A Christmas Story

(No, not that Christmas Story, although it is among my favourites of the season.)

After my ultrasound Friday morning – all things are good, placenta is out of the way, baby is up to six pound and looking fine – I went to Toys R Us for a few last-minute things. It was first thing in the morning, barely 9 am, and the place was blissfully unbusy. It didn’t take me long to find what I was looking for, and I found one last inspiring gift. I waddled up to the cash register, and nearly choked when the total she announced was about $30 more than I was expecting.

“Um,” I said, looking at her display,”this thing is supposed to be $24.99.”

“Oh!” said the cashier, “It rang through as $59.99. Can you show me the sign that said it was $24.99?”

Sure enough, we got to the shelf, and there was actually two shelves of them with the $24.99 label – but when I peered down to the lowest shelf for a better look, the small print on the label clearly named a different product. Aware that the $24.99 had been maybe a little too good to be true, I shrugged my shoulders and told her, “Oh well, never mind, I don’t want it at that price.”

She said, “No, no – I would have assumed the same thing. I’ll give it to you for $24.99.” Score! But, when she rang it through and tried to override the price, she had to ask for supervisor authorization because of the amount of the discrepancy. The supervisor took a harder line and pointed out that the label clearly indicated a different product. The cashier, a perky and bright-eyed teenager, gestured toward my jutting belly and said, “Take a look at her – does she look like she’s in any condition to be bending over that far to read the fine print?” I don’t know who laughed louder, the supervisor or me, but she didn’t argue the point and I walked out with the toy for $24.99.

Author: DaniGirl

Canadian. storyteller, photographer, mom to 3. Professional dilettante.

17 thoughts on “A Christmas Story”

  1. awww so sweet. Don’t you love it when that happens?

    Isn’t it amazing how we are surprised when strangers are actually nice to us??!

  2. What a delicious bargain.

    That clerk may have a future in politics. I, on the other hand, had a clerk yesterday who decided to make fun of what I named my daughter. He did not make me laugh.

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