Christmas. The one time of the year when people can splurge and receive and not feel guilty about it. Well, except for birthdays, but they don’t count because they’re only personal indulgences in consumerism rather than a mass one.
A customer I served today bought $30 worth of wrapping paper and assorted present-decorating accessories (see post Bizzare shopping purchases). She explained to me that she was going all out with the gift wrapping because her daughter (aged 8 ) had just come across the truth that Santa doesn’t exist. In re-wrapping all the presents elaborately, she hoped to convince her daughter that Santa had delivered new presents on Christmas Day.
Or something like that. It made sense when she said it.
I commited a minor screw-up during this particular customer’s transaction. I had just filled to the brim a plastic bag with various items and poured on top of it all her (many) decorative bows and ribbons when she exclaimed that I was supposed to be using her eco-friendly bags.
Rule #2 of working the checkout was broken. Never let conversation distract you from your task.
Rule #1 is to always smile, be friendly, and pretend that everything’s just peachy. During training and induction we were told never to complain to the customer about any ailments we might be suffering at that point in time – back ache, foot ache, other customers. Even if we are having a lousy day, even if we have just dropped a 1kg can of tinned fruit on our foot and we think we may have broken some toes, we nevertheless have to smile, smile smile. But I digress.
While I don’t celebrate Christmas and have been telling customers as such when they’ve asked what I plan to do for it, I have to admit that the season does have its purposes. For instance, I have no idea what I’m supposed to use as a conversation-starter once Christmas is over. In the immediate week following Christmas, I suppose I could drop the line, ‘And how was your Christmas?’ But I suspect that the question wouldn’t be well-received in March.
I have mentally plotted other major celebrations and events that occur throughout the year in Australia. The next one coming up is Australia Day. Beyond that, the only one I can think of is Easter. Keen observers will notice that there is a glaring gap between Australia Day and Christmas (give or take one week post-Australia Day over which the question ‘And how was your Australia Day?’ can be asked and one week pre-Easter across which the question ‘So what are your plans for Easter?’ can be posed) during which nothing of consequence is marked out on the calendar. This leaves me with little to choose from to use as a conversation starter.
I can only hope that some major unexpected public event occurs in that officially uneventful period. Otherwise, I may be forced to discuss the weather.
.
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‘Pretend you’re happy when you’re blue/It isn’t very hard to do’
- Nat King Cole, Pretend
