One of the features of our local home improvement box store is that all of the inventory is stocked on the shelving immediately above where products are displayed for sale.

Every week, a customer looking for something that isn’t in stock will ask me:

Customer: “Can you get one from the back?”

My reply, as I wave my arms to the overstock:

Me: “This is the back.”

It’s seniors day at the drug store where I work. Usually, the worst customers are on seniors day, and this one is no exception. I am serving an older woman at the cash register.

Me: “Did you need a bag at all?”

Customer: “Do you charge for bags?”

Me: “Yes, 5¢ a bag.”

Customer: “Hmph, I knew when I saw you; some people are just evil.”

Me: “All the money from the bags goes to [Store] foundation!”

I finished serving her and she left without a bag, but she continued to rant at me about being evil as she left and as she got her stuff together on a bench in the mall just outside the store.

My brother was getting married in a hotel, and most of the family was meeting and checking in Thursday. Due to work I was unable to come until late Friday night. After the mariage my brother tells me what happened when he called down to the front desk Saturday morning.
Brother: Hi I’m (name) and my sister (name) checked in last night. Could you tell me what room she’s in so I can call her please
Front Desk: I’m sorry, due to privacy reasons we are not allowed to give out any information on guests, including room numbers.
Brother: Well can you at least tell me if she made it, she wasn’t expecting to check in until after midnight last night?
Front Desk: I’m sorry, due to privacy reasons we are not allowed to give out any information on guests, including confirming if they are guests.
Brother: Well I’m her brother, you can even see we have the same family names and we both booked under the same wedding rate, can you not make an exception?
Front Desk: I’m sorry, due to privacy reasons we are not allowed to give out any information on guests, including confirming if they are guests.
(This went on in various iterations for almost twenty minutes, as my brother got angrier)
(As my brother finished his story and proceeded to start ranting about the front desk clerk…)
Me: Why didn’t you say you had a message for a guest, and leave your name and room number and ask me to call you? The front desk would have called me to tell me that.
Brother: I’m an idiot!

I was at work when two customers came in and began inquiring about rate plans and how to obtain handsets and services for one of them who just emigrated from New Zealand three days prior.

As government-issued identification is required and the recent immigrant hadn’t been in Canada long enough to have identification yet, his friend offered to attach him and his family to his existing account. 

It took two days and considerable effort to put this into place, due to a billing issue that impacted his ability to add the additional lines. I dug and called various departments. After almost five hours of work on my part, the customers left satisfied. 

And then, they returned three hours later. My heart dropped. I was convinced I had messed up. 

But they were so pleased with me that the account holder decided to return to me and pay an early upgrade fee to have me upgrade his line!

I was pretty happy about that. We had many laughs over the time we worked together and the customer told me he was going to call into my manager to give me a glowing review. 

After all of the activations were done and the store closed, I noticed my till had excess cash in it. I had forgotten to give the recent immigrant his change owed! Embarrassed, I called, knowing I lived in the same area of town they were staying. They hadn’t even realized that they did not get their change and were happy to meet up when my bus arrived in the area. 

When I was approaching the area, I gave the customer a call to let him know I would be there shortly. His response?

Keep it. Go buy myself a drink. 

I objected but he was insistent. 

Little did he know that I don’t drink, but I thanked him profusely. I walked around in a smiling goofy daze for two hours and splurged on an inexpensive gadget I couldn’t justify on my tight budget. Some days, customers not only completely make your day but give you faith that life gets better.

I finish a grocery order, and the woman pays in American money. I give her change in Canadian loonies and toonies. She just looks at the money and blinks.

Customer: “I’m American. Can I have my change in bills, please?”