DEAR MISS MANNERS:I worked in retail and customer service for about 20 years.
Whenever an item isn’t scanned, the old joke is told that if it’s not scanned, it’s free.
I recently told a customer that even on my very first day in retail, that joke was never funny. He then told me I had no sense of humor.
For what, Why Do people think these kinds of jokes are funny? They really aren’t.
And some people, instead of joking, are even serious! If the item is not scanned, rather than trying to get a price for the item, they want the cashier to just give it to them! No matter how much it may cost!
Why do people think any of these things are acceptable? What’s going on in their heads? I have no idea.
LOVED READER: Deep breathing.
Of course, the customer isn’t always right, nor is he always funny, but there’s another retail maxim that applies here, which is to not take your frustrations out (with the scanner, in this case) on the customer.
Miss Manners will agree with you: even on the first day it was not very funny. But there was (and, to the customer, always is) a slight novelty which might pass for a joke, or at least a lightness of tone.
Take a deeper breath.
DEAR MISS MANNERS:So, three couples will share a luxury house for two weeks on holiday abroad.
Everyone has paid their share of the third. The couples are close friends. All are financially comfortable.
At the last minute, a couple catches COVID. If the sick couple travels, they will expose their friends and other passengers on the airline to COVID. The other two couples leave to enjoy the beautiful vacation home.
No one has travel insurance. Legally, the sick couple is not entitled to any reimbursement for the rental.
Because of their close friendship and personal generosity, should this couple get compensation from their friends?
I think a partial refund would be the best solution. Do you agree?
LOVED READER:It bothers Miss Manners to reduce the label of what happened to a financial transaction.
You say that neither couple is in financial difficulty and therefore there is no need for repayment. But if money is to change hands, someone will have to raise the issue.
Miss Manners would not object to healthy couples voluntarily offering a refund to the sick couple – although a more natural topic of conversation would be to ask how their friends are feeling and whether there is anything they can do to help them in their recovery.
As for the sick couple, why is money their main concern? Do they feel cheated, either because they were unable to get their money back or because they had to miss their flight to protect the health of others?
If so, it is best to keep this feeling to oneself, lest it diminish our natural sympathy for them.
Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or by postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.
