Customer of the Day

Today was a very interesting day at the market.

It all began when I was setting up. I had only put out a few bracelet racks when this nice lady came up to look at them. I said "Hi' and commented on how it must be a good morning for she had two cups of coffee, one in each hand. "Well," she indicated, "only one is for me. This other one is for you." She said that it was in appreciation of the article I wrote about the butterflies. It's hard for me to express how grateful I was, and how much that cheered up my morning.

We chatted for quite some time, not long enough, to be sure, but still for quite a while.

And that was how my day began.

It continued with more friends coming by to say "hi", as well as some nice people picking up a few pieces here and there.

But what really made my day, out of the numerous great little things that happened, was a visit by one man in particular.

He was from Australia, and one of those people who just seems to love to learn a bit about everything. He was interesting, yet seemed a bit aloof at the same time. He didn't smile, and made little in the way of eye contact. But he seemed to enjoy looking at everything, and then asked if he could take a photo of one of my pieces.

"Of course", I replied, with enthusiasm. "If it turns out good, can you send me a copy? I get some great shots that way."

At that he smiled. He took out his camera, a nice, small digital slr, and took some photos of a few pieces.

Then he pointed to a scale-mail vest and asked some questions about the piece. Did I make the scales? No I didn't, I get them from such-and-such web-site. I mentioned a few other sites and said how they all seem to be the same these days, and that I was hoping to find different scales. I also mentioned that a friend of mine is beginning to make some different types, but they're not really ready yet.

He pointed to a bracelet and asked about how it was made. I grabbed my pliers, a few links, and began to show him.

Twenty minutes we must have talked. All sorts of questions about the work, the materials, you name it.

I really didn't expect him to buy anything, and he was gracious when someone else came by. He stepped aside to allow me to greet the other, and answer any questions they may have had.

All in all, I enjoyed meeting him.

He finally picked out one piece, read the price tag, and asked how much it would be with tax.

"Oh, tax is included", I replied. "It makes change a lot easier, and I just calculate it out at the end of the day."

He ended up buying it, which was nice, but not what made him a special client in my eyes.

No, what made him special was what he said afterwards.

"You know," he began, "every other booth I've been to today I've asked if I could take a picture. They all said no, and one person was even rude about how they said it. When I wanted to buy a piece from someone else, I said, 'twenty dollars', and they said 'you've gotta pay tax, too'. There was something about the way they said that made me not buy it from them. You're the only one I've met today that has treated me well. And this is the only gift I've bought here. Thank you."

That made me feel good. Oh, not the bit about the other merchants, for all the ones I know at the market aren't like that at all. No. What made it a special transaction was that he chose to buy it not only because he liked the piece, but because he liked me as a person.

In my eyes, that makes him the customer of the day.

Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it.