She Likes Both Dem Apples

(I’m training as a cashier. It’s my first week at a major grocery chain, and a nice little old lady is next in line. She only has two apples in her hands.)

Me: *cheerily* “Would like a small bag for your items?”

Old Lady: “Yes, but first, I’d like to decide which of the two apples to buy.”

(I open a small paper sandwich bag for her and wait while she turns the apples over and considers. Before I know what happens, she takes a bite of the first apple. I’m certain this is the only time I’ve ever literally had my jaw drop. She chews thoughtfully for a second and THEN takes a bite of the other apple and chews that bite thoughtfully. I’ve recovered by this point and she waves the first apple at me:)

Old Lady: “I’ll take this one!”

(We sell apples by the weight. Technically that’s stealing but oh well, what can you do? But how do I ring up these apples now, they are, for lack of a better word, “open” and I feel that putting them on the register scale or touching them would be unhygienic and probably unappreciated by her, the manager, and the following customers. As this all flies through my brain I look over at my trainer hopefully and he sighs:)

Trainer: “Just give it to her.”

(I held out the open bag and explained with a smile that the apples were on us today, which she understood pretty quickly, happily plopped her apples into bag, and walked out. It has been six months and luckily no one else has taste tested their produce in line.)