(We sell items for fishing and hunting, since most of the people in the village do outdoor activities. A customer walks in.)

Me: “Hi, what can I get you today?”

Customer: “Do you guys have any nightcrawlers?”

(Nightcrawlers are basically large worms, and are used for fishing.)

Me: “Yes, we do. Do you want jumbo or baby crawlers?”

Customer: “I want crawlers smaller than baby crawlers.”

Me: “Sir, that would just be regular worms.”

Customer: “No! I want crawlers, not regular worms.”

Me: “All right…”

(I walk to the back of the store, open the bait fridge, and pull out a box of worms. I take a baby nightcrawler sticker and replace the earthworms sticker with it. I take a marker, cross out “baby” on the sticker, and write “miniature” instead. I walk back and hand them to the customer. He opens the box to inspect them.)

Customer: “What are these?”

Me: “Miniature crawlers, like you wanted.”

(He nods and hands me the money, then walks out. A coworker saw the entire thing.)

Coworker: “Regular worms?”

Me: “Yep.”

(The restaurant I work for is in a very small town, and as such, we have a devoted group of elderly regulars that are allowed to have a tab because we see them everyday. One day one of the regulars walks in, hands me a blank check, and tells me to hang it up with his tab.)

Me: “[Regular], what is this for? You only have a few dollars on your tab.”

Regular: “Yes, I know, but I just turned 80!”

Me: “Uh?”

Regular: “So, if I die, you can fill that out and pay for my food! I can’t just not pay!”

Me: *shocked* “[Regular], if you die, I don’t think we’ll be worried about a few dollars for eggs!”

(I work at a large pizza chain. One day we get an order for several pizzas, which we fill. However, someone misreads the slip and makes the wrong pizza. The customer comes in to collect her order before we can fix it.)

Me: “We’re really sorry, but we made you [Pizza #1] instead of [Pizza #2]. We can remake it if you’re willing to wait.”

Customer: “No, don’t bother. I’m happy with [Pizza #1]. How much do I owe you?”

(I give her the total, which is a little over $20. She pulls out a $20 note, but then her face goes pale.)

Customer: “I’m so sorry. I dropped the other $20 on the way here. I could go home and grab more money.”

(Since she was so nice about the pizza, and since she’s only short a couple of dollars, I wave her off. A few weeks later, we get an order for the same customer. I’m not working that night, so I am told about this later. The customer comes in, collects her pizzas — correctly made this time — and then goes up to pay.)

Customer: “I was here a few weeks ago. I dropped part of the money that I was going to use to pay for the pizza, and the person on the counter was nice enough to let me go. I’ve brought in the amount I was short last time. Can you try to make sure that she gets it? Her name was [My Name].”

(I’ve had customers who were short. On the very rare occasion, they may pay it back. But I’ve never had a customer not only return the money, but remember the person who covered the missing amount.)

(I get a coupon in the mail that allows me to get $5 off an animated DVD. I decide to pick it up while grocery shopping. Because of my husband’s pay schedule, I can only buy groceries once every six weeks, which means I have to buy enough food and supplies to last us that long. It’s not an easy thing to do with a newborn in diapers and a toddler. I get two carts up to the check out, pushing one cart with the toddler in it and pulling the other with the baby. The poor cashier has a hard time because I have so many coupons, including several buy-one-get-one coupons that require the price of the item to be written in. Finally, after 25 minutes, we get everything paid for and someone helps me take the bags out to my car. When I get home and look over my receipt, I see I was not charged the $20 for the DVD, but did have the $5 coupon applied to my total. I call the store and get the manager.)

Me: “Hi, I was in earlier today buying groceries. I bought a DVD with a coupon. The problem is that the cashier took the $5 off the bill, but she never charged me for the DVD. I know it was because she was distracted by me talking to her and by all my coupons. I can come in and pay for it, but I won’t be on that side of town for another six weeks, and I can’t afford the gas right now. Can I mail you a check?”

Manager: “…”

Me: “Um, hello? Are you still there?”

Manager: “Yeah, sorry; you kind of threw me off. I have never had anyone actually call me with this offer. Most people just steal the DVDs. Tell you what: why don’t you just keep the DVD as a gift, but let me know which one it is so I can take it out of stock?”

Me: “Really?! Oh, thank you! Are you sure?”

Manager: “Lady, it would be my pleasure. And the manager that is sitting next to me listening to the whole conversation agrees.”

(Honesty is the best policy.)

(I’m a digital artist and thus have a graphic tablet with its respective pencil. One day the tip of the pencil gives out and I’m forced to buy a new one.)

Shop Clerk: “Hi! What can I help you with?”

Me: “I’m looking for a new tip for my tablet’s pencil. I brought it with me so I can see which will work.”

Shop Clerk: “Hmm… Let me see it.”

(I hand her my pencil and shortly after she hands it back.)

Shop Clerk: “Is your tablet from [Brand]?”

Me: “Yes, it is.”

Shop Clerk: “Ah, here’s the thing. Assuming your tablet was brand new when you got it, did it come with a support for the pencil?”

Me: “Yes, and I still use it, but why?”

Shop Clerk: “That’s the thing; if you unscrew the bottom of that support there should be about a dozen replacement tips.”

Me: “What? Really?”

Shop Clerk: “It says so on the manual, I guess. Now you can make that pencil last.”

Me: “Hold on; by telling me this you just lost a sale.”

Shop Clerk: *shrugs* “Yeah, it’s not like my boss will make a fuss for a tip. Plus if I didn’t tell you I’d feel bad for practically scamming you.”

(I was very thankful so I bought a new mouse for my computer. Now she didn’t actually lose a sale!)