"I got these for my wedding, and I don't want them," she said, "Just give me the cash. I could use that."
Back in the day, if you had a gift receipt, you could do that, and get the cash immediately. I had the gift receipt, and saw the code showing the original sale was cash as well, so I complied. I rang the return, and she quickly signed a copy of the return, I stapled the two pieces together for my register, and gave her $26.24. Once the money was in her hand, she was gone.
I put the box off to the side of the counter, and spent the rest of that Monday very busy with other sales and returns. I didn't get to inspect the box contents until later in the afternoon. I opened the box, thinking I could put the four on display with some other glassware.
I opened the box and slid the glasses out. In each of the four champagne flutes was a $100 bill. My jaw dropped. I called for Jack, the floor manager, immediately.
He looked askance at the sudden windfall as well.
"Let's check the return," he said, "Maybe we can look her up."
We went back into the register drawer and pulled out the receipt. We both saw what she signed.
She had signed on the return receipt: A.Bride
"I guess she thought she was being clever." said Jack, "If no one claims it in thirty days, you're $400 richer."
Thirty days later, I was.
The lesson here is:
- Don't assume an inexpensive gift is worthless to you.
- Don't jump to conclusions about the giver by the gift.
- Always take a closer look.