Bound By The Binders

(It’s the back-to-school season at the office supply store where I work. I’m working in the print shop when I see a customer come in and spend a few minutes looking at our display of three-ring binders on a table by the entrance. The binders are offered in trendy colors and patterns, and occasionally have popular memes or emojis on them, so I assume the customer is trying to decide which one she wants. Then, one by one, she takes the binders off the little wooden display stand that’s keeping them from falling over, picks up the display itself, and brings it to my counter.)

Customer: “I want to buy this.”

Me: “Unfortunately, ma’am, we don’t sell those here in the store. They’re part of our display.”

Customer: “Well, sell me this one and buy another!”

Me: “Ma’am, even if I had the ability to arbitrarily key something into my register to sell this to you, I can’t just get another one. These are shipped to the store from our corporate office and sometimes take longer than six weeks to reach us due to back-ordering.”

Customer: “But it was on your table! That means it’s a product and you have to sell it to me!”

Me: “Again, ma’am, I can’t sell that item to you. If you’d like, I can take you over to our desk accessories aisle and see if there’s something similar that will work for you?”

Customer: “NO! I don’t see what’s so difficult about selling this to me!”

Me: “I’d sell it to you if I could, ma’am, but it’s not for sale, and I don’t have a way to process a transaction for it through the register. And I’d get into trouble or fired for taking your cash without a legitimate sale.”

(The customer shoved the item across the counter and stormed off to do the rest of her shopping, and I had to go and reset the entire display table. Thanks, lady!)