Controlling your temper even when you're upset

So today we stopped into a Precision Tune to get the oil in John's car changed.
I've used them once before at another location in town, no problems. Cheap and pretty quick. The only place that is cheap enough that it's no longer profitable to do it yourself.

But today...
We sat in the full waiting room. And all was calm. Until.

A technician came in to tell a lady that her cabin air filter was dirty and needed replacing "Well, go ahead and do it." She said in an irritated "you're lying to me I just want to get out of here" voice.

Then they came back to tell her that all her old oil was out, but that her oil cap recommends full synthetic oil. She drives a Smart car. They told her the benefits the synthetic, but that unfortunately it costs about twice as much. She started throwing a fit, ranting that she wasn't going to pay $100 for an oil change. (I never heard them quote her a price). She told them she got her last oil change for $32. They let her know that was likely partial synthetic. She kept carrying on and then told them to just put her old oil and filter back in and let her go. They told her they'd put non-synthetic in if she wanted. She refused and they told her they'd put the old back in and have her out soon.

When they left she was like "ya'll sure you want your oil changed here?" I let her know I'd used this chain before with no problem and I'd never heard of a full synthetic oil change for $32. She told me the area she'd gotten it done in. Never heard of it. Anyway.

They rang her up and confirmed "you got the cabin filter right?" She was like "I don't know what a cabin filter is but I told them to put the old one back in." Of course I heard her tell them the change the cabin (air) filter. Anyway.

Then a lady and her toddler came in, already hostile "How much longer is it gonna be?" They told her the part should arrive in 15 minutes. She was like "That's the same $%* you told me 15 minutes ago, it don't take that long to get the part here, that auto place ain't that far away, I gotta go, this is ridiculous, I'm gonna need some kinda discount." The tech told her "we already gave you one on (such and such) remember?" She continued to complain and fly off the handle. He told her the part deliverer made a mistake and that's why it was taking longer. "Oh, so I gotta suffer because someone else, because ya'll made a mistake? This is  $%* ridiculous" and she stomped back out. She proceeded to continue fussing at them from outside in the pit area. She too told them to just put the old part back in because she had to go, she'd already been there an hour. She got on the phone and started complaining to a friend too.

Anyway, she came in to pay her bill and continued to fuss and rant. Threatening to not pay. Complaining to the cashier about what a crappy place it was, etc. As the cashier was going over her bill, she started saying she needed to see her old part, that it was put in, that they put her car back together, so her "$%& didn't fall apart going down the road." So the cashier went and got the technician, who told her that they put her old part back in as she directed. That if they hadn't gas would be leaking everywhere (apparently it was a fuel filter). They said the worse case scenario would be that they put a new one in and didn't charge her. Well, she kept insisting that they needed to put her car up on the rack and show her because she couldn't take their word for it. They went back out to the bay and she kept grumbling. She told the cashier she was going to call the police and then walked out.

Shortly after that our car was ready. No issues. I was kinda sad I didn't get to see it all go down. I told the cashier the police would be the best option because they'd politely put the lady in her place.

So I understand where the ladies were coming from- impatient, frustrated, feeling vulnerable. I too know what it feels like to wonder if you are being taken advantage of. But still, there was no need for that behavior. There's especially no need to act like that in front of your child. What a horrible example. They all could have expressed their feelings in a much more diplomatic way. I felt so sorry for the employees. They were having a rough day. I told John when we first walked in that the cashier seemed less than friendly and in a bad mood. Very much just putting in her time. But I realized by the end why she was probably so upset. Not that it makes the behavior acceptable.

So we had a good yet sad chuckle over the whole thing. And shook our heads.