Customers
Christmas time must do something to people brains, you try to help them find the perfect gift, but sometimes it becomes impossible when the buyer really doesn’t care what the recipient wants and is instead buying to fulfill some weird fantasy they have of the way they want the world to be. The lady that I was helping the other day was just that kind of person.
“I want a book for my son, he’s ten years old. The thing is that he doesn’t like to read that much.” A simple enough request, and problem, and one that I got often.
“OK,” I said, “What’s he interested in?”
“Well, he likes sports but I don’t want any sports books. I want him to grow up to be a scientist so do you have anything like that for a boy?”
“Well,” I said, trying to appeal to logic,”if he doesn’t like to read then it might be a good idea to get him a book with a subject he is interested in. That way he looks at it as something fun rather than work.”
“No, because all he is interested in is sports and there’s no future in just being able to do some stupid thing with a ball.” She huffed. “Look at you, you were probably a jock and now you work at a bookstore.”
And yet she was still asking for my advice.
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“Could you help me find this CD?”
“Sure.” I look at the piece of paper in her hand and know exactly where the CD she wants is at. “Right this way”
As I walk her over to the spot in Pop/Rock I automatically straighten out the disks that are scattered around from other customers that had browsed, destroyed and left.
“Wow, it’s a mess over here.” My customer said. “Don’t these people know how to clean up after themselves?”
“Sometimes I wonder.” I say, pulling out the disk she is looking for. “My parents always told me ‘If you take it out, put it back where you got it from’”.
“Good rule to follow.” She says,”I can’t see just leaving your stuff laying around for someone else to put away.”
I shrug my shoulders in a ‘what can you do’ sort of way.
“Thanks for finding this disk” She says, holding it up, “And could you put this book away for me? I’ve decided I don’t want it after all.”
I watch as she drops the book on the CD rack and heads towards the checkout counter.
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Our bookstore has a teddy bear name Chaucer for sale that is very soft and very furry. I’ve been carrying one around with me all day because it’s a perfect way to get people to buy them. They see me with it, ask about it and I sell it. One of my co-workers wasn’t aware of this tactic.
“What are you doing with a bear under your arm?”
“He’s the only one that understands me.”
There’s a long pause as she wonders if I am serious or not.
“You are so weird.”
“Yea, but Chaucer likes me anyway.”
