Should Commute This Experience To Memory

Years ago, I was one of the managers at a retail superstore that sold electrical goods. My commute to work was a notoriously bad route where traffic jams were common and, as luck would have it this morning, I was the sole opening manager and there was a HUGE holdup.

The motorway was completely closed, and we all sat there for over an hour before the police sent everyone up an on ramp to get us off the road. I arrived a full hour after the store was supposed to open and found all the staff, and a customer, waiting outside.

Apologising profusely to the customer, I unlocked the doors, let everyone in, and turned the power on as staff started booting up the computers, etc. The customer was actually understanding and polite, not complaining or shouting, and put a steam iron on the counter. 

Customer: “I bought this yesterday and it’s dead. Can I exchange it?”

I looked at the box.

Me: “Have you got the receipt?”

She handed it over. My fear was confirmed.

Me: “This is from [Other Retailer] two doors away.”

She had waited an hour outside our closed store while the store she actually bought it from had been open, thirty yards away, the entire time.

I actually wished she had been screaming and shouting because it would have made it sweet Karma, but she hadn’t so I just cringed and felt terrible.