Compliment in the Condescension

I like grocery shopping,
I like shopping with a budget,
I like using my Air miles card,
I like making my grocery list,
I like flipping through flyers,
but I don't like condescension.

Tuesday has become the most common day for university/college students to buy groceries, because of the student discount offered at both Sobeys and that other leading grocery store. I will admit I am a Sobeys shopper through and through, but once in while I'll find myself at the (not so) Super Store, and this past Tuesday evening was one of those times. 

My mother and I had made our way around the renovation sites, and waited in a very long line just to purchase a few items. Once at the cash we got talking about how it was a coincidence that we were getting groceries on a Tuesday, and how great the student discount is, she jokingly said to me, "it's too bad you don't have your Student ID with you." 

When all of a sudden....

the cashier butts into our conversation to voice, 

(in a rather harsh and demeaning tone) 

"it's only for college and university students...NOT high school." 

I was not pleased with what she had to say, the sentence structure or the content. 

Instead of shooting back a glare (which I was very tempted to do) I simply smiled at her and told her I was in fact in university, and told her what year I am in. To which she responded, "well you need a valid student ID." I collected our bags and shared a fun look with my mom, and we left. 

I realize I do not give off the "University-look", or the typical university lifestyle, but I know I don't give off the "please-talk-to-me-in-a-demeaning-mannor" look. Perhaps a proper response from the cashier would have been, "yeah the discount is great for university students." (That way it would be made clear to which age bracket it is aimed, without completely insulting the customer.) Another option could have been asking me which school I attended, to which my response would have included an ending of                                                                 either "high school", "college", or "university". 

Even though I was very put off by the tone of the cashier, I will take her prejudice as a compliment. It means that I look youthful. It also means that the cashier thought that my mother looks too young to have a daughter past the age of 18, and I completely agree. It's always good to find a compliment in the condescension, but it's always best not to be rude in the first place. 

Sincerely, 

Sobeys Shopper.