Sam's Club Embarrassment

I ran to Sam's Club tonight. I got there at 7 p.m. and the automatic doors were locked shut. Sam's is open until 8:30. People were inside. A couple joined me at the door, peering inside. A Sam's employee stood near the entrance, staring back at us. We gestured to the door. He stared back. We pointed to our watches. He stared back. We KNOCKED on the door. He stared back.

"What is UP?!" I asked the other people.

"I don't know!" one responded. It was below freezing and we were shivering.

Finally, after a literal 3-4 minutes of us gesticulating, the employee pointed to the exit door. We went around. Those doors were open, and we went in. I stormed to the entrance and demanded of the employee, "What's the problem?" He replied, "The doors were closed."

Huffily, I grabbed a cart. As I walked away, he went over to the automatic doors and unlocked them.

After I got what I needed, I asked the cashier for a manager. When the manager appeared, I told her about the incident. She said to me, "Ohhhhh, yes. I don't mean to downplay your inconvenience, but he's rather slow. Sometimes his mind just doesn't fire, you know?"

I felt sooooo embarrassed. In my defense, this kind of outright disservice is not out of the realm of my everyday experience; however, it occurred to me that I should have realized the man had some mental issues and was not completely obtuse.

Before I could reply, the manager asked me to stay put, and she disappeared. When she returned, she handed me a coupon for a free rotisserie chicken on my next visit for my inconvenience. I thanked her, but I felt pretty bad. I told her I was glad that Sam's gave people the opportunity for employment, and maybe someone should just keep an eye to make sure the front doors didn't get locked again . . . and I made a quick exit, still blushing.