The banana man

We were waiting at the register in Aldi, with many things to pay for. A man came up behind us with one banana. I insisted that he go ahead of us. He wondered if the cashier could ring up one banana. I said that since bananas were sold by weight, it shouldn’t be a problem. I was right and wrong.

The purchase took some time. The man put his card in the reader, but the reader didn’t bite, so he swiped. Several minutes of inaudible customer-cashier conversation followed, with the cashier opening the till twice. I tried to send Elaine a message by telepathy about good deeds and punishment.

And then we found out what had happened. The banana man had wanted cash back with his purchase — that was the whole point of buying the banana. And having received his cash, he wanted to return his banana for an additional eighteen cents.

I misunderstood. Here’s what did happen:

The banana man paid for his banana with his card and wanted cash back. The cashier told him that she couldn’t give him back cash that exceeded the amount of his purchase. The banana man wanted to return his banana. The cashier, now with more customers waiting, told him that she wasn’t going to run a return for eighteen cents. She gave him the coins instead. She told us that she didn’t think Aldi would mind. We told her that we would have her back if they did.

Note: The banana man could have asked about cash back before paying for his banana.

Thank you, Elaine, for straightening me out.

[Context, in case anyone is wondering: the customer was clearly not indigent. He was, I’d say, feeling remarkably entitled.]