First of all let me say that this place was a solid 4 in my book. They have a decent snack and drink selection, the hot foods are tasty, breakfast tacos are awesome and cheap. The cigarettes are quite a bit more expensive than the other convenience stores near here, but I would choose this one for convenience. It's always really clean and the gentlemen behind the counter are always nice.
That being said, after tonight I will not return. I often go late at night, within an hour of their midnight close, and there is a black man they have employed to help clean and close up the store who is there on these occasions. Every time I go in there he glares so hard and with so much anger at me that I can feel his eyes on me. I almost always grab a soda from the front bin and because I can tell that some care was put into arranging it I am careful to not disrupt things much and shift things back so it remains even. Every time I get a drink he stands practically on top of me and huffs and puffs. So tonight I ask what his problem is because I'm OVER it, to which he raises his voice to say repeatedly "did I say anything to you?! Have I ever said anything to you?!". I point out that he doesn't have to. He makes sure to loudly and sarcastically tell me "you have a nice night".
I told the guys behind the counter that I won't be back. He makes me uncomfortable. I shouldn't be made to feel bad about buying a soda. Plus, behind his eyes are anger and violence. After I left tonight I couldn't help but look behind me all the way home for fear he would be there.
I'm not easily intimidated, and I don't tend to let people dictate my life in such a way, but in this instance I'm bowing out and will walk a mile instead of a few blocks. Zero of my dollars will be going into his paycheck. read more