Caveat Emptor

My son survived his first Black Friday on the front lines. He was there when the doors opened and the wild-eyed deal seekers came pouring in. He was asked by at least three separate customers if he worked there, but he had the patience and calm to avoid pointing at his name tag and uniform shirt and exclaiming, "Well, if I'm not I guess I'm a little overdressed." It may have been some of these same patrons who expressed their pity for him, "Sorry you have to work today." For the record, he did not say what he wanted to back: "If you feel so bad, why didn't you stay home?" He told his parents what he was thinking after the fact. He's a good employee, and a good son.
Yes, working retail is a character builder. And I know that he likes his job. A lot. Why else would he have raised his hand when it came time to staff those hours after Thanksgiving dinner? And the day after? And the day after that? Certainly there is an argument to be made that he is a glutton for punishment, and since I raised him, I can take responsibility for that. I can also take pride in his commitment to his job, and his paycheck. I can also take some pleasure in knowing that he has found his video store job.
My son does not work in a video store. He works in a place that sells video. And stereo. And computers. And little bags of M&Ms on the way out the door. I am relating his current employment to that of my own youth. When I was in college, I worked in a video store. I rented all the copies of Top Gun and everything else that was "new that's good that's in." I spent hours of my life trying to explain why E.T. was not available on VHS, and then hours more explaining why Steven Spielberg had finally decided it was worth the hack on his artistic reputation to let that happen. I remember the desperate faces of parents on Christmas Eve who pleaded with me to find something for the kids to watch so they could just get a little rest. Kids love Voltron. Trust me. Because it's still sitting on the shelf.
And then it was over. We locked the doors and shared stories about our day. We brought happiness to many, disappointment to some, and a retail experience that was unrivaled by many. Never growing visibly tired of the inane questions that float around those moments of customer service that cause you to reflect on the wisdom of a phrase like "the customer is always right."
Always?