Enveloping An Attitude

(I work part-time in a retail store. We are primarily a book store but also sell stationery, magazines and cards. At the moment we have a display of boxed Christmas cards at the front of the store.)

Customer: “Do you have any Christmas cards that will fit this envelope?” *holds up a bunch of very thin, very long envelopes*

Me: “We might do! Have a look around and see what we have.”

(The customer is looking at the cards on display and clearly didn’t hear me.)

Customer: *a moment later, already with attitude* “Well, do you?”

Me: *repeats, still cheerfully* “Yeah, we might do!”

Customer: *quite aggressively* “No I want you to come and HELP me find one.”

(I was just about to cash up one of the tills as it’s near closing.)

Me: “Oh, okay, sure.” *I walk around the counter and approach her* “May I have a look at the envelope size you have there?”

Customer: *hands me one of them* “See, because they’re all pre-paid for and I’ve written on them already.”

Me: “Okay, I see.” *I start comparing the envelope in my hand to cards in the boxed packs she’s looking at* “These ones here look like they might fit?”

Customer: “No, you have to take it out of the box to see for sure.”

(It sounds like a mild suggestion to me. I don’t oblige because we typically don’t open packaging unless they’re going to buy it. Sometimes we do make exceptions but these boxed packs of cards aren’t a simple open and close. I keep comparing the card sizes inside the boxes.)

Customer: “What about these ones? These are nice.” *hands me a pack*

Me: *checking* “Yeah, they look like they’d be a good fit!”

Customer: *snaps* “No, you have to take it out and LOOK!”

(I’m surprised, not really sure what to say for a moment because, again, we don’t typically do that. I open my mouth to speak… but apparently too late.)

Customer: *practically yelling now* “Look, if you don’t WANT to help me, I’ll just go somewhere else!” *snatches the envelope from my hand and storms off*

(I just let her go with a very bewildered “Okay…?” Who wants to serve a customer like that, anyway?)