Perfume… Actually
(I am working on the fragrance counter of a large store on Christmas Eve when a man asks for my help selecting presents — women’s perfume. He tells me he needs two presents, one for under €100 and one under €20. He chooses to go over budget with the more expensive gift, and we are now browsing for the smaller gift.)
Me: “Okay, it seems you like [Fragrance #1] more than the others. It costs €25 for 75 mls, which is a little over your budget, but you do get a big bottle, which is good value.”
Customer: “Hmm… Yes, I do like it a lot more than [Fragrance #2] and [Fragrance #3], but it is a little bit too expensive, seeing as I’ve gone over budget with the other one.”
Me: “Okay, well, we do have [Fragrance #4] on sale for €19.99 for 50 mls. It’s a very good brand, and a nice, medium-sized bottle.”
Customer: “Right, I’ll go with that one, then! Any chance you could gift wrap them both for me?”
Me: “Great. Let me just scan them through, and I will wrap them while we put your card through.”
(I wrap them, and then notice that the bottles are hard to tell apart when wrapped in the same paper.)
Me: “Would I be able to put a name on either gift for you, sir? They look very alike, and it might be hard to tell them apart without labeling them.”
Customer: “Oh, they do look the same! Yeah, could you put [Name #1] on the [expensive perfume] and [Name #2] on the other?”
Me: “No problem. Let me just grab my pen!”
Customer: “Actually… could we swap that around? [Name #2] on the [expensive perfume] and [Name #1] on the other?”
Me: “Of course.”
Customer: *laughing* “You see one’s for the wife, and the other’s for a colleague… Can’t be mixing them up!”
Me: *smiling and joking with him* “No, you’d be in trouble if you did!”
Customer: “Yeah, the wife mightn’t mind [cheap perfume], but [Name #2] told me specifically to get [expensive perfume]!”
Me: “…”
(It made me wonder just how close he and his “colleague” were.)
This story is part of our Cheaters roundup!
Question of the Week
Tell us your story about a customer who couldn't understand the most simple concept.
