Stress.

People might not believe how much stress I have because of work.  I can only explain it one way.

As I drove home tonight, I called Jenne (which I do every night) and talked to her for about five minutes.  After I hung up I drove for the next twenty minutes in silence.  I didn't even notice it, but I hadn't turned on the CD player, 93X, KFAN or even NPR.  Drives like this mean the day was especially exhausting and/or stressful.

Let me paint you a picture of my day:

Generally speaking, people pay their bills when they get paid.  We (that's you, me and most people who have jobs) usually get paid on one of two different schedules, and though they're different schedules, they usually fall within a few days of each other.  For example, Jenne gets paid at the middle and the end of the month, while I get paid every-other Friday.  Today was the 2nd–a Friday–and the first day after a Federal holiday.  

Why mention the Federal holiday?  Because mail isn't delivered on Federal holidays, so people who might receive government assistance (welfare checks) get them either on the 31st or the 2nd.

Plus, at our store, we do 70-75% of our business with people who have really bad or (best-case scenario) marginal credit.  That means that 70-75% of our customers don't have credit cards or even checking accounts.  And if there's no checking account, there can be no direct deposit.  So...if people got their welfare check on the 31st, they probably didn't get to the bank that afternoon, and of course they couldn't cash that check yesterday...

Most of our customers are on welfare and do all transactions in cash.  We do have a machine that you can pay your bill at so you don't have to wait in line, but rather than give change it applies the change to the following bill.  

So, if you've just taken your welfare check to the bank and you've got a fist full of hundreds and fifties, and you're balance is $88.34, you probably don't want to pay some of next month's (actually, it's usually this month's) bill with the extra $11.66 and you have to wait in line for someone to take your payment and give you change.

Maybe...MAYBE–if the customer really wants to leave–they will pay without asking why their bill is so high.  But, if they do ask (slowing down the line again) there's a slim chance that said customer brought a valid ID so we can actually access his or her account.

Add that to all the usual suspects* who have clearly broken, spilled liquor on, or lost their phones, and you've got my day.  

We opened at 9:30.  The line started at 9:30, it was there when I left at 5:00 and I'm positive that it's still there as I type this.  I would be accurate in guessing that there was an average of 12 people in line all day.

* These are the people who we have to educate about what a contract means, and why they got a phone free four months ago, but now they have to wait another 18 months before they get another free.  (I like the analogy that Comcast doesn't give me a free TV if I drop my current one in the bathtub).