Thinking Outside The Box, Part 4

Customer: “I want to buy an iron.”

Me: “Okay, our irons are right here. Is there something specific that you’re looking for?”

Customer: “Oh, nothing too fancy; it’s a gift. This one looks good, but I’d like you to open it to make sure that everything is inside.”

Me: “No problem.”

(I open the box, show the customer the iron and manual, put everything back, and close the box back up. It looks the same as it did before I opened the box.)

Customer: “Oh, great, thanks.”

(The customer puts the iron back on the shelf. It’s the only one of its kind on the shelf, but on the very top shelf is another one. The customer points to the unopened box on the top shelf.)

Customer: “Can you hand me that one right there?”

Me: “Okay, would you like me to open that box, as well?”

Customer: “No! I don’t want to give my niece an open box for her wedding!”

Me: “Pardon me, but if I opened that box to make sure that the iron and manual were inside, wouldn’t it make sense to open that other box, as well?”

(The customer looks blank.)

Me: “I mean, how do you know that the iron and manual are going to be in that box up there?”

Customer: “Because I opened a box.”

Me: “But not that one up top.”

Customer: “I. Opened. A. Box.”

Me: *giving up* “Here, let me get you that iron…”