf. Once, he even stepped away from the cash register as soon as I got there in order to help a customer. Why couldn't he let me pay first?

Today, there were 4 or 5 people in front of me at the cash register. He rung up the stuff they bought and bagged them relatively quickly, being a store manager, after all. But as soon as I got to the register (and I wasn't the last in line), he began to look at his arm. He looked at his arm for about 30 seconds as though he were inspecting it for flaws, ignoring my impatience and annoyance. Why stop then? Why not stop after letting me pay first?

Believe it or not, I've always been polite with this guy.

Him: "Would you like a bag?"
Me: "No thanks."
Him: "Would you like a receipt?"
Me: "Yes, please."
Me: "Thank you. Bye."

But today:

Him: "Would you like..."
Me: "No bag."
Him: "Would you like a..."
Me: "Give me a receipt."

I glared at him throughout the entire transaction. I grabbed the receipt from him with as much force as I could grab a receipt without tearing it. And no, I didn't thank him.

I guess I'm not afraid of acting like this at Park N' Shop. The stuff I buy is pre-packaged. Believe me, I'd NEVER piss off the people who work at the canteens, even though some of them aren't just rude to me, but they also stiff me. Those tattooed guys who work at the BBQ'd meat stall, I notice they give leaner, juicer, and less bony cuts of meat to pretty girls, but they always give the rejects to me. But hey, I'm not going to complain. But if I see them getting beaten up on the street, do you think I'm going to be a hero? Well, maybe I would. Maybe they'd give me better meat if I help them out..