i only get paid 8.50 an hour, you guys

i worked the 12-to-close shift at the portrait studio last night. two sessions in particular stood out: the 5:00 and the 5:20.

the 5:00 was a couple, their friend, and their three-month-old baby girl. the 5:20, a couple and their four daughters. i mistook the youngest two for boys because of their bowl cuts. i shit you not.

ironically, the 5:00 was 15 minutes late and the 5:20 15 minutes early, so i took the 5:20 first and the 5:00 second. the 5:20 wanted family pictures, so that's what they got. four poses, too.

but for whatever reason they didn't like three of the poses. and to make matters worse, their girls' smiles were "too silly" in the one pose they did like. so out of the goodness of my heart i retook it for them. and it really was generous of me considering how backed up we were. all thanks to my manager, who decided to clock out early when she should've taken another sale or two to help her assistant manager and me get all caught up. but because she didn't, her assistant was stuck at the studio till 7:45 (she was scheduled till 6).

anyway, i took another four shots and they found one that suited them better.

and that's when i found out that all along, they had no intention of actually paying for anything. they got a free 10X13 with their coupon (and fyi, i hate that coupon) and that was it. so basically they were bitching and moaning because their free 10X13 - keyword "free" - didn't meet their standards. and the reason it didn't wasn't because of me, but because of their daughters, who were old enough to know better. fuck you, too.

i took the 5:00 at 5:30 - or rather i would have, if they had had the brains to change clothes instead of sitting on their asses in the lobby for 15 minutes. so they were not only late, but not dressed and ready to go.

they were looking for family shots, daddy-and-baby shots, mommy-and-baby shots, and plain-old baby shots. oh, and they brought a change of clothes for the baby. i drew the line before the second outfit even though they begged me to reconsider, because "it will take less than five minutes" and "we only need a picture or two in this outfit." obviously they didn't get that they were lucky i was even taking them, because the assistant manager would've turned them away. hel-lo! you were 15 minutes late for a 20-minute appointment! everything isn't going to go your way.

afterwards, they approached me. "we realize you're busy, but i have [two envelopes of wedding] pictures, and i'd like your advice on which ones i should mail to my family in ethiopia."

MISTER, YOU DO NOT REALIZE THAT I'M BUSY, BECAUSE IF YOU DID, YOU WOULD NOT HAVE SHOWN UP 15 MINUTES LATE AND THEN HAD THE BALLS TO ASK FOR MY EXPERT OPINION ON PICTURES THAT I DIDN'T EVEN TAKE. THAT WEREN'T EVEN TAKEN AT THIS STUDIO.

"um, maybe later."

he asked me again not five minutes later, after watching me literally run back and forth between the selling stations and the printer. he was standing between the selling stations and the printer, so i'm 100% certain he saw me. he had to have noticed me tapping my fingernails and running my hands through my hair and sighing.

"i'm sorry, i'm just too busy."

at 7:30, a half hour before closing, they wondered if i could possibly take a picture of their friend holding their little girl. because i'm a push-over, i gave in and agreed to take a single picture, which thankfully they ordered. all in all they ended up spending almost $200.

but jesus fucking christ. how can people be that inconsiderate and still sleep at night?