I am stocking shampoos when a girl in her late teens or early twenties approaches.

Customer: “Can you tell me where the toast is?”

Me: “The… toast?”

Customer: “Yes. I need to buy some toast.”

Me: “We don’t sell already made toast. Would you like me to point you to the bread aisle?”

Customer: “Is that what toast is made from?”

Me: “Yes, it is.”

Customer: “I’ll take the bread, then!”

I point out the bread aisle and she’s happily on her way. An older man who has been standing nearby comes up to me after this exchange.

Customer: “I can’t believe you got through that without laughing! Do you think she was drunk, high, or pranking you?”

Me: “I don’t know, but at least she’s happy!”

I’m looking to buy a digital camera as a gift for a friend who I know needs one. The camera I have is very good and I know it would suit my friend’s needs, so I’m looking for another one online. I find a seller on [Auction Website] selling a new one for a good price with cheap shipping, so I order it right away.

I live in a relatively small town in North Dakota, and the winters can be pretty harsh, so I think nothing of it when I get an email from the seller about the camera, telling me that the shipment may be delayed due to a bad winter storm in their area. I reply, saying that it’s fine and I understand, as my area is also currently experiencing a bad winter storm.

Out of curiosity, I navigate to the seller’s page to see where they are shipping from. To my surprise, they are shown as being in the same small North Dakota town I’m in! And somehow, neither of us noticed this before.

I have a laugh and email the seller again, pointing out the funny coincidence, and offering to just meet them somewhere local and pick up the camera if they would prefer. They reply with equal astonishment and amusement and agree to meet at a coffee shop for the hand-off.

We meet and share another laugh about the situation, and they even refund me the shipping charge in cash.

A couple of times, we’ve had customers try to spread their religions in our store. One was very understanding about not wanting to discuss such things while working; the other got booted out the door and told not to come back — a perk of owning your own business.

The worst, though, was the customer who needed a call when orders were ready and refused to answer their phone, letting it go to voicemail… the greeting of which was a Bible verse and prayer before they ever told you to leave a message. On their BUSINESS phone. Nope, nope, nope.

My work requires me to travel to the UK quite often. The first time, I go alone, but the second time, my husband and kid go with me. We live in a small town. Since I have to go to work, and we love to travel on weekends, we agree that he will do the grocery shopping during the week.

On his first shopping trip, he buys rice from a supermarket. It’s not the kind we eat regularly; it’s somewhat odd tasting. Since that’s our staple, he has bought five packets of one kilo each and there is no way we can use it.

Back in my home country, the return policies are very strict. They don’t take back anything opened. Even if it is unopened, we need to give a strong reason and the only option is store credit. We both decide that we’ll take it back to the supermarket and try to return at least the unopened packets. We also have the receipts with us.

Me: “Hey, we bought this rice here and would like to return it, if it’s okay.”

Helpdesk Rep: “Was something wrong with it?”

Me: “Not sure; it tastes bad. Maybe we cooked it wrong?”

Helpdesk Rep: “Looks like it; this rice is for Italian cooking. It is high in starch content. May not be for your style of cooking. You may want to buy something light and long grain.”

Husband: “Oops! My bad, then! I am the one who bought it without asking any of you.”

Helpdesk Rep: “No problem, sir. Since you have the receipts with you, I can refund your money for the four unopened packets. And for the opened packet—”

Me: “Oh! No, don’t bother about it if you can’t refund it. It’s okay. I am just glad that you are taking the four packs back. I’d have hated to throw food away and waste money.”

Helpdesk Rep: “No, actually, I was going to say that I can give you store credit for that packet. It’s okay if it is opened.”

Me: “Are you sure?”

Helpdesk Rep: “Yep, that’s possible.”

Husband: “Wow, you guys are awesome!”

Helpdesk Rep: “Well, here I was wondering if you’d oppose a store credit.”

Husband: “Oh, no, why would we when it is our fault?! We are coming back here for sure to use the credit!”

The transaction went smoothly and the staff there helped us pick the right kind of rice we wanted. My husband became a regular there and knew many of the staff. My daughter had some great shopping trips there. He made sure to bid them all a goodbye when we were leaving the UK.

Related:
To Give Credit Where Credit Is Due, Part 3
To Give Credit Where Credit Is Due, Part 2
To Give Credit Where Credit Is Due

I was at work, and I had a customer try to talk to me about religion. I tried shutting it down gently. Instead, she returned THE NEXT DAY with her granddaughter and her friend.

Group: “You need to accept Jesus into your heart!”

I was young and a lot more of a pushover than I am now, so I stuttered some excuse and hid in the back room until they left.

Now, I ain’t got time to coddle people’s feelings. “No, thanks” means “no”.