Lose The Customer Or Lose Count

A customer comes in to buy a whole bunch of light switches and wall plates. Earlier in the day, he had tried to purchase them with another cashier but had forgotten his card, so the items were put on hold. Now he’s back, visibly upset and clearly in a rush.

I grab the pile of items he left earlier (no bag, just a messy heap of switches and plates) and set them on the counter to start counting. These kinds of items look almost identical, so I need to count them before I can ring them up.

Customer: “Those are all the same price!”

…Obviously. But I still need to know how many you have. I say a polite version of that out loud and keep counting.

Customer: “Those are all the same price!”

Again, he interrupts me while I’m trying to count. And again, I keep going.

Then, for the third time, he cuts me off—this time yanking the pile away from me and flipping it over.

Customer: “THOSE are all the same price! Those—” points at the two other styles “—are different prices!”

Me: “I just need to count how many you bought, sir.”

He gives me a look like I am the dumbest person he has ever met and quietly mutters:

Customer: “The other lady didn’t have to do that.”

Me: “Do you know how many of each item you bought?”

Customer: “No.”

Me: “Did you tell the previous cashier how many you bought?”

Customer: “No.”

So… what exactly am I supposed to do? Magically know how many of each item are in this huge pile just because you think it’s obvious? Even the previous cashier would have had to count them. Literally the only explanation I can come up with is that he thought I was going to scan every single one individually, which I wasn’t. I hadn’t even touched my scanner yet!

I guess he was hoping I’d use some kind of Harry Potter magic to know the total without actually counting. Sorry, sir, my wand was in the back room.