I’ll never forget how I used to go to this particular full service gas station that that was so busy-with so much going on that if you weren’t paying attention, this one girl in particular would keep your change. It was her hustle, I could tell.
What she would do is walk up on you and low and behold you were preoccupied-doing something in your car because that seemed to help diffuse the situation and (from her angle) was just enough to cloud your thinking and allow her to make off with your change. With a change dispenser around her waist, a smock around her hips and cash in two hands, she moved about from car to car so swiftly that, if you really weren’t paying attention, she will have serviced (or been in the middle of servicing) 2-3 the cars before you even noticed and most times, like I almost did once-you’d just drive off (and from her view): home-free. Hustle secured.
She tore her a$$ with me and got founded out when her “surprised” look and acting didn’t quite cut the mustard. And it made me remember a conversation a girlfriend and me were having a while ago about this ‘girl at the gas station over on such and such’-but it had been so long ago, I didn’t think about it (until she almost made off with my money and after words, I tuned in to how she was whipping and zig zagging from pump to pump inconspicuously with her tongue and thumb out and eyes bucking from left to right while stuffing money between her smock and back pocket). I mean, she had her hustle down pat! I promise you this.
In between this time, her having to stop in to the small facility to drop cash and come back out to service her customers, her movements and hustle was hypnotic and I could see where most would forget to get their money back from her-because of how flippant and swift she put out, and moved about…you had to make her give you your change before she started pumping and if you didn’t get it before she started pumping, the way she moved on and about past you-you really would drive off thinking she gave you your money (like most of the workers there would do even before pumping your gas—like it was supposed to be done).
Not her though, she knew how to distract you or walk up on you while being distracted.
It must have been a joy for her to come to work because her footwork and ‘way’ was talent. I kid you not. I even sent my friend over there the same evening and told her to act distracted and the girl did my friend the same way. We laughed our a$$es off comparing notes when my friend said she told the girl: “Sweets you aint slick with everybody. I aint trying to knock your hustle but you’d better be careful.”
Without replying, my friend said the girl looked contemplative (for a second) but kept right on with her hustle. She was collecting those duckets unapologetically. I say.
The same sort of thing happened to a woman in Lakewood, Califronia.
Ever been to that drive through or store and after purchasing your item/s, you (later) remembered the clerk didn’t give you your card back, or he/she took too long to give it back to you (or walked away with it and brought it back when she/he came back with your order)?
Well, the odd thing about such odd occurrences is, more often than not, our card is handed right back to us, that’s why-when it isn’t [handed right back] woe to the idiot who dare boldly goes where all idiots dare go with the information as, thy will be caught.
Despite how busy and multitasking we are nowadays, when it comes to our money (many of us) know what’s going on, out and retur
ned back to us. Many of us may have a tough time keeping up with our own spending and keeping tabs on it (because even those items ‘come back to us’), but we’ll be damned if we had it over (to someone else) and it doesn’t return (or come back to us), I know, right?
Well a 19 year-old Starbucks employee (who obviously gotten away with this one time too many) got caught when she thought a hard working single mom’s credit card was something that she could borrow to buy groceries on.
You know how your bank (if you have text alerts) will alert you per transaction? Well when Juana Martinez got bank alerts showing that her card had been used at Ralph’s (for a total of $200/something odd dollars), she knew exactly ‘who dunnit’ because she remembered the girl disappearing with her card. That being the case, Maritnez pulled right up to the drive thru to confront the girl who not only did not deny it, but repeatedly apologized and asked the customer not to prosecute, telling her she was a “good kid” who plays soccer and alls kinds of rhetoric that the customer wasn’t trying to hear:
Needless to say, Starbucks fired the girl and stated, “We were extremely troubled to learn of this incident, and we have been working directly with the customer to address this situation. We value our customers’ trust, and this experience was completely unacceptable. We will support local authorities in any investigation.”
The soccer playing former Starbuck’s stealing dame was spared having charges pressed on her as, the woman felt the online shaming, filmed by her brother Brian Espinoza, would suffice as punishment enough after posting it on Facebook and Youtube.
“I almost feel bad for the girl but she robbed the wrong person. Keep an eye out folks, even if it’s at your friendlyneighborhood Starbucks,” he captioned.
Spitfire .
Media Maestro .
Writing Rhinoceros .
