Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. The streets are carpeted with snow, trees, and buildings covered in lights, the smell of delicious food in the air. It is filled with joyous times with friends and family, making memories and of course, exchanging gifts! Everyone is in a relaxed mood and consumed by the warm holiday spirit. Everyone except those who work in retail. For them, Christmas can be one of the most stressful times of the year. Their days consist of endless hours, massive crowds, and some entitled uncivilized buyers who can reconstruct the happy holiday times into an ordeal.
Sarah Bélanger Demaneuf was one such retail worker who had an unpleasant experience with a customer over a Christmas ornament. Sarah decided to take the perfect revenge from the rude woman and years later this incident still makes her smile.
Time To Get Up
The clock struck 7 and Sarah’s alarm went off. She groaned in her sleep and shoved the clock away. Even after 2 years of working at the store, she was still not a morning person. Especially this time of the year, when it is freezing outside and leaving your warm bed is the most difficult task. Even more difficult than handling the busy crowds of Christmas.
Retail Clerk
Sarah worked as a clerk at a retail store. This will be her second Christmas at this store and she was not happy about it, to say the least. People were crazy this time of the year, fighting with each other for the last pieces of Christmas items. The crowd never seemed to shrink, it was always packed at the store. There was a consistent murmur in Sarah’s head because of all the chatter.
Can’t Complain
Despite everything, Sarah never complained about her job because she knew she is lucky to have one. It is not like it is her dream to work here but, at least, it was a steady income. She had a love for photography but she never considered it more than a hobby.
Swamped Streets
The wiper blades were running back and forth across the frosty windshield. Even after turning on the heat, Sarah’s car was not warm enough. It was quite early in the morning so the streets were kind of empty right now. But she knew, soon enough, they will be swamped with people, people on foot, people in cars, people on buses, people everywhere.
Reaching The Store
As she pulled up into the store driveway, Sarah could see a few people lingering outside the store already. She sighed and got out of the car. Her boots made crunching sounds as she walked across the snowy parking lot. The store keys jingled in her hands as she unlocked the door. The familiar warmth inside the store enveloped her instantly.
Get To Work
Sarah turned on the lights and made her way to the counter. She poured herself a cup of warm cappuccino from the machine and checked the cash register, ensuring she had everything in place before the day starts. Once everything was ready, she reached the front door and changed the sign to ‘OPEN’. It was time to get to work.
Massive Crowd
It was around noon now, the crowd has not stopped pouring in through the front door since the morning. They were busy collecting up on items for their houses, parties, gifts, dinner, etc. Sarah’s hands were busy scanning QR codes and billing items. It was important to keep your cool in these situations, and, after all this time, Sarah had mastered the art.
Last Day
The only thing that was getting her through the day was that today is the last day of all the hustle and crazy shoppers. It was the peak of the holiday season now and when the store reopens after Christmas, things would have settled down a bit.
The Celebration
Sarah had an amazing time celebrating Christmas with her family. It had been months since she had spent time with her family and it was a nice change of pace. When she was ready to leave, her brother surprised her by gifting her a camera. He encouraged her to pursue her hobby. She promised she will consider it sincerely but for now, it was time to go back.
Back To Work
Sarah was back at the store after a much-needed break. The best part was that the peak season was now over. She was happy they had managed to achieve their targets for the holiday season without facing any trouble and emergencies. And now things will move at a more relaxed pace which makes helping customers an easier task.
The Leftovers
Once the peak season is over, there are a bunch of unsold Christmas goods and items left at the store. These leftovers are sold with huge discounts. This means those who are interested can do next year’s shopping well in advance at these rates. Sarah’s store had a flat 50% discount on the leftover Christmas decorations.
Calm Before The Storm
Sarah was enjoying a laid back day at work. No crowds, no hustle, the buzzing in her head had subsided. She missed calm days like these because for the past three months she had only had busy days every day of work. Little did she know, this day is about to endure a drastic change.
The Woman
Sarah was busy scanning items of a buyer when a well-dressed woman, in her late thirties, approached the counter. She had nothing but a single piece of a Christmas decoration in her hand. Sarah greeted her to which she replied in a rather patronizing manner. Sarah’s smile didn’t falter, over the years she had learned the art of enduring such people.
Demanding Discount
“How may I help you?”, Sarah asked. The woman put the little star decoration piece on the counter and asked if she could get a discount on this product since its the holiday season. Sarah took a look at the item and realized it was an already discounted item, which was on sale for 50 cents (originally sold at $1).
No Further Discount
Sarah politely informed the customer that this product is already being sold at a 50% discount. The woman replies in an annoyed tone that she is aware of the prize of the product, which is why she is asking if she can get it for a discount, at 25 cents. Sarah had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. She graciously declined. And that is when things took a nasty turn.
Irate Customer
The woman raised her voice and started arguing with Sarah about the discount. She kept insisting that the decoration was already so cheap so why can’t there be a discount on it? Sarah’s response was along the same lines, that if the product is already cheap why ask for a discount in the first place? The woman was being ridiculous, she is not even going to use these until next Christmas.
Frustration
The woman was extremely angry now, yelling rude things to Sarah for not discounting the price. Clearly, she was not used to hearing no from anybody. Sarah had to grit her teeth to maintain a smile. She pointed out that 50 cents are already very less of an amount which is why she can’t discount it further. But the woman was in no mood to listen.
Try Again
When she realized that Sarah won’t change her mind, the stubborn woman informed Sarah that her friend, who works in another store told her that all the ornaments will be at a 90% discount tomorrow. So she will come back tomorrow and buy them. Sarah pointed out that the decorations might be sold out by then.
Nobody Will Buy Them
The woman replied, “There are 12 in the store. Nobody is going to buy all 12. I’ll get what I want. Prepare to feel stupid tomorrow.” And with that, she stormed out of the store. Sarah let out a long sigh. It is people like these who make her job just not worth it.
Anger Management
Even though Sarah had developed the art of anger management, sometimes it was not easy to let go of things. This customer had made such a fuss about something so insignificant and then stormed out of the store abruptly, Sarah was controlling the urge to hit something. She decided to teach this ill-mannered woman a lesson.
Devising A Plan
After brainstorming a few ideas, Sarah knew exactly how to get back at the woman. The woman had very arrogantly mentioned that nobody will buy all 12 of the pieces so that is exactly what Sarah did. She went and bought all the 12 pieces of decor from her store. But that was not all, she didn’t stop there.
Making A Phone Call
Sarah took a look at the product number given at the back of the box and knew exactly what to do next. She took out her phone to call every outlet in the county and make a purchase of the same product at their store. This way, the woman would not have a chance of finding the product anywhere and that would teach her a lesson.
The Revenge Act
The best part of this revenge was that there is no way for the lady to ever find out Sarah is responsible for her precious ornaments being sold out. The whole act came up to a total cost of $30, which was by far the best $30 Sarah has ever spent on anything. Once everything was done and dusted, Sarah sat back and waited eagerly for the next day.
The Next Day
Sarah’s anticipation clouded the air as she waited for her dear customer to arrive. She kept watching the door like a hawk, alert of every person coming into the store. And then, around noon, she spotted the woman walking into the store with the same sour face. Sarah put on her smile and waited for her to approach the counter.
Sold Out
The woman walked up to the counter and replied to Sarah’s greeting with an eye roll. She began inquiring about the decoration pieces but Sarah interrupted her and told her they are sold out. The woman’s angry face grew angrier as she said, “Fine! I’ll just go to another store.” And that is when Sarah had the pleasure to inform her, “Actually all the star ornaments in North Alabama have been purchased by one customer.”
Worth Every Penny
The look on that woman’s face was worth every penny Sarah spent on this revenge. She was so angry that she stormed out of the store without another word. The satisfaction Sarah felt was unbelievable. She knew some people might think she went a bit overboard but she couldn’t help but feel victorious!
Petty But Satisfying
The effort that went into this perfectly executed plan might seem petty and unnecessary but the outcome was satisfying nevertheless. It wasn’t about the ornaments, it was about the Christmas spirit. How easy it was for that lady to ruin the happy vibe shared by so many people over the holiday season, only because she wasn’t used to hearing “No” from people.
Distributing The Sta
Now that the incident was over, Sarah was still left with $30 worth of Christmas ornaments and she had to figure out what to do with them. She decided to distribute it to her friends and family to spread the Christmas joy. She even decided to keep one for herself and would put it on her tree for the many, many Christmases to follow.
Moving On
Years later, Sarah still remembers this story like it happened yesterday. She no longer works at the Retail store. She decided to follow her passion for photography and became a professional photographer. Her day no longer consists of dealing with angry customers, for which she is eternally grateful. Not that she had forgotten what Retail taught her, it is not an easy job and gave her a lot of experience.
Holiday Season
Whenever the holiday season was around the corner, Sarah, just like every other person, would start her Christmas decorations. To this day, she still has that star ornament and smiles every time she places it on her tree. This year, she thought it was time to spread some holiday cheer.
The Star Of Vengeance
Sarah decided it is only fair to share the story with everyone and created a Facebook post narrating the whole incident. She called it “The star of vengeance” because, unlike other ornaments, her favorite star ornament signifies vengeance and spite.
The Response
The response she got from people was crazy! She got thousands of likes and comments. Moreover, her post was shared all across Facebook by more than 8000 people! Everyone enjoyed this little Christmas vengeance story and felt like spreading the message.
The Comments
Sarah got more than 3000 comments on her post! Some of them talked about how brave Sarah is for standing up for herself to a bully like that. Because this incident was not about the money for that woman, it was only about proving she is powerful and can have her way wherever she wants. So it was right to put her in her place.
More Spiteful
Some comments were more spiteful and mentioned how they wouldn’t have shown the courtesy of informing her about the ornament being sold out at other stores, only to have her run around looking for the ornament and losing her mind over it.
Retail Clerks Unite
People who worked in retail showed their respect for Sarah because they know the struggle of dealing with similar customers. The story brought back all the bad experiences they had during their job and the outcome was extremely satisfying for all of them. They were happy that somebody managed to get perfect revenge!
Mixed Reaction
Of course, there are two sides to every coin. While most of the comments were talking about how hilarious this incident was and it was the right thing to do, some of them were calling Sarah petty for doing such an unnecessary thing. However, people were quick to stand up in her defense and that shut down the hate.
Christmas Revenge
Christmas is one of the biggest consumer holidays of the year. Retail stores spend weeks preparing for the Christmas shoppers who line up to buy gifts and decorations for their loved ones. For the customers, it is a happy experience but for retail workers, it is one of the most stressful seasons of the year. So the least we can do is treat them with respect.
Does Not Miss It
Even though working in retail taught a lot of things to Sarah, she does not miss the old job. She is quite thankful her passion for photography helped her in finding an alternative. She knows it is not the same everywhere but in general, working in retail is a lot of work for not a lot of money.
Relatable
Sarah believes her story resonates with a lot of people who work in retail. And it is nice to reclaim your power when the other person makes you feel powerless, sometimes the little guy does win. Sarah stated, ” If my story makes retail workers feel a little more worthy of respect and customers a little nicer this holiday season, then it is a win for everyone.”
Perfect Vengeance
Although Sarah doesn’t work in retail anymore, it is obvious that she knows the struggle retail workers go through every day. She makes it a point to be extra nice to them herself and encourages everyone to do the same. And to this day, she knows how to handle stuck up people who think they own the world.