Retail workers perfect the art of fake laughter just to keep the line moving.

But when one self-checkout attendant delivers a tired joke of their own and gets the same practiced chuckle back from a customer, the script suddenly flips.

Keep reading for the full story.

I got given the ‘retail laugh’ by a customer.

So, if you work in retail, you’ll know what I mean by the “retail laugh.”

The employee lists several scenarios.

Such as when an item doesn’t scan and you hear the “That must mean it’s free!” joke for the millionth time, and you give a forced little “…Haha…,” complete with the ol’ retail smile.

But one day, the interaction went a little differently.

Well, I was on the other end of it today.

I was manning the self checkouts, and a much older gent was buying some alcohol.

The “age check” popped up, and I went to clear it.

As I did, I playfully asked him if he had ID, and I got the “…haha…” complete with the retail smile too.

The employee finally felt what it was like to be on the other end of it.

And you know what? Fair play to the man.

Maybe he had heard that one more often than he cared to think about, just like the “must be free” joke, but he wasn’t rude.

He was polite enough to humor me during our brief interaction.

It just felt sort of odd realizing I was on the receiving end of the “retail laugh” for once.

This was a laugh that felt painfully familiar.

What did Reddit have to say?

A little humor helps a retail shift go by.

Dry humor doesn’t always go over well with customers.

This fellow retail worker has a few more examples that irk them.

Everyone likes it when someone laughs at their joke.

There’s nothing like a role reversal to make you question everything.

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