Im'ma Pray For You

BACKGROUND: In order to comply with the building’s capacity limit, there are ticketed time slots in an attempt to spread out the crowds throughout the day. Essentially, your ticket is a reservation to visit at a certain time. We heavily recommend buying tickets online, in advance, because there’s only a limited amount available for walk up. 

***All names have been changed to something ridiculous to protect their identity***

CHARACTERS:

In the Ticket Booth - Stevie  &  Fleece  &  Sunshine

On the Plaza - Newbie  &  Paprika

2:36PM on a Sunday

Location:

Ticket Booth 

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Shania Twain played over the speaker. For whatever reason, Fleece was going through another weird phase of music. I didn’t mind. It meant we were never listening to the same artists every shift. He sat in the corner of the ticket booth, his usual spot that was least likely to get guests. In the middle was Sunshine, she was doing a puzzle on the computer. Sunshine loves puzzles. Enough said.

About thirty minutes ago we made the call. We had officially sold out of walk up tickets for the day which meant the last few hours would consist of breaking the bad news to people or selling tickets for later dates. 

“What do you mean you’re all out of tickets?” said an angry customer after angry customer. Surprisingly, a lot of people don’t get the concept of having a limited number of tickets, or the fact that they should plan ahead and reserve online. Seriously? We just lived through a pandemic where EVERYTHING required a reservation ahead of time. Why is this still news to people?

Here’s the thing, we don’t like telling people, “No.” We don’t like being the bad guy. If it were up to us, we’d love to have a larger building to accommodate more guests. We don’t wake up in the morning and think, “Oh, I can’t wait to break kids’ hearts because their parents didn’t plan ahead.” We don’t make the policies, we just enforce them. 

Now, having said that, there are extremely limited options we have to make exceptions. Being the case, you better be an angel if you’re looking for an exception. Don’t stroll up demanding a ticket. If there’s a spot or two open where we actually can do something, you better have a good heart.

And this woman did. 

Through the window, I could see her, Paprika (her shirt was that color), strolling up with a small child, probably seven years old. She approached Newbie, our new staff member, where they proceeded to converse for a few minutes. They were smiling, so I didn’t think anything of it. I figured she was either asking directions or already had a ticket. 

“What should we listen to next?” said Fleece.

“How about Nickelback?” I said, sarcastically. 

Hot tip, don’t use sarcasm on Fleece because it’ll backfire. The next thing I knew the words to Rockstar faded in as Newbie knocked on the window.

"She wants to speak with someone in the booth," Newbie said with Paprika in tow.

I ushered the customer over to me, bracing for the bad news I was about to drop on her. However, it didn’t go as planned. Paprika was actually very understanding about the capacity and ticketed time slot system. She was kind, sweet, and, most of all, honest. They were in the area after visiting the boy's mother in the hospital, who wasn't doing well. Paprika wanted to take him inside the aquarium to cheer him up but didn't think about how busy it would be today. Turns out, she was hoping to utilize our discounted ticket rate for individuals on food stamps. Paprika had her EBT card in hand as proof, a sincere tone, and respect for those behind the ticket booth glass who have to dish out bad news all the time.

I smiled. “Give me one second.” I scrolled through the time slot system and discovered a handful of tickets that were overlooked from the morning. "I think we can help you out."

Paprika giggled with absolute excitement. “Oh, lord! You have no idea how happy this makes us!"

“Happy to help.”

She clapped in celebration, “Look, honey, I don’t care what religion you believe in. I just want you to know that Im’ma pray for you tonight. I mean that, Im’ma pray for you to have a wonderful life.”

I was taken back. “Thank you.”

She leaned in. “I mean it. I really do. And what about food? You like a good home cooked meal? I can do that as well.” 

I chuckled. “No, that’s completely fine. You really don’t need to do anything.” I printed her tickets out and handed them over. “Just do me a favor. Newbie is over there, make sure you thank her as well because she’s really the one who should get the praise.”

“Oh, honey, don’t worry. Im’ma pray for her too.”

And with that, they strolled inside where I never saw them again. Newbie approached me at the end of the day to tell me she ran into Paprika at one point inside. I guess she walked the two through the first floor of the building, providing a mini-tour of the penguins exhibits.

It’s little moments like that which help you get through the day. A tiny moment of appreciation and understanding to break up the emotional toll customer complaints take. 

THE END