Should Have Banned Their Aid
(I am at the information desk when a customer approaches.)
Customer: “My son tore the plastic covering off this picture book, but we put it back together again.”
(She hands me a picture book with half the plastic jacketing torn off and held in place with at least ten bandaids. The bandaids are attached to the actual cover of the book in some areas where the jacketing is missing.)
Me: “Bandaids?”
Customer: “We didn’t have any sticky tape.”
Me: “Ma’am, we can’t accept this. We can’t loan a book out in this condition.”
Customer: “I fixed it, though.”
Me: “With bandaids. I’ll be entirely honest, if you had just left it we could have re-jacketed the book, but you’ve attached bandaids to the actual cover.”
Customer: “And we fixed the inside, too.”
(I flick through the book to find bandaids holding two lift-the-flap pieces in place.)
Me: “Yeah… I’m going to have to charge you a replacement fee for this one.”
Customer: “Why, though?”
Me: “Because you’ve covered the book in bandaids.”
Customer: “I think it’s fine to read this way.”
Me: “Well, the good news is that once you pay for a damaged item, it’s yours to keep.”
Customer: “I don’t want to keep that! It’s all torn and covered in bandaids!”
Me: “Exactly.”
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Question of the Week
Tell us your story about a customer who couldn't understand the most simple concept.
