(At the restaurant I work at, we have seasonal promotions. This time, we were asking customers to donate $1 for a veterans help fund, and they would get $10 in free coupons and a star on the wall with their name on it. One day, 3 male customers come in.)
Me: Hello, welcome to ***! What can i get for you today?
(As I’m taking their order, i notice one of the customers eyeing one of the sheets of coupons, and i see my chance.)
Me: Excuse me, sir, would you like to donate a dollar to *charity name*, and get a free sheet of these nifty coupons?
Customer 1: Yes, i would!
(We proceed through the transaction of adding the dollar to the total, and i hand him one of the stars and a pen.)
Me: Alrighty, that will be *total*, and if you could write your name on this star right here, we will put it up on the wall and you’ll get your coupon.
(The customer hands me the money and I am about to give him his change when I notice he and his friends staring at the pen and star in a concentrated manner.)
Me: Umm…sir? Is everything alright?
Customer 1: Yes, umm…(he hands me the pen) It doesn’t seem to be writing…
Me: Oh, I’m sorry! Here, I’ll just check it on another paper…(I take off the cao of the pen, and immediately the three customers burst out laughing. At this point I’m very confused.)
Customer 2: No wonder! We didn’t take the cap off!
Customer 1: (Looks at me) I’m sorry, we were just trying to click the back or twist the barrel, but none of us realized it was a pen with a cap!
(I burst out laughing, and soon enough they have their name on the wall and I bring their food to them. They were a rather fun group, and bantered with me quite a bit until they left.)