They Haven’t Got A Glue

California, Craft Store, Dublin, Impossible Demands, USA | Right | February 15, 2019

Customer: “Excuse me. Do you sell cake toppers with numbers?”

Me: “Yes! They’re right over here.”

Customer: “Perfect! This is exactly what I’m looking for. And there’s only one more 5!” *sees that the number came off of the stick* “Oh, this one’s broken. Do you have any in the back?”

Me: “No, sorry. We don’t keep any stock in the back. But this would be easy to fix. I’m sure we could give it to you at a discounted price.”

(We talk about how it can be fixed. She wants the number reattached to the stick and the paint fixed in the back where the two pieces meet, so I show her our adhesives and paint.)

Customer: “Can you fix it for me?”

Me: “You mean glue it and paint it for you? I’m not sure about that. Let me ask my manager.”

(I call the manager over and explain the situation.)

Manager: “I’m sorry. We can’t do that.”

Customer: “But it’s such a little thing. Can’t you fix it for me? It would just take a little bit of glue and paint.”

Manager: “We can’t. I’m sorry. If we open those products, we can’t sell them anymore.”

Customer: “But I don’t want to buy glue and paint just for this.” *wanders off*

Me: *to the manager* “Thanks for dealing with her.”

Manager: “No problem. She doesn’t want to buy them, but what she doesn’t understand is that if we open them, in essence, we’re buying them, because we can’t sell them!”

This story is part of our Crafting Roundup!