The other day I was shopping in a drugstore when I heard a strange noise followed by a series of giggles coming from the next aisle over. I soon saw that a young couple in their mid-20s had knocked over a bottle of nail polish, which had shattered as it hit the floor.
In between snorts of laughter, the couple made a half-hearted attempt to clean up the mess, tipping over the girl’s coffee in the process. Now there were two big spills to clean up.
Rather than alerting the staff and offering to pay for the broken nail polish or help clean up the mess, the two laughingly ran off to another corner of the store, as though they were teenagers hiding from Mom and Dad. The spills had seeped into the store’s main aisle, but they didn’t bother to warn other shoppers about the slippery floor.
Luckily an eagle-eyed shop clerk saw the mess, then sent the poor security guard over with a mop. I noticed the couple still laughing as they watched him clean up their spills. All I could do was shake my head and carry on with my shopping.
It’s this kind of behavior that makes me so passionate about spreading the message of civility. If I made a mistake or had a spill, I would be apologetic and try to do the right thing. I certainly wouldn’t run off laughing and wait for others to take care of it. Have respect for yourself and others!
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