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Angry customer with orange card. Any ideas?

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RedQueenWildBoy

Junior Acolyte
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Feb 17, 2009
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I stumbles upon a blog entry that I'd written last year, and was wondering if anyone had any more clue than I.

You get a lot of odd people in the shop where I work, but one in particular left me really confused, and I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the situation. viz:

It was quite busy one evening, and the queue had somehow split into two opposing clans, as often happens, there being only one till. A woman in her 40s at the front of one of the lines had got into a disagreement with two young girls at the front of the other as to who was first. The older woman was becoming quite unpleasant about it, so pretty quickly, the girls stood back saying, "you go first, it doesn't matter".
I started to put her items through quickly, hoping to avoid a scene, when she pulled out a card (orange coloured?) from her purse, flashed it towards the girls, saying "Actually, it does matter. Look." They stared at each other, either bemused or unimpressed, but heard no further explanation. I was planning to ask them about it when they got to the till, but this lady wouldn't leave in a hurry. Instead, she left very slowly, announcing the whole time to I-don't-know-who about how she "showed them the card but they didn't understand. Well, of course not. Of course they didn't. It's dreadful..."

I am very interested in finding out what exactly happened, so that I know a bit more about what to do if it happens again. So far, however, I can only think of what it possibly could mean. Either,

* The card was proof of an unpleasant, possibly terminal disease, meaning that they couldn't waste their last precious weeks on this Earth waiting in queues.
* The card was proof of an unpleasant, but slightly less terminal disease, meaning that the sufferer desperately needed a particular type of health food in a hurry (I can't remember what she bought).
* It was a business card denoting someone important in either this particular health food company, or the shopping centre it's in. In that case, shouldn't she have shown it to me?

Whatever the case, I fail to believe that there is a little wallet-sized card that allows someone to be a d*** to people.
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I was intrigued by this so I did a quick Google and came up with this:

http://www.dva.gov.au/health/vtec/treatmentcards.htm

Was the older woman Australian? If so, it may be that she held one of these and thought that the youngsters would be impressed that she had served in the military/ashamed of their behaviour if she had a health problem arising from her service.

Just a thought...
 
It might have been an 'I'm a dangerous nutter' card.
Or it could have been a martial arts licence...
 
my sensei used to warn his class never to wave their martial arts license in anyone's face, on account of the most likely outcome :?
 
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has (or recently had ...) a discount medications program for seniors and people of limited means that involved an orange card as proof of participation. The program started in the USA in 2001. As of 2006 this program was still limited to the USA, Lithuania, Bulgaria, and Ukraine (according to press releases on the GSK website).
 
Very interesting... Yeah, it looks like the most likely reason was a medical condition, although what kind I couldn't guess.

Thanks for all your help!
 
I just spent the weekend with a guy who would flash/mention his martial arts license at every oppertunity. He would practise tai chi moves in the middle of the street, try and talk japanese and was a general douche. I felt like smacking him in the face, just o see what would happen. I bet he would cry.
 
My sympatihies! And I thought that my Japanophile friends were lame! Tell, me, was the word "kawaii" mentioned in every conversation, relevant or not?
 
Living in Australia, I have NEVER seen anyone using such a Veteran's card at all. And it's hard to see how a woman in her 40s would have one anyway. (You'd have to go to war first, you know)

But I have seen people flashing some sort of disabled pass around in order to by-pass cues in Supermarkets, post offices etc. They're not orange here, but they might have something like that colour in the UK?

But if you are able to push yourself vehemently past me (6ft5, very sturdy build), shouting and waving your card around - I got to wonder how severe your disability really is. :roll:

Then there' my brother in law. He's got a disability parking permit and refuses to go shopping if the disabled section right next to the supermarket entrance is full. After the shopping, he puts the bags in the car and goes for a two hour walk...
 
The muttering to herself afterwards might indicate she was simply a little bit mentally poorly. I used to work in a record store which had a regular 'customer' who carried a wallet full of blank pieces of cards which he clearly believed should have some significance for us. No one was quite clear on what he imagined was written on them but as he was paying for stuff he'd often hand over a few of these cards with an expectant look on his face.
 
What you need is a pair of Raybans that let you see the hidden alien subculture all around us. Then you can burst into a bank brandishing a shotgun and shout the classic line "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all outta bubblegum"

8)
 
Little strange stories like these make me very happy :D
 
Perhaps it's a card that says 'I attend anger management classes'?
 
Well maybe that card - whatever it is - is something the FT should consider including as a freebie in the next issue.
 
jimv1 said:
Well maybe that card - whatever it is - is something the FT should consider including as a freebie in the next issue.
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"Warning: Fortean. May interpret any item, behaviour, or occurrence as paranormal phenomena"
 
Hmmmm The disability pass used to be orange in the early 80s according to a quick google (found a reference in Hansard from 1982) I don't know what colour they are now.
 
I think I saw her again! At least, I'm pretty sure it was the same lady.

Iwas queueing to get on a bus, and she appeared in front of me in the small crowd. I noticed she was holding a card in her hand, which was green, or completely covered in a green pattern. It had her photograph on it, and was laminated. It looked pretty normal, actually, although I don't know much about ID cards or bus passes.

Interstingly, she turned around and asked me if I wanted to go ahead of her in the queue, because I'd been waiting around for longer! Perhaps she remembered me from the shop, or really does have a preoccupation based around queue ettiquiette.
 
Didn;t there used to be a British society that encouraged politeness and good manners? Maybe they hand out cards like this to explain the importance of correct behaviour...
 
No wonder I've never seen one. They've probably all been stuffed down smug people's throats. :lol:
 
Maybe it was a "Just can't wait" card for people with bowel or bladder problems.
That would explain her jumpiness and the fact that it is not always necessary to use the card.
 
Nazreel said:
Maybe it was a "Just can't wait" card for people with bowel or bladder problems.
That would explain her jumpiness and the fact that it is not always necessary to use the card.
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And maybe the green one says "Too late, I just shat myself", hence her more polite behaviour in Beltania's latest post?
 
A friend of a friend (I know) was manning the queues at the Frieze Art Fair last weekend. A woman came up and asked to pass the queue. She was told, politely, that everyone had to queue. She said 'Don't you know who I am?! I'm the Lady Who Doesn't Queue. Go and ask your manager'. So this FOAF went and asked the manager, who said 'That's right. She's the Lady Who Doesn't Queue - let her pass'.

Apparently she was an artist, and that was her piece :roll:
 
Beltania said:
..Iwas queueing to get on a bus, and she appeared in front of me in the small crowd. I noticed she was holding a card in her hand, which was green, or completely covered in a green pattern. It had her photograph on it, and was laminated. It looked pretty normal, actually, although I don't know much about ID cards or bus passes...
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A ha! People who were registered disabled used to be issued with Green Cards by the DSS, which was basically just confirmation that they were disabled and thus entitled to free travel and other concessions (and IIRC it could be shown to employers as proof of disability without any further disclosure being necessary.)

As far as I'm aware, the scheme was discontinued a while ago, superceded by the All-England Travel Pass etc, but the cards themselves could still be valid in some circumstances.
 
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