And Now His Watch Has Ended

(I work the front counter at a grocery store. One of the responsibilities we have is to work the lottery machine. It is a Saturday night and the drawings are set for 7:00 pm, although the lottery machines will stop selling tickets about five minutes before. It is 6:57 pm.)

Me: “Good evening. How can I help you today?”

Customer: “I need $20.00 for tonight’s lottery drawing.”

Me: “I’m sorry, sir, but we have passed the cutoff time; if I print any tickets, it will be for the next drawing, not tonight’s.”

Customer: “Well, according to my watch—“ *thrusts his wrist with his watch on it at me, tapping the watch* “I still have time to buy tickets to tonight’s drawing; it’s not seven.”

Me: “The lottery cuts the ticket sales off a few minutes before the drawing. There’s nothing I can do.”

Customer: *getting agitated* “According to my watch, it’s still a ‘few minutes’ before seven.”

(Yes, he made the quote marks in the air with his fingers and mocked my tone.)

Me: “I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do. The lottery sets the rules, not the store.”

Customer: *getting loud* “So, what am I supposed to do now? Is the store going to compensate me if my numbers get picked? This is a lot of money we are talking about here!”

(He folds his arms and stares intensely at me, waiting for an answer. His volume has gotten the attention of the manager who was not far away and heard everything.)

Manager: “I suggest next time you try coming in about ten minutes earlier and quit harassing my employees.”

Customer: “I wasn’t talking to y—“

(He looked over to see the manager, a retired cop, 6′ 5″, staring down at the customer with his hands on his hips like a drill sergeant. The customer’s eyes went wide as he grabbed his money and quickly made his way to the exit. Thanks, [Manager], wherever you are.)