A quarters worth of bitching.

Today, this man and his son came to pick squash, green beans, some strawberries, and some greens and beets.
His stuff came to 12.50


He gave me 12.25 and considered that he was paid up. I thought about it and decided to let it go for a quarter. He was a person who wanted to think he got something free from me by his cleverness. It happens a lot. Rounding off the quarter pound, I am not a nit-wit. But, people who come out here consider that a farmer is not as smart as they are. I wonder about that. THEY cannot grow their own food, THEY do not even know what some of the food is. I must be a push over.

Love,
Betty

Betty, you should have just took one of his strawberries and ate it in front of him, smiling ever so sweetly.

I wouldn't mind giving a guy a break, but to have them think they got one over on me...

Let 'em think they pulled the wool over your eyes, Betty. You know the truth. Consider it a quarter's worth of good karma that will come back to grace you in the future.

That post has got to be worth at least a quarter. Being a push-over isn't all that bad. Would you rather be the jerk who gets his jollies from short changing or running over people?

Come to think of it, that might be fun.



Ann

Sounds like he was just another cheapskate. I got tired of those types years ago. Yestereday I browsed a stack of magazines while waiting for an appointment. An AARP mag had a cover story "Great Tips From Skinflints" (or something like that). I couldn't decide what was worse, being an old skinflint or reading about them. I picked a different mag.

Hey, I'm proud of being an old skinflint. It took decades to perfect the art. I wouild not gyp Betty out of a quarter, however.

I don't think I would have been as easy going as you Betty, after all it is your livelyhood your talking about. Then again by your kindness he may come back as a regular customer, so in the end you may have done the best thing.

I like Brew's answer.

Me too, but I wouldn’t be as quick-thinking as Brew. I’d only come up with something later, after I’d torn myself up brooding about it and everyone had already gone home.

Not me. I would've grabbed him by the front of the shirt and said, "Fork over the two bits, buster."

Maybe that's why there has been so much turmoil in my life and why I think every story should contain at least one murder. Except Betty's.

Glad y'all liked my response, but for once I was being serious!

When I worked at the old store when I was a kid, my dad taught me how to handle some of the more popular tricks by customers.

One was avoiding sales tax... in those days there was no tax on 10
cents, but over that carried a penny (up to 50 cents where it went to
two cents).

A customer would buy one ten cent candy bar, pay for it, then get
another right away, as if an afterthought. That one usually cost him
eleven cents (if dad was watching).

I used to pull that trick all the time. No one ever called me on it so I was lucky your dad wasn't around.

Dick you old tax dodger

Betty,
consider dropping a "debit" slip into their bag.
"Sorry you were a bit short today. No problem. Consider it a debit against your next purchase. Have a good day"

Reminds me that I checked out a website a while back and discovered I was on it under the name "Stodg the Dodger." Who would have committed such a dastardly deed?

Abe, that's brilliant!

No, Marie, I kind of liked it but she was indignant. She's a female, of course, so you never can be sure.