The Gift Of Giving

(We have huge stacks of little stuffed animals on the counters as part of a promotion. If you spend over a certain amount, you can buy them for $5 each. We have a huge box near the exit doors where you can put them so they will go to children in need for Christmas. You can obviously just choose to keep them for your kid, so most people buy two and toss one in the box on the way out. A young woman comes through my checkout with her adorable five-year-old girl. The girl is instantly over the moon when she sees the purple penguin toy on the register. Her mum grabs it for her.)

Customer: “How much are these?”

Me: “They’re five dollars each because you spent over [amount]. Would you like one to donate?”

(The customer looks over at the box by the doors, sees the huge charity logo on the side, and starts to speak to her daughter.)

Customer: “Look, [Daughter]. If we buy some to put in the box, then another nice lady will bring them to kids who don’t have any toys for Christmas!”

Daughter: “Like [Lady], who brought me presents last year?”

(The little girl is in very nice clothes, and the mum is well-dressed and holding a new model of phone, so I am mildly surprised.)

Customer: “Yes. When Daddy was sick and couldn’t go to work anymore, they brought you presents! Let’s get some for some other kids, too.”

(The woman purchases the penguin, along with five other toys, and tells her daughter to go put them in the box while she packs up her groceries. I watch the little girl go over to the box and put the toys inside. Then, she stops and looks down at the purple penguin in her other hand. She pauses for a moment, and then puts that one in the box, too. She comes back to her mother.)

Customer: “Sweetie, I bought the penguin for you for being a good girl; I didn’t mean you had to give that one away.”

Daughter: “I know, but I have lots of toys, so it’s okay. Now, someone else will get him for Christmas!”

(My supervisor who was manning the checkout behind me grabbed another penguin and shoved it into the little girl’s hands, demanding that she kept that one, while everyone teared up a little. Lady, if you ever read this, you raised one heck of a kid.)