Things Which Customers Gave You

[TelephoneAngel]

My boyfriend is work at the moment, he just called me to say that one of his regular customers gave him a dead chicken! (it's a very rural are, lots of farmers)

I do not know what to do with a dead chicken! but I'm sure it was a kind gesture.

When I worked in a sweet shop, customers would sometimes buy chocolcate and give it to me, or icecream in the summer.

One time when I was up a ladder getting something from a high shelf for a customer, I ripped my tights, she went out, and came back in with some more which she had bought for me, which was nice.

A customer once bought me a casette of music he had taped for me.

What did customers bring you?

[Lace Neil Singer]

At the petrol station this Christmas, this guy came in with a giant box of chocolate biscuits for us. We all thought that was very sweet. ^^ We also had a couple of friendly workmen buy tea, coffee and sugar for us about a fortnight ago.

[AdminAssistant]

When I was at TJ Maxx, we had the occasional customer bring goodies for us, usually people who were also friends with the manager or something. When I worked at the business school, the professors were always giving me and my boss little trinkets, gift certificates, etc because we kept that place running.

[JoitheArtist]

Let's see...we've occasionally had visiting members bring us stuff. One lady brought cupcakes!

For me personally: I had to arrange a get-together between this one chapter (full of AWESOME women) and the Founder of our org. They gave both the Founder and me these beautiful glass pictures frames with their chapter names on them. I put a pic of us with the chapter in my frame, and it still sits on my desk.

Another time, I was visiting my parents in Texas. Their real estate agent's mother-in-law is a member of my org, and the Queen of the chapter had called in to renew their dues--I took the call, realized who she was, explained who I was and who my parents were. She had just met my dad, and so we got to talking. She invited me to join her ladies for coffee when I went home for Christmas. I did, and one of the ladies who owned an embroidery machine had made a beautiful little applique ornament for me. That one hangs on my cubicle wall!

[BookstoreEscapee]

We've had customers bring in cookies or candy for the staff around the holidays on occasion.

Personally, I've gotten tips for gift wrapping, which is a regular service that we offered (I don't think they do wrapping any more but they will give you paper). Usually $2-5. I always politely refused, but a few were insistent. If I refused twice and they still insisted, I would take it. I don't think there is any official rule on accepting tips but it's really not necessary for wrapping a book or two. I always used it to buy a drink on my break.

When I worked in Store1, a couple of the Starbucks employees (separate store attached to the bookstore) would sometimes bring me free drinks.

And not something I was given, per se, but there was a woman at Store2 who would bring her Chihuahua in sometimes, and she would let me hold her at customer service while she went to get a drink (we didn't care if dogs came in as long as they were carried and not brought into the cafe).

[tropicsgoddess]

I had a brief stint working as a cashier at a major craft store during the Christmas seasons a few years ago. The customer gave me, my co-workers and our manager these really cute popcorn tins with the various flavors in it (butter, cheese, caramel...mmmm). I still have the tin.

[draftermatt]

Quite a few hats, T-shirts, 2 winter jackets, a windbreaker, chocolate chip cookies, a basket full of chocolate (at Christmas) and a Shoo Fly Pie.

Never got any of the pie, even though we all agreed to split it at lunch the next day (brought a knife, fork and plates) my boss took it to a party he went to that night, where it was thrown out because the hosts had cakes and pies for everyone.

Edited to add: More coffee mugs (and travel mugs) than I care to count, and recently a briefcase.

[TelephoneAngel]

Lol

Complete misunderstadning over the chicken.

When he said a dead chicken, I thought he meant a dead just-off-the-farm chicken complete with feathers and head, when I saw it in the fridge this morning, its a large supermarket wrapped chicken in a cardboard tray and plastic, with the shop label on.

I asked him why he said a dead chicken and not just a chicken, and he said in case I thought it was a live rooster or something!

[joe hx]

At <old pizza place> we had quite a bit of Muslim customers. I enjoy reading religious texts, so I asked one female Muslim what a good translation of the Koran would be. She came back later and gave me her personal copy. I was grateful.

At the auto shop, people would bring in cookies all the time. One guy brought in some deer meat from his hunting expeditions.

[Ree]

When I worked the service/snack counter at the grocery store, we were right by the door, and we always got the cold drafts as customers came and went.

One really bitterly cold day, one of our regular customers, and absolute sweetheart of a woman, came in and bought 3 coffees.
She fixed up one with milk and sugar, and then handed the other 2 to me and the other girl who worked with me and told us to fix them up the way we liked. Then she just walked away.

We've had customers bring in chocolates and snacks.

I had one woman who travelled to the US every little while, so I always saved American coins for her from my register and she would buy them from me.
One time, she brought back a little trinket box for me from one of the places she had visited. I still have it.

I've had customers bring me copies of recipes after discussing them with them.

One really icy day, when I worked at a small hardware store (my first job) I met an elderly lady walking and trying to manoeuvre on the ice.
She said she was heading to the store where I worked to buy a pair of "creepers" (ice cleats) for her boots, so I let her take my arm and we both walked there together.

I showed her where the ice cleats were, and went to put my coat and stuff away.
A few minutes later, she came to my cash, and was buying 2 pairs of cleats.
She handed one to me and told me to use them for my own boots, and then she left.

[JoitheArtist]

Quite a few hats, T-shirts, 2 winter jackets, a windbreaker, chocolate chip cookies, a basket full of chocolate (at Christmas) and a Shoo Fly Pie.

Never got any of the pie, even though we all agreed to split it at lunch the next day (brought a knife, fork and plates) my boss took it to a party he went to that night, where it was thrown out because the hosts had cakes and pies for everyone.

*gasp* Shoo Fly Pie...thrown out????? That is a waste of a damn good pie! Sure, they tend to like like a fresh-tarred road, but they taste soooooooooo good!

hmmm, might have to go make me one of those soon...

[sarasquirrel]

i got a flower once...thats it....

[Gravekeeper]

Every now and then management and/or our clients ( not our callers ) will order out for pizza for our entire office ( which is quite a bit pizza, mind you ). Or send us other various gifts of food.

We also get discounts on stuff if we order things through any of our sales clients.

Its not our actual clients I loath with ever fiber of my being. ;p

[BrenDAnn]

A few years back, one of my regular (male) customers, who worked at the local sausage/meat factory, felt bad for me having to work Christmas, so he gave me a sausage. My mom and sister insisted it was some sort of innuendo. I just shrugged it off. Other than that, I've gotten a few dollar tips here and there. The other night, I got a $1 tip, and later a lady came and bought some lottery scratchers, then gave two of the $1 ones to me, and one of them was a $1 winner. I also had a lady give me a $10 tip once because I sold her a ticket worth quite a bit of money. That was a pleasant surprise to come in to on a Monday!

[Ghel]

At the bank, we sometimes get candy or cookies from customers. One of our customers makes Christmasy pins every year and gives them to each of us.

The coolest thing, though, was when the local Lions Club bought me flowers for doing their raffle drawings.