I used to work retail at a mom-and-pop costume store. We had this family who were regular customers and would come in every year and pick out themed Halloween costumes as a family.

This particular year, they say the theme is ‘The Avengers’. They have a son who is about four or five at the time. He chooses to be Captain America, and they pick out his costume first.

A little while later, he comes running back up to the cash wrap, in full costume, brandishing a phone.

Little Captain America: “I found it on the floor. I have to protect it because phones are very important. Could you help me find who it belonged to?”

I make a store announcement asking if anybody is missing a phone, but to no avail.

Me: “Could you give me the phone? I’ll hold on to it until someone comes back for it.”

He looks at me sceptically, and flat out refuses to hand it over at first.

Little Captain America: “Phones have all kinds of important things on them! They aren’t toys.”

Me: “I give you my solemn word that I will take good care of the phone.”

He hands it over, and I send him back to his parents.

A few minutes later, the phone starts ringing, and I notice that the screen says home, so I answer it. It is, of course, the customer looking for her phone. I tell her where she can find it and that I’ll hold on to it for her.

A few minutes or so after that, the woman comes into the store asking for the phone.

Me: “Are you in a hurry?”

Customer: *A little confused.* “I’m not.”

Me: “Do you mind holding on for just a moment?”

I go back and find the little Captain America (still in costume because once you get a little kid into them, it’s impossible to get them out again) and ask:

Me: “Would you like to return the phone to its owner?”

Little Captain America: *Gleefully.* “Yes!”

I hand him the phone, and we walk back up to the front together. He presents the woman with her phone and explains to her that he had found it and taken good care of it, because he knew how important phones were. The woman thanked him profusely. He gave her a sharp salute and then ran off back to his parents.

At this point, the woman turned to me and said:

Customer: “That might be the cutest thing I have ever seen! Seriously, you don’t know how much I needed that! It’s been a day.”

I told her it was no problem, and I was glad she got the phone back.

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It’s a day before Halloween, and the costume and party store looks like a graveyard that exploded. I’m desperately trying to keep up on fixing the displays and restocking when a customer runs up to me.

Customer: “Excuse me! This skeleton decoration is false advertising!”

Me: “I’m sorry?”

Customer: “It says ‘Lifesize Skeleton,’ but it’s only five foot six. My husband is six-two.”

Me: “…Right.”

Customer: “So it’s not lifesize, is it?”

Me: “Well, we did have other sizes in stock, but with it being Halloween tomorrow, we’re running low on stock.”

Customer: “How can you be running low on stock when it’s Halloween tomorrow?!”

I pause for a moment, trying to see if I can worm my way out of that destructive conversational loop.

Me: “We do have Grim Reaper costumes left if your husband wants to go for the skeletal look. Those go quite tall.”

Customer: “No! My husband works out and doesn’t want to be hiding behind some death robe all night! I’ll have to go somewhere else that doesn’t only stock skeletons for skinnies or shorties!”

She marches out, and I waste no time in getting back to work. My coworker brings some more costumes over and asks:

Coworker: “Did she just try to body-shame a skeleton?”

It’s Halloween today, so the costume store is experiencing its busiest day of the year as a bunch of customers are trying to get their ultra-last-minute costumes. There are signs everywhere in the store stating that there are strictly NO RETURNS on any item purchased today. This is also printed on the receipt after purchase.

A customer is with his girlfriend, has just finished buying some generic psycho doctor/nurse outfits for them both. They each cost less than twenty bucks.

Customer: “Hey! Why does my receipt say ‘No Returns’ on it?! What if it doesn’t fit?”

Me: “The costumes in that particular range are designed to be more of a generic fit. That being said, we do offer the chance to try them on in our changing rooms.”

Customer: “The line for the changing rooms is crazy!”

Me: “That’s because it’s Halloween today. That’s also the reason why we don’t take costume returns on anything purchased today; otherwise, people wear them tonight, then bring them back tomorrow for a refund. We sell costumes, not rent them.”

Customer: *Eyes widening.* “Wait… other people do that?! I thought it was just me?”

Customer’s Girlfriend: *Without missing a beat, lightly smacks him upside the head.* “You total moron!”

I used to work Saturday nights at a mom-and-pop costume store. Weekend evenings could be colorful, to say the least.

One evening, this guy and a woman (a semi-regular customer who was a ‘Lady Of The Night’) came in about an hour before close. The guy she came in with was carrying a giant duffel bag on his shoulder.

Me: “Sir, store policy doesn’t allow people with large backpacks or bags to walk around the store. You can leave the duffel bag with me at the front.”

Customer: *Reluctant.* “No.”

Me: “You can either take the bag back out to your car or wait in the store’s vestibule for your friend.”

After some more arguing, he finally relents.

Customer: “I have a lock box in the duffel bag that’s full of raw loose diamonds worth millions. I simply cannot leave it at the front of the store.”

The lock box is smallish and is really no bigger than a purse.

Me: “It’s fine to carry that, as long as you don’t open it in the store.”

He finally left the big bag with me while he browsed. After going on for about thirty-five minutes about what an important person he is, he eventually goes to our jewelry case.

Customer: “I want to buy something pretty for my friend.”

I show him some of our higher-end jewelry, which he immediately moves away from and goes for a tray of $3 to $12 rings. After deciding that one of the $12 rings is “too much,” he selects a nice $6 ring.

Finally, about fifteen minutes before closing, his “friend” is done shopping and has found “something to his liking.” The total for the purchase (including the ring) is somewhere in the neighborhood of $65… At which point, an argument starts over the price.

The two of them went back and forth for a little while until finally I got sick of standing there and piped in with:

Me: “Don’t you have a case full of loose diamonds? Surely this isn’t too much for you!? I could take payment in diamonds!”

…At which point he stormed out of the store.

The whole thing was anti-climactic since he had to come back in to get his duffel bag. At which point I ask:

Me: “Do you still want the stuff I rang up at the register?”

He flipped me off and left.

Strangely enough, this was actually the last time I saw this woman when I was on shift. I seemed to have an unfortunate tendency to spoil things for her (mostly due to my inability to keep my mouth shut when these arguments would happen at the register).

Many years ago I was a young adult headed to a big convention in Atlanta, and seven hours into the car ride I realize I left the makeup for one of my costumes at home that I need the next day. I check, and there’s a costume shop nearby that carries the brand of costume makeup I need – score!

I arrive, go up to the door, and the door is locked.

The hours on it say it closed ten minutes ago, and I can see the employees hanging around the register talking and drinking soda. This is long before search results gave you opening and closing times on stores and you have to find them on the store webpage, and I forgot to check. I am devastated.

I pull out my phone to try and figure out what I can do now, if there’s another shop open later or if I can fit in a trip out the next day. An employee notices me at the door and comes over.

Employee: “We’re closed.”

Me: “I know, I’m sorry. I just need some costume makeup for the con because I forgot my makeup bag at home and I’m trying to figure out what I can do now.”

The employee pauses for a bit, obviously thinking.

Employee: “If I get you what you need and bring it to the register will you just walk in, pay, and go? No browsing.”

Me: “Oh my gosh, yes, absolutely!”

I told him what I needed, he went and got it, took it to the register, and then unlocked the door. I walked straight to it, paid, and left with my stuff, thanking him and the other employees the whole time.

For years after when con time came around, I made sure to arrive several hours earlier so I could visit and browse properly and stock up on cosplay supplies without it being an emergency. I never forgot how kind they were to a forgetful cosplayer when they didn’t need to be.