One Store To Sell Them All, And In The Darkness Bind Them

(A customer walks up to counter and sets down a bag from a competitor’s store, pulls out competitor’s receipt, and starts unloading books with competitor’s sticker on them.)

Customer: “I’d like to return these.”

Me: “Oh, I’m sorry, I can’t take these back here. We’re [bookstore].”

Customer: “So?”

Me: “These books are from [competitor]. I can’t do this return.”

Customer: “But don’t you have a store by the mall?”

Me: “We do have a location a few blocks away from the mall, but the store inside the mall is actually [competitor].”

Customer: “So you won’t take these back for me?”

Me: “Unfortunately, since they weren’t purchased from us. You’ll need to take them back to [competitor] and they’ll be able to help you.”

Customer: *surprised* “I thought all bookstores were the same!”