The Deal Is Not So Sweet

(I’m in a bakery run by a culinary school, and it’s the day before Valentine’s Day. We have made special treats for the occasion, including a box literally made out of chocolate and filled with chocolate truffles. Because we’re a school, we can’t charge as high a price as a regular bakery, so this box, which would probably be AT LEAST $65 in a regular bakery, is $25.)

Customer: “How much is that chocolate box?”

Me: “It’s $25! It’s made of dark chocolate and filled with more chocolates.”

Customer: “It’s filled with chocolate? So, it’s solid chocolate?”

Me: “Oh, no, I’m sorry; I meant it was filled with chocolates, like truffles and salted caramels and stuff.”

Customer: “$25 seems kind of high.”

Me: “Well, these take a few hours to make, and we use good-quality chocolate.”

Customer: “Are you sure?”

Me: “Am I sure?”

Customer: “That it’s good quality. Because I don’t think that they’d actually let a bunch of students use good-quality chocolate.”

(The word “student” is said like someone would say, “rodent.”)

Me: “Sir, I promise, it’s good-quality chocolate. We use fair-trade, all-natural, organic chocolate. We even temper it ourselves.”

Customer: “Well, it looks cheap. Tell you what; I’ll give you $15 for it.”

Me: “Excuse me?”

Customer: “I’ll give you $15 for it. That’s probably about what it’s worth, don’t you think?”

(I was totally shocked and stammered out something about how I couldn’t accept anything but $25 dollars for this box. The man rolled his eyes, got a twice-baked croissant, and left, still muttering about how students wouldn’t be allowed to use good chocolate.)