Customers Cooperating Over Carbon And Copies? Cool!

(I’m at work one day when a gentleman comes up to me and asks where he can find carbon paper. For an item that gets purchased or inquired about relatively often, the company provides us only with one option: a hundred sheets for about $22.)

Customer #1: “Geez, that’s awfully expensive. I only need a few sheets; do you have anything smaller?”

Me: “I’m sorry, we don’t. We may have something online, but as for in the store, this is it.”

Customer #1: “I better call my wife and see what she wants to do.”

Me: “Okay, let me know if you need anything. I’ll be right over at the copy center.”

(I walk away to let him figure out what he wants to do, and I head over to the copy center to help them out. A few minutes later, another man approaches me and asks if we have any carbon paper. I lead him over to where the first customer is still staring at the paper and holding his phone.)

Customer #2: “It’s that expensive? Wow… Do you have a different quantity? I only need a few sheets!”

Customer #1: *before I could answer* “I know! I’m in the same boat!”

Customer #2: “Well, how many sheets do you need?”

Customer #1: “Maybe about ten.”

Customer #2: “I only need about five… Do you want to split the cost and the paper?”

Customer #1: “That’s a great idea!”

(The two customers headed up to the front with their joint purchase, split the pack in half after they paid, and went on their merry ways. Excellent timing for both of them, I guess!)