Just a Grocery Clerk
Alex Johnson started his day off by going to check on his newborn daughter and gets her some food ready. He did this after a long night of no sleep, due to back aches, the stress of work, and the fear of being a new dad. Even though Alex is tired as hell, he’s doing it for the two women in his life. Nothing is more important in Alex’s life than his daughter and his wife.
After waking up his daughter and getting her some breakfast, he spends what time he can with her to start creating that everlasting father daughter bond. Unfortunately for Alex, he cannot spend his entire day with his new baby, for he needs to make money for his family. To provide for his daughter Alex must complete an exhausting shift for the rest of his day. To continue on his journey of trying to be the best dad he can be, Alex gets ready for a long day at work. He throws on his work vest and all black Nike’s and is ready to go.
After about a 15 minute drive, blasting AC/DC to the fullest, he pulls up to the parking lot of King Soopers. Where he will spend the next eight and a half hours of his life, away from his daughter and wife. He listens to one last AC/DC song to get himself ready for the unforgiving world of King Soopers customer service. He slips on his mask and grabs his Denver Broncos lunch box and heads into the crazy world.
As he enters he doesn’t realize it, but he instantly has bolstered the mood of every employee working. Alex has the ability to make anybody laugh or feel good about themselves, even on the worst days. Right as Alex is getting settled in he is approached by his good friend and football fanatic, Brendan. Every day to start off a shift the two talk about the latest news in the football world, and for a moment in time, the two forget they are even at work. A great bond has been built between the two through football, but Alex’s connections are not only limited to Brendan. He can make friends with just about anything that breathes. As his shift is starting he is looking for the first joke to crack to make somebody smile, but the 30 year old woman that is upset about expired coupons has other plans.
Instantly Alex tried to help the flustered lady, but her pugnacious attitude was not going anywhere. Even though Alex wanted to do nothing but help he was instantly treated like a doormat. He was called insulting names and was harassed for nearly ten minutes, all over 40 cent coupons. Alex did nothing but respect the lady, and cooperate with her requests. But she simply wanted confrontation, she didn’t really care just about the coupons. If that was the case, she would have thanked him for his cooperative help, but instead she saw an opportunity to bully someone.
This is not just “someone” though. This is a father, husband, son, brother, friend, and so much more. This is somebody simply trying to make a living so he can support the people he loves most. And what does he get for that? He gets called names and gets disrespected by people that don’t know anything about him other than his first name.
Even though Alex gets the shit end of the stick with a lot of customers, he still shows everybody love. After dealing with the coupon crisis, he goes straight back to cracking jokes with the front end. If it helps the day go by faster and a little better, Alex will do it. He can make an eight hour shift feel like a breeze.
Unfortunately for Alex though, his eight hours consist of non stop coupons crazies, disrespectful people, entitled adults, and constant theft. His eight hours tick by the second, and seem to have no end. But good news for Alex it does have an end, and it is coming right up.
He finishes off his shift by buying some more food and diapers for his daughter. On his way out the doors he finds time to slip in one last cheesy joke just to get one more smile, even after dealing with hell for 8 straight hours. Finally for Alex, he can now take off his vest and be seen as a human being, rather than some grocery store employee.
