It was 8:00am when the store opened on Saturday. Christina was cleaning off her counter as customers rushed through the doors, taking the shopping carts and baskets. “Here they come again.” Christina thought. “I wonder how long they waited outside the door this time?” There were shoppers in every isle. Babies cried, kids were playing, yelling, and screaming when they couldn’t get what they wanted, and parents were threatening them with punishments to make them stop. From the beverage section, came the sound of glass being broken; someone had dropped a bottle of apple juice. About fifteen minutes later, a customer told Christina that she almost slipped in the mess and that she should clean it up before someone falls. “I’ll call someone to clean it up right away, ma’am.” Christina replied, as she forced herself to smile. “Yeah, you probably dropped it, lady,” Christina thought as she watched the Lady leave the store, “Some people are so dishonest.”

The customers soon filled the stored and all four checkout lanes were open, with at least eight customers standing with folded arms and bulldog faces. Christina was the main checker and the majority of the shoppers went to her line because it was moving faster than the others.

Christina worked at this store for a few years and had more experience than the other cashiers, but she was getting bored of the whole routine. Every time a customer came to her register, she would just say a quick “hello” with a tired, smile and ring up the merchandise. At the end of the transaction she handed the customers their receipt, said “thank you,” and continued with the rest of the customers in line.

It was about 4:30 pm and Christina could not wait to go home. “Just a half hour left.” She thought. She looked at the sales ad on the counter while she waited for customers. A few minutes later, a lady dressed in a white suit trimmed with gold colored, silky fabric, pushed two carts full of merchandise, up to her counter. Christina called for another checker because she knew this purchase was going to take a long time. “This lady probably would have bought the whole store if she had a couple of extra carts.” Christina thought.

“Hello,” said the lady, “how are you?”