We all know the maxim that the customer is always right.

In this story, a retail employee let the customer think she was right… is that so wrong?

Let’s see how he did it.

I tricked a computer store customer

Long time ago, I was doing part time in a retail computer store.

One day a customer brought in a mouse, complaining it was defective.

I noticed it had an obvious bent connector.

This was an older type connection that’s circular, with pins that you need to reasonably line up with the port to connect.

I’m sensing there might be a missed connection ahead…

I explained the problem, that the pins need to line up to the holes, and warned to be careful not to force it in if the pins aren’t lined up because you might damage it.

I bent the pin slightly back, demonstrated how to connect, and showed it working.

She gets defensive and says it’s the mouse’s fault for being hard to connect (kinda right) and wants me to replace it with a new mouse.

Even if the customer is always right, do they have to be a jerk?

We go back and forth a few times, where I explain there’s nothing defective with her mouse and she blames something and restates her demand.

Eventually she just says, “I don’t care,” and wants a manager.

At this point, a new mouse isn’t worth the effort, and she probably won’t break the new one now.

I tell her I’ll be back and take the mouse into the back repair area to do a swap.

There I noticed intact discarded packaging for the exact mouse and get an idea.

Love an ah-ha moment… is he gonna pull the ol’ switcheroo?

After wiping down her mouse, I take one of the boxes and repackage and resticker it.

When I bring it to the front, I hand it to the customer saying, “Here’s your mouse.”

Didn’t even have to bait this trap with cheese.

After giving a self-satisfied smirk, she takes it and leaves the store.

Sounds like he got the last laugh.

Let’s see what our comments have to say about this bold Mouseketeer.

This user has a class tech tip.

Someone else has a similar anecdote about phoning home…

Another poster is ROFL-ing about it

But one poster is like, eh, this sends the wrong message.

Someone else says, classic “tail”!

This computer store clerk played an expert game of cat and mouse.

She probably never noticed.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.