The Customer as Criminal

The Customer as Criminal / Rebeca Monzo
Posted on July 29, 2015

Rebeca Monzo, 27 July 2015 — One of the most annoying problems in our
country, as far as services and treatment of the public is concerned, is
the humiliation to which we are subjected on a daily basis. This is
especially true for women. We are required to leave our handbags, with
all our personal belongings inside, in bins set aside for this purpose
at the entrances of every store and commercial establishment, even
though many of them have no security. This has led to instances of
theft, for which the victims receive no compensation.

A few days ago a friend of mine went into a shoe department — located on
Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in Miramar — that was practically outside
the shopping complex to which it belonged. Under the circumstances and
keeping in mind that she was only looking for footwear, she went inside
with her handbag. As soon as an employee noticed this, she told my
friend she must leave and deposit the handbag in a bin. My friend
replied that she did not see why this was necessary since there was only
one of each brand and model number of shoe on display and that she, as
anyone could see, had two legs and two feet. Given the employee's
insistence, my friend asked to speak to the manager of the department to
explain the situation.

The manager came over and my friend tried to reason with him, offering
the same rationale she had given to the employee. He replied with a
logic very "a la socialista" that it was his understanding that someone
could steal a shoe — one of a certain color, size and model number —
then go to another store that carried the same shoe, also on display,
with exactly the same features but for the other foot, thus completing
the pair. Something completely implausible!

My friend stood there stunned by this explanation and decided to leave
the store immediately lest she contract the idiocy virus so common in
these places. But before doing so, she let it be known to both the
employee and her boss that she, like many others, were fully aware that
the majority of such thefts were, unfortunately, inside jobs.

In the old days, during the capitalist period, there was a saying that
became famous precisely because it was so sensible: "The client is
always right." Now under socialism the customer is unfortunately treated
like a potential criminal.

Source: The Customer as Criminal / Rebeca Monzo | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-customer-as-criminal-rebeca-monzo/