My First Dumb Customer Story

I'm ringing out people's purchases at work and handling their money. While in the middle of this, a lady walks through the door with a dog collar. It looks exactly like some that we sell: weaved cord, adjustable plastic buckle. She stands in front of me and says, "I just bought this and I need you to take the security tag off." She hands it to me, expectantly. Sure enough, all the price tags are off, but the big, bulky security tag is still on. The collar is also wet. Soaked through.

Ignoring the wetness, I ask, "Did you buy it here?" Not that it matters much, but it's the first thing that comes out of my mouth. She huffs, snatches the dog collar, and barges out the door. I shrug--I didn't mean to insult her; it felt like a logical question to me--and continue checking out stuff and bagging it.

The lady comes back in right after I finish processing money. The amount of time she was gone suggests she went out to her car. She shoves a receipt in my hand. It checks out; the dog collar is on there, my boss rang her out. I hold out my hand for the collar, with tool-on-a-leash in hand. As I remove the tag-- a matter of some dexterity and concentration-- I ask her another question.

"Can you tell me, just out of curiosity, why this is wet?"

"Well, yeah. I just gave my dog a bath."

I hand her the freed collar, flabbergasted, and she storms out again.