The ‘Can’t Make Me’ Customer

While waiting in line at Whole Foods last Thursday, a customer in front of me quickly got out of line and into another after refusing the checker’s request to comply with store policy that must adhere to California’s mandatory wearing of cloth face coverings when indoors while in a public space. I chatted with the checker after the incident, who told me that because of the customer’s refusal to wear a face mask, “I refused to help the customer,” which is the absolute right of the employee, as stated in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

In the meantime, we continued to talk, and I observed the “can’t-make-me-I-don’t-care-about-you consumer, and I scrutinized the Whole Foods checker’s body language and facial expressions which, in my mind I projected as a nonplussed demeanor — I don’t recall the checker even acknowledging the selfish customer — probably was more focused on the clock striking 9 o’clock quitting time. Finishing up, the items were bagged, and the maskless customer paid and exited the building.

At the same time, my conversation continued with my checker: “Shouldn’t the manager step in and enforce policy?”