You Shorted Her

I work for a coffee chain that has four sizes a lot of us already know: Venti (large), Grande (medium), Tall (small), and Short (extra small). Honestly, hardly anyone orders a Short, so they’re rarely in my consciousness. Also, I am at the end of working an extra-long shift and my brain is a little fried.

Customer: “I want a coffee, smallest.”

I process her order and hand her a Tall.

Customer: “The f*** is this?! I wanted a small, moron!”

I admit the mistake was initially mine, but she doesn’t have to be so rude.

Customer: “You’ve overcharged me! This is how your company makes money: by overcharging innocent customers! You’d better refund me the difference!”

She is shouting now and making a scene, trying to embarrass me. This is when I notice the price difference between a Short and a Tall for her drink. It’s time for me to reply and make sure I am as loud as she is.

Me: “Here is your seven-cent refund, ma’am.”

Her mouth hangs open for a moment while she processes.

Customer: “That can’t be right! What about the sales tax?!”

She scans the prices on the board and sees that I am correct.

Me: *Still loud* “I apologize, ma’am, for making this most egregious of errors. We do hope that temporarily overcharging you by seven cents hasn’t put you out too inconsiderably.”

Customer: *Storming out, embarrassed* “You’re a c***!”

Maybe I was, but she was first!