WWW.WEDNESDAY

 

 

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger. I didn't expect holly jolly from an author known for thrillers, and this one is dark. It's about Madeline, a small-town entrepreneur who bears scars -- one on her face and one on her soul. She was the victim of an assault years ago and one day, when she least expects it, a true crime podcaster comes into her bookstore to buy a Christmas gift ... and to reopen her case.

 
2. What did you recently finish reading? In the Best Families by Rex Stout. A dog is murdered. I get very upset when pets are in peril, and something just awful happens to a dog in this one. I wished I'd been warned about that going in. The thing of it is, I became obsessed with seeing the cruel bastard brought to justice. I got what I wanted.

 

One outstanding thing about this entry is that Lily Rowan has a bigger part! Lily is Archie Goodwin's best girl, and she is drafted into joining the usually all-male team. It's nice to see her take part in the action and acquit herself so well.

3. What will you read next? I don't know.

 

 

 

I screwed up

In terms of consumer traffic, it's either feast or famine at the card shop. It'll be me and sales lead on duty, sprucing up the store and enjoying the carols and then POW! The door opens and shoppers magically appear. Some ask for assistance, which means that often, instead of two of us at the registers, there's only one. 

Our customers are uniformly pleasant and patient. I am grateful for that, because I remain slower than I would like at the register. 

Monday, I screwed up. A 30-something woman wandered in and walked around the store for a while. Then she grabbed a basket and started to shop. She bought a little of everything. Roll wrap, ornaments (buy 1, get 1 50% off), jigsaw puzzles, crafting kits ... all kinds of stuff, many different shapes, some of it breakable. Her final tally was over $200. 

I was slow but careful. Especially with her ornaments. I brought the two big bags around the counter and handed them to her. She thanked me for my help and, after spending over an hour with us, she disappeared out the door. I went on to help those in line behind her.

When the rush was over, I turned around and reached for my water bottle. That's when I saw it: one of the $25 jigsaw puzzles she paid for but I forgot to bag.

Katie, our new store manager, pulled up the transaction but since the customer wasn't a rewards member, she couldn't access the name. We just had to wait until the poor woman got home, unpacked her purchases, and noticed the puzzle was missing. 

It took her about an hour to call. It was at the end of my shift. Lanie, who came on to relieve me, was the one who took the call and said the customer sounded "pleasant, not at all mad."

That's nice, but she still had to drive all the way back to the store to get what she'd paid for.

Yesterday was only December 9. My last workday before Christmas is December 19. That gives me a lot of time to make more and similar mistakes at the register. I suck.

Photo by Danny Lines on Unsplash