Pull Up Your Garters And Get Down To Work

(I work at a large, national retail store as a cashier. It is a quiet night, and only one coworker and my manager are working with me. My manager comes walking up to my coworker and me.)

Manager: “So, uh, are either of you guys good with snakes? Because I’m terrified of them, and a customer just came in and asked for help. She thinks there’s a snake in her van and is scared to drive home.”

(My coworker and I look at each other.)

Coworker: “Ugh, I hate snakes!”

Me: “Actually, I have no problem with them. I live out by the woods; I’ve been catching garter snakes since I was little.”

(I followed the customer out to her van with a flashlight. It turned out that a garter snake had, indeed, found its way into her vehicle, and I fished it out for her. Whenever I’m asked at interviews how far I’d go to make a customer happy, I always tell this story. It’s certainly the oddest request I’ve ever had in more than ten years of working in customer service.)