It’s Like They Picked Them Off A Shelf…

I work in a grocery store that’s open twenty-four-seven. One night, a customer comes in looking a little tired and starts… organizing the shelves.

Me: “Ma’am, that’s okay. We have staff who can do that. They start at 11:00 pm.”

Customer: “I’ve had a bad day, and this calms me.”

Me: “I understand, but we have a system and…”

I stop to look, and she’s actually doing everything correctly.

Customer: “The [Brand #1] items go on this shelf, next to [Brand #2]. These flavors always go in this order, with the green ones to the left, and…”

As she continues, she shows that she has memorized the entire section of the shelves.

Me: “That… how did you know that?”

Customer: “I look at the shelving, and it calms me. When I am having a bad day, I come here and organize. Please, I need to finish.”

I silently nod, and observe as she continues, and not only does she get everything right, but everything is perfectly in a row, almost with perfect precision.

She smiles in satisfaction when she’s done, and she leaves without incident. I relay this to my manager when I see them.

Manager: “That must be our shelving fairy!”