It was the middle of the pandemic. I was working a twelve hour shift. I had my winter jacket on, the poofy kind with fluffy feathers, as I spent most of my day in the fridge.

My workspace was crammed with towering heavy boxes.

For many hours, I was lifting unwieldy things, tearing at stubborn plastic, flattening cardboard boxes with brute force, kneeling on the cold concrete ground, stepping on and off ladders, when I heard the call, “All hands to the front.”

I hustled to the registers and was greeted by a line that wrapped around the store. I hopped on one of the empty stations, a result of ten people calling out that day.

I waved the next customer in. My glasses, still cold, started to fog. My breath escaped from the top of my mask, making it hard to see.

I started to scan the groceries, and after a few bags had been filled to the brim, the customer said,

“So…what…we aren’t saying anything today?”

I glanced up at her, sweat dripping from my face (no time to take off my winter jacket) not sure how to respond.

“Call a manager,” she says, frigidly.

“Manager to register one” I mumble into the loud speaker.

As I hand her the receipt she walks just ten feet from me, glares, points, and shouts to the manager. I shift my frazzled attention back to the long line.

“I can help who’s next” I whisper.

Some time later, I was at home looking up Google reviews. I pulled up MOM’s Organic Market in Baltimore, the grocery store where I worked. I was scrolling, laughing at all the customer foolishness, but then I halted, dumbfounded…

Project 03: Put Yourself in my Google Review

The third iHuman project is a collection of Google Reviews. I don't know when my fascination with Google Reviews began, but for a few years now, when I travel for fun or for work, I'll occasionally look up places on Google and click on the "lowest ratings." It's a weird hobby, I know. I've sifted through thousands of comments and collected over 160, from fast food restaurants to local businesses, airports, parks, cruise terminals, national monuments, and many more places.

Here are some that stand out: