Where do I start... When I moved into the area 3 years ago, I looked for a place to get "regular" coffee. I'm not a Starbucks or Dunkin kind of a guy. Though I don't care for the grinding machines the gas stations use. In Elgin, I would go to the Myers Gas Station, off of Randal Road. At that station, it's just regular "Drip" coffee machines. The ones that the gas stations gave up to save money. For some reason, the "self-grinding machines" leave a more "instant coffee" taste, to me. Nevertheless, the station I start my mornings with is BP Gas Station on RT 25 and Barrington Ave. Every morning, I'm greeted with "Hello, my friend... how are you this morning?" EXCEPT TODAY! Today I was treated horribly by the Manager. The same person, for the last three years, I've seen every day, in her office, eating at her computer while "barking off" orders for others to complete. In three years, I've seen the manager 3 times, on the sales floor. 3 times in 3 years. In those three times, every time, she's had an issue with me. I have no idea why she makes the comments she makes to me. Today, as I was at the register checking out, she said.... " I have to count cups "! I said Excuse me? She said people like you come in and use our cup for your coffee, but then you put your coffee into your own thermos. I responded to her, "Once I put the creamer, which is chilled on Ice, into my coffee, it makes the coffee colder. My thermos is metal, and you can't put metal in a microwave, so I use a cup, then transfer the coffee from one cup to another. That's when she said... "Well, I have to count those cups"! Now, while she's reprimanding me, I notice people standing behind me listening to her berate me. Trying to leave the situation, I said, then charge me for the cup. Now, in 3 years, I've been going to the same place 5 days a week and never was I told, "I'm going to have to charge you for a cup", nor has the manager ever, ever, ever, been at, around, or by the register, but three times, in those three years. Normally, she's in the back, eating what appeared to be her last meal. But today was different. It was as if everyone who worked for her told her to pound sand, and they all called in sick. At the register, she berated me in front of other customers and held off completing the sale until she was done reprimanding me. When I thought it was time to pay, I swiped my card, but it didn't go through. I tried three times and nothing. As I was trying to pay for my things, she was just watching me. Said nothing but just watched me, again and again and again. I responded, I just want to get my things and leave. I said I have no clue what I've done to you to act this way... Dead silence! She said nothing. I said, "Look, my card isn't going through". She responded, "It's because she didn't finish my transaction yet". So why was she just standing there looking at me as if I had broken something? As a gay man, I grew up with people treating me horribly. Beaten up for being different, harassed for not being normal, and belittled for being gay. And now I'm getting the same treatment from the BP Manager in Carpentersville. Harassed because she counts cups! Which is a lie! I've seen her on the sales floor three times in three years, and she wasn't counting cups. What she was doing was barking out orders to her minions, who have to work for her. What she does do is bully her staff and, apparently, her customers as well. Well, friends reading this review... DON'T TOLERATE IT! Write a review, but make sure you didn't do anything to provoke the situation. If you did, then you're no better than her. When she went out of her way to be rude, I responded, "What did I ever do to make you treat me like this?". DEAD SILENCE! And until she pressed the "Total" key, I couldn't leave, until SHE was done with me.
Because I've had next to no communication with her, her rudeness has got to be because I'm gay! A gay male professional who owns a bridal salon in town, where we empower our guests, while showing them their capabilities when trying on wedding gowns. This manager obviously hates me because I'm gay! read more