The Christmas Guilt Parade Starts Earlier Every Year

(The children’s clothing store where I work has a somewhat strict return policy. Without a receipt, we cannot issue a refund or a merchandise credit; we can only exchange the item for a different size. We offer gift receipts to every customer to ensure easier returns. People don’t always take a gift receipt, however, and right after Christmas we get frequent complaints. One lady who is notorious for being rude and difficult comes in to do a return, and of course she has no receipt. She has a couple of small children with her.)

Lady: “I want to return this shirt and get a different one.”

Coworker: “Okay. Do you have your receipt?”

Lady: “No, it was a gift.”

Coworker: *apologetically* “Without a receipt, the only thing I can do is give you the exact same shirt in a different size.”

Lady: *suddenly irate* “But it was a gift from my son’s dad and he already has this one! I don’t need a different size, I need a different shirt!”

Coworker: “I’m sorry. It’s a corporate policy, and we have to follow it. There’s nothing we can do.”

Lady: “This is ridiculous! After all the money I’ve spent here! I’m never shopping in this f****** store again! And I’m going to tell my friends and family not to shop here either!”

(By now, other customers are staring.)

Lady: *in a very dramatic tone* “Come on, [Son], I guess you just aren’t getting a Christmas present this year!”

(Once she was gone, we joked that her “never shopping here again” line was the best news we had heard all day, and that if her friends and family were anything like her we’d rather not deal with them either. We also couldn’t believe she would use her child to try to guilt us into breaking policy.)