Working With Ignoramusus

This was my first week back to work. I haven’t seen my mall-side domain in about two months. I haven’t tidied the aisles and I haven’t stocked the shelves for almost two months. This was my first week back after all that time. And most of it was spent fixing other people’s mistakes. This isn’t limited to just the workplace but it’s where I am most and hence see it more often, this lack of caring. There’s this attitude of “it’s not my problem” and “someone else will fix it” that plagues my dear drug store, has plagued my old drug store and the four other places I’ve worked. Since I have a hard time half-assing things, I struggle to fathom how others simply don’t give a shit about the impact they have on everyone else. 
Here is why I’ve been so pissed about this for the last week…
I am a cashier. That is my role, my position, my duty. I wield the till and get paid to do so. In between ringing customers through, I tidy up the products on shelves. This is something that I have to do. For the sake of others, and my own. I have to go through the shelves and organize because sometimes too much stock is shoved onto a shelf. When this happens, the stock around it gets moved over. When the stock gets moved over, it’s now above the wrong price tag. So when customers then see that stock above that incorrect tag and think it’s correct because obviously, the tag is below the item, they can then decide that the price looks good and they want to purchase said items. Then when those customers come to me and I ring up their items and the prices don’t match, I have to proceed to run from my till and into the aisles to investigate as to why the price is wrong. When I do that, I usually find that the price doesn’t match because someone overstocked the shelf and all the things moved over. I then have to run back to my till to change the price to what was incorrect since I honor the fact that we were in the wrong and not the customer all because SOMEONE DIDN’T GIVE A DAMN THAT THEY PUT TOO MUCH STOCK ON NOT ENOUGH SHELF!
I wouldn’t have to spend days deep-fancying the shelves if people weren’t so inconsiderate. Hell sometimes they don’t even bother putting a whole box of stock in the right spot to begin. But they can keep doing it because I will always fix it. I will always comb through those shelves and remove anything that doesn’t fit and neatly put it in a basket. I will seek out any item that is above the wrong label and relocate it to its true destination. I will always deal with the laziness of others because I am the one who faces the consequences when there’s an issue with the price. I’m the one who has to disappoint the customers and say that the tag was wrong or keep them waiting as I scurry around the store because calling for a merchandiser always takes an awkward amount of time for them to get to me. Because I’m a cashier, I face the brunt of customers’ rage when their time being served doesn’t go smoothly. Therefore, I cannot let those shelves live in disarray. Unfortunately, I was gone for nearly two months.
It just baffles me that some people don’t think about how their actions affect others. How can someone be so godsdamned lazy that they shove a bunch of products into a random spot and call it a day? How can they do such a thing when they are getting paid to be there? What really bakes my noodle is that they don’t have to endure any karma for their wrongdoings. If I pulled the same shit some of these heathens pull, I’d just fuck myself over in the end just because I’m a cashier. These idiots are merchandisers, they don’t have to suffer the wrath of the public, not like cashiers anyway. There’s a reason my position is so undesirable and the inconsiderate bastards lurking within the store don’t help much.
I wasn’t the only one undoing the wrongs, one of the good merchandisers who actually knows how to do their job well, cried with me as we removed tons of overstock from the shelves. Even both my managers were ready to flip some tables out of sheer frustration. All because of some lazy fiends, a cashier, merchandiser, and two managers paid the price. I was ready to execute some fools by the time today came along. I was ready to tie a noose and call it a year for myself. I was ranting in the vitamin aisle like a madman as I pulled bottle after bottle of overstocked and incorrectly placed supplements. It felt like I was being punished for returning to my job. Yet, if I hadn’t, these problems would take even longer to solve. It was a cruel reality, being cursed with this mess and being one of the few willing to clean it. 
I’m just sad. I’m sad that I’m working significantly harder than those screwing me over but we’re getting the same pay. I know it’s just a minimum wage job and a lot of people don't care to work that hard because of it. But doing a job well makes everything easier for everyone, regardless of where you work. A customer was talking to me about this and she said, “taking pride in your work is taking pride in yourself”. I find a good amount of truth to that, even as someone who frequently hates themselves, when I do a job well, I feel pleased and accomplished. I feel like I’m capable of something, whether it’s just rehanging a bunch of fallen toothbrushes or reorganizing an entire display. Taking pride in the simplest and most mundane of things really says a lot about a person’s character for not all occupations will be thrilling, not all days will be fast paced. However if you do your work well because you want to, you’re supposed to, and because it will make life easy for you and others, those actions will reflect upon you. You will be appreciated by more people and from that, your job won’t be as dreadful. 
I’m mostly working where I’m working for the discount, but, because I put a lot of effort into the tasks I do, I’ve been rewarded with thanks from those in positions above me. I’m liked by my managers and we have a lighthearted relationship and I look forward to seeing them each day I come into work. Though, I only accomplished that through doing what I’m supposed to do and doing it properly. People tend to like you when you aren’t selfish and when you think about others, those working with you and relying on you to do what you’re paid for the right way. They see you as someone on their team, someone who can support them and help them out when needed. That’s how these types of jobs function, with cooperation. Each individual does what they do to not only benefit themselves but the rest of their coworkers. That way, no one is secretly hated and the job doesn’t feel as torturous. 
Disregarding anyone but ourselves is unsustainable. We all share the same planet and we can’t just screw each other over for our own sake for all of eternity. Humans rely on other humans, we are all interconnected in a way. Everything we do affects more than one soul and we have to be mindful of that. Life could be far better if we acknowledged that every individual is not the only individual. None of us are the only ones, none of us are the most important or matter above all others. If you don’t give a crap about anybody else, then find another planet. Doing things right and well and properly will leave us all feeling more relieved. It won’t always be the easiest or most convenient method but it will be crucial for smooth operation. Afterall, there’s more to life than just the stores we work at, the very world we inhabit could run more smoothly with that same practice. 
Or we could say “fuck it” and keep being lazy and selfish and inconvenient and I’ll just gradually hunt each one of you shits down and deliver you your karma firsthand.
It’s your choice.