A Care(less) Package

(I work at a liquor store in downtown Boston. We are surrounded by hotels and high-end apartments and condos, as well as night-life, and get a lot of business Friday and Saturday nights. This Friday evening, I am with the owner and the assistant manager when two twenty-something couples come in, obviously starting a night on the town. They browsed the “nips” case for a few minutes and everyone makes a selection. I ring them up and one of the guys, before we can react, pulls his bottle out of the bag, opens it, and starts to knock it back. The boss, the assistant, and I basically all shouted “STOP!” as one.)

Guy: “Why?”

Boss: “This is a PACKAGE store. The PACKAGE has to leave the store SEALED.”

Guy: “Why CAN’T I drink it here?! You SELL it here…!”

Me: “Yeah, and they sell condoms at [Drugstore Chain], but you’re still not allowed to use them in the aisles!”

(His friends (including his date, which made it doubly satisfying!) totally lost it as he turned bright red and slunk out of the store.)