About a week and a half ago (had computer trouble since then, so couldn't post) I took my wife into Sydney for a dozen oysters and champagne at David Jones' Food Hall Oyster Bar for a birthday treat (only a month late, mind! ). We passed the JW stand at Town Hall Station on our way (pictured: the stand is usually in the area depicted on the left, and the stand itself is shown on the right [the pics were taken at different times]):
I decided I'd take advantage of the situation and stock up on the latest mags. I went over to the old bloke manning the stand and the conversation went something like this:
Me: Would I be able to get this month's magazines, please?
Dub; Rigid, Edgy and Grumpy (DREG): You simply must know that I cannot just give this literature away free - there is a donation payable for these magazines!
(Huh? Where did I say I wanted the mags for free? If I had said "I want to buy this month's mags", what kind of a lecture would I have gotten then? Perhaps that the literature can't be sold - that it's "free"?)
Me: Okay, okay! I'm quite prepared to do so! (thinking to myself: "Keep your shirt on - I just asked for some mags, for Heaven's sake!")
(It's hard to capture in writing, but he was acting really gruff and unpleasant - probably because I'd interrupted his day-dreaming and made him serve a customer - oops, "place some literature")
I hand over $1.60 (the mags were 40c each before they went over to the "donation arrangement" - it was like pulling teeth, trying to get 4 mags off him - does anyone know what the "suggested donation for the free literature" is at the moment in Australia?)
DREG: (Pulls out magazine and starts showing me a whole bunch of crap about how things are getting worse all the time) Blah, Blah, Blah!
After five minutes of politely listening to him crap on, I managed to pull myself away - we were hurrying to get the train home - maybe he's got all day to sit around, but we didn't.
Two days ago the family and I were again in Sydney and we passed the same bloke again. I paused for a moment to point him out to the boys and my wife commented that he didn't seem very interested in trying to drum up business from the passing hoards, nor did anyone show the slightest acknowledgement of him or his magazine stand.
Has anyone else had recent encounter with Dubs in service? Did they have the same "I don't give a flying **** for you and your problems" attitude as this guy conveyed to me (more by his tone, attitude and body language than by his words)?