We Unclearly Love Animals

(There’s a customer with a dog on a leash in our store. There is absolutely no indication that the dog is a service animal.)

Supervisor: “Excuse me, sir! Dogs are not allowed in this store!”

Customer: “Yes, they are! The sign next to your door says so!”

Supervisor: “What?!”

(My supervisor walks over to the entrance and takes a brief glimpse of the little sign that is our animals policy.)

Supervisor: “Okay, so, you were right. My apologies, sir.”

(The customer walks off and resumes shopping with his dog.)

Supervisor: “Man, I can’t believe [Store] allows customers to bring their pets!”

Me: “Actually, they don’t. Only service animals are allowed.”

Supervisor: “I just read the sign!”

Me: “Did you read ALL of it, though?”

(Instead of using a standard service animals sign, our head office opted for a humorous approach. On top, the sign reads “WE LOVE ANIMALS” in big, bold letters. At the bottom, in much smaller letters, it reads “…We’d love to see your dog, cat, or boa constrictor, but we ask that you leave your pets at home. Only service dogs are allowed.” I explain this to my supervisor.)

Me: “The sign still says that dogs aren’t allowed except for service dogs. It’s just the PR department being stupid because they think their bland corporate humor is comedy gold.”

Supervisor: “D*** it! Well, I’m still gonna let him shop with his dog because it’s too late to take it back.”

(At the end of the day, I guess we all have a little customer in us. Selective reading goes both ways, it seems.)

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