Makes me wonder how many other shoppers were overcharged and missed it.

Julie:  That is hilarious...and it reminds me of something similar that happened to me one year. My brother in law and I pulled through a fast food restaurant to get some salads for dinner. He was driving...a very intellectual and serious type guy.. for the record. As we pulled up to the window to pay, the young girl told us our total...$8 and some change. My BIL handed her a twenty dollar bill. She then gave us back five dollars and some change. Very seriously...my BIL looked at the change and said "Ummm...this is not correct." She stared deadly at him and then started handing him one dollar bills...one at a time...as if asking..."Is that right?" He kept trying to tell her the amount to give....but she just couldn't get it. I was dying laughing!!! Finally...he handed her all the money back and said..."Let's start over." She then called the manager...who had just as difficult a time figuring out how much change to return to us. My BIL then patiently gave them both a Math lesson...in the drive-thru window. I laughed so hard until I could not breathe. He never laughed...and was never ugly...just dead serious. It was a trip. Like you said...the ONLY thing to do is laugh and enjoy the moment. Blessings!!

Julie...too funny! Hopefully he was just having a 'brain fart' and really knew this.  I can't imagine how many people have been charged separately in the past!

Julie, I worked in departments stores for years, and years, and yes years. I'd like to put this on a bumper sticker : "I choose not to be cranky over something so silly"  Once I counted the change back to a customer (my age) who handed back to me and said "now do it right". I had, at least in my mind. NOPE! She wanted me to hand her $4.25 not count back from $20. Go figure!

Hi Julie,

This reminds me of the time I was on the freeway and got rear-ended.  I got out of my car and we exchanged information--we had the same insurance company and no one was hurt so I wasn't too excited.  The driver of the other car said "you are so nice about this."  It makes me smile every time I think about it and hope he was able to "play it forward." 

Julie,  Cute story.  I have many of those moments myself where I say or do something profoundly silly (head in the clouds) and then have to laugh at myself....those times are the best.

It reminds me of what is really important in life (one of them being the ability to laugh at yourself and admit, you're only human afterall).

((-:

Jo 

Howdy Julie

This was a very enjoyable and very fine written post to read. I laugh alot as I read it. I bit that young man will not be telline anyone about.

Have a good one

Dale

Oh I hope he was tired! 

Just shows you how mindless that type of job becomes...he was able to shut his mind off and keep doing it.

Julie - this was probably not one of his best days. Everyone may have those once in a while. You are right, if we start getting to upset about such things, we may have our hands full with upset. Much better to laugh.

Well, no matter what...everyone has a bad hair day and it sure is refreshing to know that you took the time to explain. :)

Hi Julie,
My thought was exactly the same as William's.  It could be that several unsuspecting customers paid 23.88 for a 6 pack of Mountain Dew.  BTW, my Dad is a Mt. Dew man too. 
I agree with the way you handled the situation, keep it light and friendly.  Makes life much easier and happier.

Julie,

I commend you for handling the situation without cracking up....I'm not sure I would have been able to control myself. Thanks for the funny story! :)

Julie- I am laughing so hard! This is way too funny! AND I just love the way you handled it! I am so proud to call you my friend. Katerina

Julie--Now that is having a really bad day! It was nice of you to be patience with him...Everyone has one of those braindead moments now and then!

And to think our future is in their hands! LOL

Oh my goodness!!! That is SO positively hilarious! LOL!! Thanks so much for sharing this, I really needed a good laugh tonight. :)

Julie....thanks for the good laugh! At this time of year, you do find some interesting help in the stores!

Julie,

You are entirely tooooo nice!  I wish I could say that I would have been as kind as you.  Sometimes I let the little things get to me!  Thanks for reminding all of us how we should "act" not re-act to circumstances.

Julie -  I wonder if anyone ever caught him charging for a 12 pack... I wonder what a dozen of eggs would end up costing?  LOL...too funny! I really worry about this guy, I hope it was just a long day for him after all and he isn't living in a bubble. Thanks for sharing.

Yikes!  That is really amazing to think that he was prepared to charge you $24 for the six-pack.  It sounds like I would have handled it the same way that you did, but I might have let the laugh slip out.  Thanks for sharing this story!

Julie, I feel SO sorry for that young man!  I wonder if he was challanged or just exhausted.  I give you a LOT of credit for the way you handled it, I can see some people becoming very impatient with him.....Here in many places they hire people that have handicaps of one kind or another and I think it's wonderful!  Thanks for sharing, I think it was a lovely story that taught us tolerance.

Julie - Absolutely priceless! And more than a little frightening. Thanks for a good chuckle.

William: You should have seen the look on the ladies face behind me.  She glanced down at the items she was purchasing as if to think "is there anything he can charge me multiple times for here".   Thank you for your comment my friend. 

Elizabeth: That is a truly funny story too. You know there are some of these teenagers that I see doing stuff like that and I have wondered if the cell phones are taking from their brain cells (LOL), because they just don't pay much attention to details.  It doesn't surprise me that you would handle things with a laugh as well, being that we are sisters separated at birth. Thank you for stopping by to share such a funny story and make a very kind comment.  Blessings to you too.

Mary:yes my friend, I wondered the same thing.  Come to find out he charged us 2X for 1 bag of grapes as well. I wonder if they were giving out bonuses at the store if for those that got away with overcharging. :)

Dena: Oh, I'm sorry you had a grumpy.  Working in retail you probably experienced quite an array of personalities.  I'm feeling your pain.  I worked in retail all through High School, then a Credit Union, UPS, and JetBlue.  All of these jobs came with some major grumpies, especially UPS.  That was an experience I'd never want to relive.  Thank you for stopping by!

Leslie: That is truly awesome the way you handled it.  The surprise from that person goes to show how often people let the cranky get a hold of them.  I like your attitude my friend.  Thank you for sharing and stopping by to comment.

Jo: Oh yes my friend.  Having the ability to laugh at ourselves is key for sure. We all have those moments of having our "head in the clouds" and if we miss that opportunity to have a good laugh when we do something silly, we're missing out on the "free" time for laughter.  It comes of no surprise to me that you have such a wonderful attitude towards this.  Thank you for your kind comment my friend. 

Dale: I'm glad this gave you a good laugh.  I'm sure he didn't share with anybody about his little mistake. Thank you for being here to visit and comment.  

Krista: You know, I look at people around me and although they don't stop you and say "hey, I'm hurting in this world" you can see it all over their face.  We went back to that same store yesterday and when I looked at that young man again, I thought "he just looks so sad".  His mind is probably full of the worries that his life has presented him.  I hope it's what you are thinking and he was just tired.  Thank you my friend for commenting.

Faina: Oh yes, just laugh and take that little stuff lightly.  It was kind of funny, the man before us in line, kept yelling at his little girl, "just move out of their way so they can get up here".  I said "sir, we're good, we aren't the pushy type of people. When you pay, we'll be there just as quick".  He said, "I'm used to people always being so pushy, I felt I needed to get her out of the way".  That just goes to show, people are feeling it all over the place.  The pushy and grumpy and we jsut need to make a small difference in their life. Thank you for being here to comment and leaving such a positive comment my friend. 

Sally: Like my phone call to you, rather than my voicemail, it just takes a small moment, with a smile and opportunity to laugh to move on.  Thank you for being here my friend.  

Cynthia: Oh yes, the Mountain Dew.  That keeps my hubby awake during his graveyard shifts.  Most things in our life can be kept light without stress and overreacting.  The great thing about keeping it light, is the person on the other end, truly does become blessed by such a simple act of sensibility.  Thank you for your insightful comment my friend. 

Suzanne: It was soooooo hard to hold back that laughter.  I'm a giggly girl by nature and that only made it worse.  The only thing that helped me through that was focusing on him possibly having hurt feelings.  Thank you for being here to comment my friend.  

Katerina: Bringing on the laughter is a great thing indeed and I thank you for stopping by to be apart of that.  It was so funny. I can't read through this without busting a gut. Being "proud to call you my friend", goes both ways my friend.  What a treasure you are.  

Teri: Yes, patience is a virtue. We all need to be more mindful of the person on the other end of our actions.  How very right you are "we all have brain dead moments".  That just goes with being human.  Thank you for being here and leaving such a kind comment my friend.

Joan: You crack me up!  For some reason your comment hit my funny bone again.  Thank you for stopping by.

Melissa: Oh, and how good that laughter really feels.  I wish that it would be the mature thing to laugh at everything we could laugh at.  Imagine all the calories we'd burn, the endorphins we'd have and the smiles we'd give? Wow now that could be a life in my bubble. LOL.  Thank you for stopping by to share the laughter my friend. 

Thom:  I first have to address how nice it is to see you visit.  I had this burning desire to email you yesterday because it's been a while.  Thank you for stopping by and I'm glad you were able to join in the laughter. Have a fabulous day my friend.

Jan: You are welcome!  Yeah, we need to take a deep breath before we react to the little things in life.  That laughter feels so much more empowering anyway.  

Candace: You have me laughing so hard again.  $1.98 per egg?  Are those golden eggs or at least gold plated? How about a pair of pants. A charge for each pant leg?  Oh, you have me going off like crazy.  This is so crazy funny. Thank you for stopping by my friend, to make such a hysterical comment and get me going again.   

Jason: Yeah, $24 for a 6-pack.  That is crazy funny. I'll tell you, the inside of my cheeks hurt so bad for keeping myself from laughing.  That's a very difficult thing for me. Thank you for stopping by to share some laughter my friend.  

Carole: You are so incredibly kind that I know without doubt that your tolerance runs high.  For the most part I think this young man was extremely tired and fried by the many people that he was helping throughout the day.  We saw him again yesterday and to tell you the truth, he looks so sad at the same time.  If I wouldn't terrify the day lights out of him, I'd walk up to him and give him a hug and offer a smile, a caring shoulder.  It saddens me to think how many people are hurting and some in their own way, find their cloud to hide behind.  Thank you for being here to leave such a very caring, thoughtful comment my friend. 

Tom: Anytime I can lend a good laugh, I will. I appreciate you stopping by to take part in the funny side of this and have a good laugh.   Have a wonderful day my friend!  

Julie-WOW ...that is some expensive mountain dew...Let's see that would cost my household a fortune..that is my hubby's favorite.  I think it's great how you handled yourself.  I used to run a grocery store...sometimes it was very difficult...the young man was probably grateful you did not rip off his head.  You would be suprised how people are during the holidays...especially when you are  a cashier...but when I was a cashier...we learned these things in advance...I took cashier school for a whole week and got paid for it.    

Now I could be repeating cause I didn't read all the comments but image if you went up with a case???  Crap you'd still be there

haha... 1, 2, 3, 4.... that really is funny.  That poor clerk must have been very tired.   Just imagine a retail Christmas.  I hate fighting the crowds for an hour at a time; imagine doing it for 8, day after day. 

Hi Julie - great post - I'm sure he appreciated your kindness.....I've seen this too - especially when people get tired ( eyes glazed - just going thru motions) He was in task mode - very little cognitive thinking skills needed - you switched him to critical thinking - seeing the "big picture" and connecting the dots - a higher level of thinking :)....If he had one of those Mountain dews to drink & digest ( more glucose for the brain LOL ) he might have seen it correctly LOL

Thanks for sharing

Grace Safrin

Julie, what a valuable, and expensive, lesson. It is a good thing you stepped in. You could have used that as a great way to introduce yourself and compare what you did to the type of services you provide and the way you serve and protect your clients....

Julie-This is pretty funny....I laughed that he counted 1,2,3,4,5,6 LOL :)  it is harder sometimes to not be upset with these situations, but that just puts us in a sour mood.  Much better to just laugh :)

Midori: That would make for some expensive Mountain Dew indeed. If it reaches that price any time soon, my hubby will have to do without.  You do know first hand the experience of working behind a cash register.  I did that as well and the holidays do tend to bring out some grumpies.  I have stories I could tell you, but I'll save it. I believe that working in that type of setting also teaches us to appreciate what the person behind the counter is going through.  I really appreciate you sharing your experience and I'll bet with all the experience you have had, it helps you in your business today. 

Desiree-Oh yeah!  That could get really interesting.  Imagine buying a bottle of tylenol, 82 count.  That could get crazy.  Thank you for stopping by!

Jesse & Kathy: Oh yes, that was the funny part and working in retail, been there, done that and would never want to go back to it.  I felt bad for this guy. Thank you for so much for commenting.

Grace: That's a wonderful thought.  I should have taken him back a Mountain Dew and that way he wouldn't have been so tired.  Truthfully though, I think he needed more in the lines of a Red Bull.  Thank you for your very compassionate comment my friend.

Stephen: Love the idea my friend.  You are really a thinker.  Why wasn't I thinking of that?  Really, I appreciate your very insightful comment.

Kathy: I'm so glad this gave you a good laugh.  My hubby and I laughed about it until the next day.  It feels so much better by far to let out a good laugh than a grumpy attitude.  Thank you so much for commenting my friend.  

Julie, when you have to explain how a six pack is priced I think our Educational system has some serious problems. But then again, everything has its purpose, and it was to make you laugh (or scratch your head and wonder) for the day.

Sometimes I too miss the incredibly obvious. You want to jump down a hole and hide from embarassment. Am I really that stupid sometimes? I think we all have those days, and someone needs to laugh "with" us and not "at" us!

Julie:  It just makes me wonder how many he charged before you came along and kindly pointed out his error in calculation!  Hmmmmm.....do you think he was new? LOL

I agree with Dr. Phil, I swear 2008 will be the year common sense makes a comeback. Too funny, I'm glad you could laugh!

Julie~ the store manager must be loving his profit margin!  I'm so oblivious to prices I probably would not have noticed!

Julie,

Great Story, I actually had the same thing happen to me the other day.  As we live in the same general area  I wonder if we got hit by the same checker.  Mine was a little more innocent as it was a pajama top and bottom, but were meant to be charged as one.  Gotta watch out for those seasonal checkers I guess :) 

Julie, I believe God puts these people in our path so we have an opportunity to show compassion, and also to be grateful for all the blessings he has given us. You handled it perfectly! 

GBY, Ginger

It must be the season.  We ran into a few clueless people ourselves yesterday - but none of them rivaled your guy!  Good to start off the day with a smile.

Julie, I think that we all miss out on tons of opportunities because sometimes we just are not thinking about it. I know this is something I am working on right now (a month ago I wouldn't have thought of it) because I don't want any clients potential or real to slip through the cracks

That story is classic and that you added the graphic of Towlie is even more hysterical! 

Gary: Oh yes, I'm hearing you my friend.  I could tell you stories that, well, I have embarrassed the daylights out of myself.  The cure?  Just laugh until it hurts, because if you don't laugh at yourself you'll be crying. That's what I tell myself in those situations.  I have to tell you that I love your outlook on life.  What a great attitude you have and thanks for always sharing your positivity.

Alecia: Great question.  This particular store just opened up a couple of months ago and for somebody who may have never worked in retail during the holidays, that could be rough. 

Christina: Ha, ha, ha...that is great!  "The year common sense will make a comeback".  Thank you for the laughter.

Lisa: I'll bet the manager is loving it too.  Maybe that is how they get a holiday bonus ;)  Thanks for stopping by.

Bryan: That is great!  Well really not, but we've gotta laugh for sure.  I wonder if it was the same store.  I'll have to look at your profile and see where you are at.  Thank you so much for stopping by neighbor.

Ginger: Thank you my friend for such a very heartfelt comment.  I believe you are right. Compassion gives positive results by both parties.  My worry for this young man was when we went to the same store the next day he was so gloomy and his facial expressions made me think that he probably has some personal issues he is dealing with in his life.  GBY too and again thank you for being such a caring person. 

Margaret: Tis the season!  I feel for the people working in retail.  Been there, done that and would never want to go back.  Thank you for sharing your story my friend. 

Stephen:  You have put some great thoughts into mind when having face to face contact with people, especially this time of year.  Thank you so much!

Amanda: I'm so glad this gave you a good laugh.  Funny thing is, I don't watch South Park, but loved the graphic.  I'll have to check Towlie out.  Thank you for commenting. 

You have wonderful patience!  Reminds me of buying a 6 pack of Root Beer in bottle and the clerk asked me for ID (which was flattering on it's own) but I had to convince him it was soda.

Poor fella.  I don't think I would have handled the situation with as much grace.  He is very fortunate to have come across you for such a, how would you say, not-so-enlightened occasion.  He's probably still puzzled.  (P.S. Sorry I'm late to the party.) :)

Rebecca: Ha ha ha ha ha, that is so funny I can't contain myself.  I don't think my 4 year old has ever been ID'd for Root Beer lol.  Oh, I could tell you stories of patience that I have wondered, but thank goodness I have kept my composure. Thank you for sharing that hysterical story.  That was great!

Amber: You are so sweet and I must say it's great to see you here.  I felt bad for him, but truly it was a moment where the second we walked away and was out of his ear and view, me and my hubby started laughing so hard, we had a hard time getting to the exit. You are OK my friend, the party is still going.  How's your finger?  Thank you for your great comment.  

I finally took the bandage off today.  Can you believe it?  What's that, nearly three weeks later?!  It's a little jacked up, but I think it could have been much worse. ;)

Yeah, I would have been crying from laughing so hard.  I can't imagine how you made it that far! 

Julie, I just had a cross-sale with that guy! 

Amber: That's good news.  I'm glad you have the bandages off finally.  That must have been pretty bad.  You know, other than the inside of my cheeks hurting so bad from biting down, from refraining a hysterical, falling to the ground laugh, I don't know how I made it through either. 

Paul: Oh you too huh?   Why did you send him back over to me?  He must be spreading himself pretty thin between Utah and Arizona.  Oh, wait...that explains why he's struggling so much. Thanks for stopping by.  

Julie,

you've gotta tell me which store...

I need to go there for a little fun, too  :)