This Story Sucks

(I’m ordering an item for a customer. In some cases, we have to use the tablets provided by the store to look up the item number online, then input that into the register to complete the order. If you’re thinking that sounds unnecessarily convoluted and annoying for both employee and customer… yeah. It definitely is. It’s not helped by the fact that the Wi-Fi in the store is terrible, so as usual, the tablet is moving very slowly through the necessary steps. So, to help pass the time while we wait, we start joking around a bit.) 

Customer: “For what those things cost, you should be able to just take a picture of the item and say, ‘Find this for me!'”

Me: “You’d think so, right? But hey, we’ll get there eventually. Our Wi-Fi just sucks.”

Coworker #1: *overhearing* “Hey, don’t say the S-word in here!”

Me: “At least it’s not the worst S-word I could say.”

Customer: “That’s true; I can think of a few. Anyway, sometimes sucking is good. In my line of work, sucking is very important!”

Me: “Where do you work? Do I even want to know?”

([Coworker #1], [Coworker #2] who has joined us behind the registers, and I all burst into laughter before the customer can explain any further.) 

Customer: *when we finally quiet down* “I work in absorbent products. Diapers, feminine hygiene, that kind of thing. So, like I said, in those cases you want them to suck well!”

(The tablet finally loaded what needed loading and I was able to complete her order. We laughed through the rest of the transaction, and my coworkers and I kept making jokes about it even after the customer left. Thank you, wonderful customer, for giving me a much-needed laugh at the end of a long and hectic shift.)