20 Questions

Tonight was crazy busy at the bookstore. It was nonstop. I was cashiering. Part of the cashiering is what I "lovingly" refer to as 20 Questions:

• Will you be saving ___ (10, 20 or 40%) with your membership today?
• Have you heard about the benefits of being a member?
• Will you be needing any gift cards?
• Are you shopping with _________ (fill in the name of the school having a book fair).
• Do you have any coupons?
• Will you need gift receipts?
  
• Would you like to get coupons via email?
• (Just for the holiday) Would you like to donate a book for Book Showers for Literacy? All of the books go to needy children in McLean County.

So, a woman walked up and before I could even greet her said, "No, No, No, and No." It didn't take a genius to know that she had played 20 questions with us before. I'm not sure what possessed me, but without missing a beat I replied, "But do you like hot chocolate?"


She looked surprised and then smiled and said, "Yes."

We both laughed and I said, "I just needed to hear one 'Yes'."

Did she donate or get a membership or any of the other things? No. But she probably will remember it as a positive experience because I respected the "No" but engaged her in a different way. We both got a smile from that.