When Football Fever is Too Much.

World Cup, World Cup, World Cup.

Those two words are everywhere. Emblazoned on t-shirts, headlines of newspapers, on your television screen very hour, you are being exposed to it every second. Okay, okay, it's once every four years, but honestly, sometimes people get really far-fetched with it. 

I read an article on The Star Online newspaper (But Then Again) about the columnist's encounter with poor productivity from workers of a shop. Because of what? Yes, World Cup (rolled eyes here). Truthfully, I am sick of getting poor services just because the workers are too tired to even lift a finger. I think this is simply unacceptable. 

If they want to watch the World Cup, then go ahead, nobody's stopping them, but it's very unprofessional of them to perform so poorly at work, all because they had been deprived of sleep for something not even important enough to mention! If they think they can get away with this just because World Cup rhymes with "work stop", they've got a second thought coming. 

I honestly have zero tolerance for this type of behavior from workers. I encountered one such human being today. I was in a shop, my friend had requested me to help her buy contact lens with degree at a specific shop because she can get discounts due to her membership. I went into the shop she had mentioned and saw the promoter looking at me, but he did not budge. I  saw the contact lens and beckoned for the shop promoter, who was sitting next to the counter, his hand tilting his head and dark circles were prominent under his eyes. He sighed lazily and slouched towards me half-heartedly. That kind of provoked me, but I pushed the annoyance aside. I then inquired further about the item, just to make sure I got the right one, and he replied all of my inquiries lazily and acted like he had no idea what I was on about. 

Increasingly irritated, I asked him whether it's the right type of contact lens then he summoned his friend who was inside the staff room. His friend looked much more sober than him. I told the promoter nicely that I wanted to buy the contact lens and I asked whether it's the right one. She nodded cheerfully and told me it's the right one. I thanked her and turned towards the lazy promoter. I handed him the box of contact lens and told him that I would like to purchase it.

He slouched once again to the counter and I followed him, taking out my purse, ready to pay and get out of the store. It took him forever to reach the counter and what seemed like an eternity for him to pack the item and give me the receipt.

Just as I was walking out of the store, I heard the girl asked the lazy promoter why he looked so tired. His reply led to this topic today. " I was up all night watching World Cup."

It took every fiber of my being not to turn around and chuck the box of contact lens at him. Unbelievable! I think this is too much. World Cup is not an excuse for your bad performance at work. The thing is, he doesn't have to stay up all night. He could just get the VCR to record the match and watch it later after his sleep.  

And did you listen to the radio? The DJs are giving out tips on excuses to tell your bosses if you are late for work because of football. I think that football is not an excuse worth two cents messing up on your work. Which is why I said that people are getting overboard with their World Cup obsession. It's one of the things that are not worth obsessing over. Come on, the ice are still melting, do something about that instead!