Inconsideration On Tap

(I work in a home improvement store, and it’s a fairly busy afternoon in the kitchen and bath department. I have been helping a few customers select their bathroom faucets without too much problem, but then comes this customer.)

Me: “Hi, what can I help you with today?”

Customer: “I’d like to see the connection of this faucet. Can you open the box?”

Me: “Sure.”

(I take out my box cutter and open it for him so he can properly inspect the product. After about five minutes of examining, he puts everything back in the box, but not exactly the same way as before it was opened, which makes closing the box properly impossible.)

Customer: “Okay, I’ll take it, but I want a new box.”

Me: “What’s wrong with this one?”

Customer: “It’s opened. I’d rather have a closed one.”

Me: “But I opened it for you. There’s nothing wrong with it.”

Customer: “But I’d rather have a new one.”

(In my store, an open box usually means a returned item, and no one usually buys it unless I do some type of markdown. I want to avoid having an open-box product on the shelf.)

Me: “This is new. I just opened it, and you just inspected it.”

Customer: “So? I just want one in a closed box.”

Me: “Aren’t you just going to open this when you get home? What difference does it make if you just take the one you looked at?”

Customer: “No one wants an open-box item; just give me a new one, sealed.”

(I sighed and handed a sealed box to the customer. I had to treat the open-box product as a return and put a reduced-price sticker on it so it would have a chance of selling.)