Lesson Learned in a Convenience Store
1	I worked in a convenience store in Philadelphia. One day, I was working as a cashier. A lady came to me, and put a coffee pack on the counter. She said, " I bought it yesterday night, but I picked the wrong one. Actually, I wanted to buy the ground one. I identified this was a whole bean after I arrived at my home." 

2	When I tried to take the package to check the pack, she yelled at me, " Don’t touch it!" 

3	Frankly, I did not understand what she said. Because her behaviour was somewhat doubtful, I grabbed it. I discovered it was opened already, and I could guess she was pretending it was unopened. A normal pack of coffee is sealed perfectly by two steps, which are a zipper, and a thin wire. Because I had detected it was closed loosely, I observed it very carefully. It was opened already. According to the store’s refund rule, it is not possible to exchange merchandise that was damaged by buyers. Therefore, I stated to explain to her, " You are not allowed to exchange this one according to our store’s rule. Because you opened this pack already, I cannot exchange it." 

4	She yelled at me again, " I said it already. Don’t touch it. I did not touch it. You touched it, and you damaged it, and you opened it."

5	I tried to explain the situation again. However, she insisted on her position and did not listen to me. 

6	Then her husband appeared suddenly, and she asked her husband, "Did you see he touched the pack, and he damaged it."  

7	He did not answer. He seemed to know his wife was making an unreasonable demand. Because she was yelling at shouting pitch, he tried to calm her down. I was so embarrassed. I felt my cheek become crimson because of agitation.

8	Then she threw the opened pack on my counter and grabbed a new pack. She said to me, "Thank you!" and she was gone with her husband.

9	After she left, I could not keep my work going for a while owing to vexation. I stopped the job what I was doing and went into the back room to take a rest. Actually, the faces of the wife and husband were familiar to me because she had shopped in our store often.  I think she knew me too and I could not understand how she could behave like a stranger.

10	I learned two things from this situation, and my working behaviour changed.  First, I learned that when customers ask for anything, I have to accept them unconditionally. After the accident, I say to my fellow employees always evade arguments with customers as much as possible. If we argue with them, there are more losses than gains.  Second, I also learned that if I complete work that is allotted to me, that is enough. I don’t have to do something out of the responsibility of my working place. It is different from laziness, negligence, and idleness. If I am working as a cashier, I am doing only the role of cashier. If a customer wants a refund or an exchange, the decision about this is not the cashier’s job.  It is the manager’s job.

11	My thinking about work has changed in America.  Thinking about work among Koreans in Korea has changed, too. Originally when I was in Korea, I thought that if I belonged to a group, the group was the same as my body until I withdrew from the group. Koreans used the word "a life-time vocation" very often. This meant if I got a job, I was a component of the group until I retired from the job. I worked not only the allotted task, but also extra miscellaneous work, such as cleaning the office, and making coffee. Of course, this attitude is changing to a different way.  Now a person of full capacity can change his job more frequently. The person is not omnipotent, but a specialist on one field.  

12	Finally, I could find the way to live a modern life owing to that trivial incident. It suggested how to behave. I tell myself to be objective. I think that objectivity is the power to govern myself. Only when I can control my emotion by myself, can I do my work satisfactorily.