Greentext

Haha, I worked in a high-end gift shop and spent my day reading labels for ladies too vain to wear reading glasses.

I'd help them pick out the gift they needed, often for their mother in law which I think is unfair, it's HIS mom. Then while we wrapped the gift, they'd get several other items for their own home.

We weren't on commission so it was never a "hard sell," and I was always sensitive to people who prefer to shop alone because I do too. But some customers want attention or at least human interaction.

And sometimes I would take a mom's little kids around the store, showing them the things it was okay to touch and steering them away from the fragile porcelain, so their mom could relax enough to think about what she needed to get. Fortunately we had a section of "grandma gifts for children" so I could always take them there if she was comfortable having them out of her sight.

And then a few times a year we'd get a man, who was shopping for his wife or his own mother! We'd always help them out because they'd be lost, and often it was less about finding the things, and more about asking about her, so we could help them figure out what she might enjoy and appreciate.