Boycott renewed?

I worked for a large book chain briefly in college. Then I boycotted said chain for years, because working there not only sucked, but they also cheated me out of an entire paycheck by claiming they had no records of the first two weeks I had worked there.

Then I moved to Savannah, where book retail is bleak, and after a bad experience at another chain store, my book addiction proved stronger than my boycott. I again began to patronize that old nemesis.

Friday night I ended up returning a large purchase to that store, as well as another to an arts-and-crafts store I also frequent. At the book retailer, the cashier was nice enough, but things changed when she summoned a manager to sign off on my return.

"Uh, ALL these books?" snapped the manager, looking at my proffered receipt. "Were they ALL the wrong ones, or something?"

Trying to sound jovial, I said I hadn't budgeted very well and needed that money to pay a bill this month. She glared at me and proceeded to make snappish and rude comments throughout the rest of the transaction. First I thought, Well, it IS a pain for them to take back all these books, but then I thought, Still, I do not deserve this. And then, as she continued to be rude and nasty, I thought, Do you realize who I am? I am a customer who has spent a lot of money in your store. Look up my membership account if you don't believe me. Ask your staff how often I'm in here and how many books I buy. I spend more money here than I do at any other single retailer.

I considered telling her off. Then I thought about the bitchy cashier who had been the reason I stopped going to the other book retailer in town and thought, I've been trying to overcome my book-buying addiction with varying degrees of success for years. This rudeness should be more than sufficient reason for me to enact the boycott again, and maybe that, in turn, will help me curtail the book spending.

I went on to the arts and crafts store, steeling myself for a similar experience, but the cashier was the epitome of graciousness. When I explained that I hadn't budgeted very well, she laughed and said, "Oh, we've all been there"--which is the reaction I would have had if I were on the other side of the counter. And, having spent plenty of time on that side of the counter, having walked many a mile in the retailer's shoes, I can say that with full confidence.

So. We'll see how the bookstore boycott goes. I am already planning a road trip to a certain other book retailer in Jacksonville, a retailer at whom I have never had a bad experience, if the book lust overtakes me too badly.