Oh No!...A former co-worker and I'm here!!

As part of my work history, I was once a Realtor.  I enjoyed being my own boss and meeting people, helping them find or sell a home.  It was rewarding personally and financially for many years.  However, after about a decade, there were some warning signs that it was time to move on.  Safety issues came up and they were a bit upsetting, so, I left the real estate profession.

Fast forward to present day, when, as an under-employed woman, I am working part-time at a retail store.  I wear a T-Shirt with the company logo, not a business suit, and I punch a clock.   I try not to feel self-conscious, but at times it creeps up on me.   For example, yesterday…I was going about my work day, it was busy in the store because it’s “Back to School” time and we were busy selling all the necessary supplies every student needs; backpacks, notebooks, pens, pencils, folders, pop-tart holders (yes, you read that right), etc.   Anyway, while at the cash register I looked up to see a very nicely dressed woman with her college-aged son. 

In a moment of panic I realized I used to share an office with her back when we were both selling real estate.  Judging by her clothes and her rushed demeanor, I believe she is absolutely still ‘in the business’.  At first I felt mortified at her seeing me in the t-shirt behind the register.  What would she think?  Then, it hit me; let’s treat this as a psychology experiment.  If she saw me, she would definitely remember me…but, what if the person behind the cash register is so low on the totem poll, that they (me) go totally unnoticed?

She waited politely behind the woman in front of her.  As her turn came to be, she was still chatting with her son.  I politely said, “hello”, and looked at her, trying to catch her eyes.  She was busy chatting.  I totaled her order and told her the price.  She fumbled in her wallet, going through a myriad of cards, pulled out a Discover card.  I politely told her that we only accept Visa or MasterCard.  Once again, I dared her to look at me, nonverbally of course.  She mumbled something and dove back into her wallet.  Triumphantly, she came up with a Visa, handed it to me, and resumed her discussion with her son.

I swiped her card and was assured, after reading the name, that she definitely was who I thought she was.  There was no way she would not know me if she would just look up.  I asked her to sign the slip, handed her the bag with her supplies, and thanked her for coming in.  She smiled, took her bag, handed it to her son, and then walked out of the store.  She never even noticed me.

            That encounter taught me quite a lot.  It’s amazing to me how little people acknowledge others in positions of little or no respect.  If she had looked up for a second, caught my eye just once, she would have been astonished to see someone who had been such a successful Realtor, now working behind a retail counter.  I don’t know if she would have thought less of me or not, but the point is that she obviously considered me a non-person.  Someone of absolutely no regard; and that, in my opinion, turns the tables on the entire incident.

I am a good worker, an honest worker.  I am intelligent and thoughtful.  I will not allow myself to feel embarrassed at where I am presently working.  If anyone thinks less of me, or doesn’t even notice me, because of what I am doing, then it is them that should feel embarrassed, not me.