Rudeness

Of course we get a lot of rude people at the Raptor Center, and sometimes it can be hard not to smile when dealing with an irate tourist. The other day we had a deaf couple come in and ask if we had someone who knew sign language, and if not if they could have a discount. Meg asked Debbie, who said no on both counts. Their first reaction was to write on their pad of paper in big letters and all caps "DISCRIMINATION" and just start underlining it over and over again. I'm really glad I wasn't behind the desk that day because it would have taken every seriousness fiber in my body not to do or say something to aggravate the situation for my own amusement. Luckily Meg kept her cool and ended up giving them a personalized tour, for which they thanked her profusely and sent a lovely semiapologic thank-you note.

When I wasn't there a woman came in with a dog "for her heart condition." Obviously we let in service dogs, but all other dogs are not allowed because our birds don't mix very well with them. So when Debbie was trying to figure out the situation, the woman would scream at her, and then when Debbie would try to respond she would say "Quiet! I need quiet! Please be QUIET!" and then would scream to the room "I HAVE A HEART CONDITION." She then went on to tell Debbie that Lindsay "brought her very close to having a heart attack," which upset Lindsay a lot. Turns out that there are no service dogs for heart conditions, and this lady was probably just some cook who likes her dog, which was very poorly behaved and obviously not a service dog.

The worst to happen to me lately was a man who stood up during a presentation to take a picture, which is a huge nono, especially since Volta was on stage, who is very flighty and grouchy. So I politely say "Sir, please sit down." Then again, then again. At this point many people around me are saying "No standing! No standing!" Nothing. So I go and do the gentle press on the shoulder maneuver and say "Please sit down sir." So he turns around and says very loudly "I'll sit down when you let me take my picture!" And this group of old ladies just gasps and all say nearly in unison "How rude!" Now that I typed all that out it doesn't seem so bad, but it was pretty dramatic.