Holding an item for a customer can be helpful, but the arrangement falls apart when they miss the pickup and never bother to call.

Imagine reserving the last popular Christmas decoration for someone who promised to arrive before closing – would you keep it hidden for days, or return it to the shelf when they disappeared?

That is the situation one retail worker faces after the customer arrives late, misses another full business day, and finally returns after the item has already sold.

See how one holiday deal slipped away.

Customer Asks To Hold Something. Doesn’t Show Up For Two Days.

At my last retail job, store policy was to hold items for customers all the time if they said they were coming in.

So it was Christmas time about three years ago.

I got a call from another store asking if we had a certain Christmas light that was really popular and on sale still in stock.

So they kindly set the item aside for the customer.

I confirmed we had a few, and the employee informed me they had a customer there coming down to pick it up. They said the customer was on their way and would be there before we closed.

So I took the item, put the customer’s name on it, and waited for them to arrive.

But they weren’t arriving like they said they would.

Sure enough, it was closing time, and the customer hadn’t shown up yet.

After the doors were locked and I was doing my final rounds in the store, I did see a vehicle pull up, with someone trying to get in, and they promptly left.

The following day came and went, but still no sign of the customer.

The next day, our store was closed, so when I came in the day after, I waited until noon hoping I’d get a call from the customer or something.

So they put the item back on the shelf, and it didn’t last long there.

But when I didn’t, I took the item and put it back on the shelf. It was sold out before the end of the day.

Of course, then the customer decides to show up.

The next day, a coworker approached with a customer, saying they were looking for an item that was put on hold for them.

When I verified this was the customer that was supposed to come in, I informed them the item was put back on the shelf because they never came in the other day and it was now sold out.

The customer said they came, but they didn’t realize what time we closed (probably the vehicle I saw pull in).

So one unfortunate retail worker had to break the news.

I informed the customer that I waited the next day we were open, but didn’t receive any call or update from them, so I assumed they weren’t coming. That if I had, I probably would have held the item longer.

The customer walked out pretty disappointed they didn’t get what they wanted.

The customer may have walked way empty-handed, but at least they’ll learn to be more prompt next time.

What did Reddit think?

Some customers need to be reeducated on what closing time actually means.

Some customers are just waaaay too entitled.

There’s something to be said for good customer service, but customers need to hold up their end of the bargain too.

And when customers don’t follow through, the store suffers for it.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man who is shocked to learn how little he has to do to keep his cushy remote job.

This story is less of a customer-service dispute and more of a very slow race against a clearly posted closing time.

A quick phone call could have kept the item reserved, but showing up late and then waiting two more days made the store’s decision fairly predictable.

At least the customer accepted the disappointment without causing a scene, which already puts this tale ahead of most retail stories.

The Christmas lights were held patiently, released responsibly, and apparently purchased by someone with access to a clock.