There Are No Holes In Your Reasons

(It’s right at closing when a woman brings a pile of curtain fabrics from our discounted table; these are all marked as seconds. As my coworker is measuring they come across some holes in the fabric.)

Customer: “I don’t want those holes; cut that off and start measuring again.”

(Again, they come across some more holes. She makes him cut the fabric again and start a new measurement. There’s not enough for what she wants, so she makes the coworker go with her to bring back more fabrics. I have finally finished serving my last customer when I hear her telling the coworker that she wants her whole house done and wants all the curtains cut to size so he needs to call other stores for her. My coworker turns to me.)

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but it’s after closing and all of our stores are now closed. We cannot call them now because they won’t answer.”

Customer: “Well, then, we’ll just see what’s here; he can go and look for what I want. I just need to call and find out the window sizes for the house, but the phone’s been busy.”

Me: “You don’t know the window sizes?”

Customer: “No, I’ll just wait until I find out.”

Me: “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to return tomorrow; it’s now too late to do this.”

Customer: “No, I’ll wait.”

Me: “No, you don’t understand. You are parked in the main car park, right?”

Customer: “Yes, so?”

Me: “The centre will completely shut down in a few minutes; the lights will be turned out and the alarm turned on which means you cannot get to the main car park safely. I’ll have to let you out our back door into the dock, and you’ll have to go down the stairs outside and around the whole building to get to the main car park. I don’t want you to have to do that; it’s dark out there and can be dangerous.”

(I don’t think she believes me, but I finally get her to agree to come back the next day, which she never does. I have just managed to pull the doors down and lock three of the doors from the outside before pulling down the final door when the lights in the mall go out. I padlock the final door from the inside.)

Coworker: “Wow, you cut that fine. I thought the alarm was going to beat you.”

(My coworker helps me quickly count the drawers before we finally leave, an hour later than we get paid for. As we drive out of the dock area we notice that there are a bunch of rough-looking men in the dark car park, hanging around the stairs leading from the dock.)

Coworker: “Oh, my God! That woman was lucky not to have to walk through them. I bet she thought you were lying to her just get rid of her.”

Me: “Yeah, I know, but $2-a-metre fabric is not worth putting anyone in danger for.”