Calling the 2011 Summer

It’s officially spring and what I’m wondering is what will the 2011 Hamptons summer season bring from a rudeness rating?

Right about now the renters are taking their tours with realtors to find their dream rental home and the owners are getting their estates all gussied up.

Realtors please share your stories.

Will the reports of rudeness will beat last year?

We’ve got more bumper stickers waiting for you to share your story with us.

The Editor

Ignorance is bliss on the Hampton Jitney

I took the Hampton Jitney (a rare occurrence) and witnessed the following:

There were two men sitting a row ahead of me. They were seated next to each other but they weren't together.

One man was quiet and an older gentleman, he was very thin and looked like a college professor type. The other man was younger (mid-forties) and a typical cidiot - type. He was fat and pompous and dressed in an expensive suit and flashy Cartier watch.

The cidiot was speaking LOUDLY on his cell phone for what seemed like 45 minutes. No one said anything to him and neither did the Jitney host even though she should have. After a long while the cidiot finally finished his phone call that everyone on the bus had just heard half of.

There was a moment of silence.

Then the cidiot picked up his cell phone again and started dialing.

The older gentleman turned to him gently and said, "excuse me, did you know there was a limited cell phone policy on the Jitney?"

The cidiot turned to the old man and screamed "hey a**hole FU** You!!!" and then preceded to make his phone call that he was on until the end of the bus ride.

-S

Jedi Mind Trick on the line for the Hampton Jitney

I was standing in line for the Hampton Jitney, I was first in line with about 12 people behind me.

A woman came up to me and said, "Is this the front of the line or the back of the line?"

I replied "This is the front of the line" and then she quickly added "or does it not matter" and she stood in front of me, making herself first in line.

I was quite impressed with her quick thinking. I will have to use that line myself, next time I want to make sure I get a seat before anyone else.

-MW

We're featured on WPIX 10pm news last night

Rob Hoell reports - click to watch the video.

VIP service at the drug store

I was at my neighborhood pharmacy, a real mom & pop place that takes no shit from rude customers, especially the ones who don't really live in this community. This was an obnoxious guest-out-for-the-weekend type.

He was just ahead of me at the line to the cashier, yammering away on his cell LOUDLY, so all could hear his one sided conversation about where he would be dining that night. (dropping the obligatory comments about Della Femina, Nick & Toni's etc.)

When he gets to the cashier with his purchase he is still squawking away on his cell, and just throws his debit card at the cashier. She just folds her arms and stares at him and steps back while listening to him talk. After a minute, he demands that he be rung-up, he's in a hurry after all, what's the problem.

Then he starts tapping the card on the counter, asking why he is not being taken care of, she says with a straight face and a firm voice "Sir, you just looked so busy and so immersed in such an important call, I did not want to disturb you. I'll just wait until you are done with your conversation and will be happy to assist you. In the meantime, STEP AWAY FROM THE REGISTER WHILE YOU ARE ON THE PHONE. (Then sweetly) May I help the next person please?"

Ha - silenced!

Grabbed his card and walked out leaving his lousy Tylenol on the counter. I stepped up with a big smile and wanted to kiss that lady. And now I know that Numbnuts like this are the reason why so many banks & shops out here have to post signs that say no cell phone use at the counter!

-Cassa-Nova

Impatient insolence at the liquor store

I work at a popular East End liquor store. We have sales often over holiday weekends, and quite often are very very busy.  One weekend this summer, I was alone at the store because the other employee had gone home sick. I normally run the register and help people with selections while the other employee does all the lifting (I am recovering from spinal fusion surgery). Our system worked great, and I had spent the better part of the day alone and fully capable of cover the store alone.  At least until about 6pm.

The store was pretty crowded, I was ringing up customers.  This woman, who is a regular customer, and not the nicest, was milling around. I offered to point her in whatever direction she needed, and she shook her head and walked away. I have a line about 4-5 deep, and she walks up to the counter, clears her throat until I look at her, "Excuse me, I've been walking around for 15 minutes, waiting for someone to help me," I look at her flabbergasted and ask how can I help you, she tells me she wants a case of our popular cheap rose.  I finish with the customer I'm ringing up, I let her know I'm going to check the stock on the computer real fast and if we have it she will have to wait online to purchase.

She tells me not to bother she found a case of it, I ask if she is sure, that sometimes the empty boxes are used in case stacks, or that sometimes, just because one wine is displayed on top of a stack of cases, doesn't mean all the cases are that same wine. She states she is sure and huffs to the back of the line. I continue helping customers, until its her turn.  She complains how she had to wait, how shes going to be late and its all my fault.  I smile apologize, and point out that there was a line, and I must help people in the order of the line. I ring up the 12 bottles she's assured me we have, she pays with her Black Amex of course.

My line at this point is 6-7 people deep, I ask her where she saw the case of the rose, and she turns around and says there is a stack of it right by counter, mind you this rose, that she has previously bought case of comes in a blue box... the case stack is all white boxes.  I know when I rang her up, stock said we had 1 case left, but with the store being rearranged a couple days before, the location wasn't listed.

I am now trying to run around looking for the case, my line is piling up, I ask her if she can wait 5 min so I can help a couple more customers, and she says "No, you've waisted to much of my time already."

Now just in case the one citidiot isn't being bitchy enough, now all the other citidiots (probably more than half the line) are all getting snippy too.

One guys hands me a fifty, shows me 2 bottles and informs me he is taking these and that this should be enough to cover it.  Others are getting nasty.

I located the case (no more then 5 minutes after starting to look) push it into the middle of the aisle with my foot, she looks at me, and says, "my car is parked next door," I look at her, her female friend and the guy with them who looks to be in his mid-twenties, and say, "I'm sorry, I'm not supposed to be lifting anything, but I can carry this out for you in a few minutes on the dolly, but first I must check out all the people on the line."

"We'll I just paid for it, you have to put it in my car for me."

I was astonished, no please, no thank you for finding it, nothing.  I informed her, (my patience really starting to run thin, and the citidiots in line are all bitching and whining) I will bring it to your car as soon as I'm done ringing all these customers up, but if you cannot wait that long, perhaps you or one of the people you are with will carry it out for you.

She huffed about me being rude and having no customer service skills, how I am ripping her off on a 11 dollar bottle of rose, and yelled at the guy to carry the box out.

My line, now almost to the door, full of fidgeting and bitching people, start commenting, as I begin to help them, poor service, that the woman is probably right about the prices, they can get it cheaper in the city.

Finally when I get to the last person, its a regular YEAR ROUND customer.  And all she can say is, "I'm not sure how you or any other person working in the hamptons during the summer can stand these people, they treat you like you are their personal slaves and only here to serve their needs."

Thank god, the summer is over, and the citidiot invasion is almost over for a few months, this year seemed to be the worst out of  the past 15 years I have worked in the hamptons over the summer.

- JR

Amex Black Card Holders Poor Patrons and Tippers

Try working in a restaurant all summer and dealing w/ these people and they are still here!

They send everything back because they don't want to pay for it and then hand you an American Express Black card and tip next to nothing!

- KH

WTF is up with that?

I have witnessed some pretty rude treatment of our animal friends in the Hamptons:

You wouldn't put your toddler or best friend in the back of an open pickup truck....why put your dog in that kind of danger?

How about the guy who ran into my vet's office with his injured dog who said he put his dog in the back of the truck and the dog saw a squirrel and jumped out. (duh) Instinct will take over.

Imagine when you stop suddenly and your dog flies out of the truck, or worse, you run over your own dog.

I've heard of that happening. It's called centrifical force.

How about when people leave their dogs to bake in an oven called their car?

Anyone noticed the carnage on the road? There is a lot of animal traffic on our roads.  Where's the fire? Slow down folks, these are country roads.

Is it just me or is there a tailgating epidemic these days.

I work in a retail store and we have our very own reality show out the window.

One of the many rude things we witness regularly are the folks who pull up and park in the handicapped space and then get out and walk away looking perfectly healthy.

Not cool.

One day recently two customers came in and said that someone had purposely hit their car to keep them from getting into a parking space.

Then there's the guy who owns his very own traffic cone and uses it to save himself a parking spot.

We also had a customer who said that if we didn't immediately produce a missing part to the chair he bought he would throw it through our glass storefront.

My friendly farm stand guy says that people pull up right in front of the door, blocking everyone else from entering and shout out to him from the window without getting out, "Gimme this and gimme that." They expect him to go to and from the car to deliver the fruits and vegetables and collect money and then return with change.

Ever notice people literally standing dangerously close to the road (with their kids) to feed the swans in the East Hampton pond?

Is it just me or does common sense go out the window?

- Is it just me?