Bagging The Christmas Spirit  

(I work for one of two large superstores which sell things like clothing, electronics, toys, etc. I work in the clothing department. Keep in mind, some of the brands are much more expensive than others, $1,500 vs $80 for a dress. For those brands, we always take extra care to fold the items well and wrap them carefully in tissue, but we always ask first, in case the customer is environmentally conscious and says no. This exchange was pretty typical for people who bought premium brands, but this one really sticks in my head.  The total has come to about $1,200 and I’ve folded her clothing neatly in two piles.)

Me: *smiling* “Would you like me to wrap these in tissue paper for you?”

Customer: *also smiling* “No, that’s fine. I’ll be wrapping them up for Christmas when I get home, anyway.”

Me: “No problem! Now, due to the Christmas rush, we only have two sizes of bag left. Would you like me to put them all in the large bag–” *holds up massive bag, usually used for large electronic items like computers* “–or slot them into a couple of these smaller ones?” *holds up smaller bags, roughly the size of an A4 piece of paper*

Customer: “Small is fine.”

(I carefully slide each of the piles into a bag. The bags are full, but the clothing isn’t bunched at all. In fact, in was a perfect fit, but more snug than I think customers are used to. I let her know I’ve placed her receipt in the bag and hand them to her with a smile, wishing her a lovely day.)

Customer: *staring at me like I’ve suddenly morphed into a giant cockroach* “What is this?”

Me: “Your clothing, ma’am?”

Customer: “I spend that much on clothing, and you just shove it in a bag!”

Me: ”I’m… sorry. Would you prefer it if I placed them in the larger bag?”

Customer: “No! I want two bags!”

Me: “I can use two large bags if you’d prefer?”

Customer: “No, it’s done now. I just want you to know how ridiculous it is that you’d stuff silk into a bag like that. You just… you crinkled it all. I’ll have to steam them! You didn’t even use tissue! I always get tissue!”

Me: “I’m so sorry, ma’am. I’ll repack them now for you.”

Customer: “No, you won’t! I wanted you to get it right the first time! You’ve ruined my day! I have no idea how you even got hired if you can’t do this. It’s not like it’s a hard job.”

Me: “I’m sor–”

(Customer storms off. Coworker leans over and slides me a piece of chocolate.)

Coworker: “Welcome to Christmas.”