Mexico weekly ledger., 1883-11-08
CUSTOMERS.
Various Odd Habits and Queer Notions
Noted by an ObserFant Clerk.

gar store a few days ago, a customer en-
tered whose appearance and manners
were SO peculiar as to attract instant at
tention. He approached the cigar coun-
ter as smoothly as though he were NOV
ing on castors. The dealer Immediately |
took down a box of cigars, the man Sc
lected two, paid for them, slid to the
lighting stand, and vanished.
'sThat's one Of my best customers"
said the dealer. SHE has bought cigars
here for three years, and he never spoke
q word to me. But he is not dumb, for
a friend of his remarked to him one day
in here that it was a fine day. My GUS
toner bowed slightly, said yes very
mildly, and disappeared. He looked as
though he felt sorry for having said yes,
when a bob of the head would have have
done as we'll. l asked his friend about
him, but he only laughed and said the
man had been knocked u by the bar
bers; conversationally crushed as it
were.
1 have two or three practically dumb
customers on hand just now. One Of
them wants cigars from the showcase,
and makes a motion to me to select them.
He holds up IS many fingers as
he wants cigars. / gave him the
wrong change once, so as to get a word
from him, but he only showed the money
back to me to recount. One man comes
in generally with a friend or two, and
says: Lap-dad-dyoes!' OF course there
is no such brand, but l pass out his usual
cigars, and while he lights up he looks
his wondering companions in the eye
without moving a muscle.
"One of my customers never smokes,
except on rainy days. He would never
tell me why. Another one that 1 have
had for five years always asks, 'How's
the crops?' The question is invariably
the same whether there's a crop of snow
outside or a spring drizzle. You see Gus
toners get habits, and if you let them
alone they'll KEEP 'em up. I've got one
man who buys his cigar regularly every
morning, then goes out, and returns in
about five seconds and asks me if my
clock is right. Then he sets his watch,
winds it up, and l don't see him until the
next morning. You see, this is his tim
Ing up place. But he can't seem to do it
right without he goes out first and comes
back, I've known hin to stay here for
five minutes, as though trying to think of
something, and buy cigar after cigar in
his effort to get his mind fixed right. All
at once he flaps down his hand inpatient
ly, and departs, only to come up to time
smilingly in a minute or two, and ask the
old question.
Oh, no, they're not cranks by any
means, but very sensible business men,
as far as l have found out. / used to
get some customers of the same sort
when 1 was in the drug business. But 1
see more of them in the cigar trade, and
most OF the queer ones are heavy smok-
ers-kind of nervous, perhaps. When 1
was prescription clerk a man used to
CONF in regularly every three weeks to
get a tonic medicine. He always acted
as though I was a perfect stranger, and
went through the details of his case each
time with perfect accuracy. His stories
were as much alike as the speeches of
two newly nominated Aldermen. Drug
clerks get a good many condolences, and
they have to be careful not to repeat a
thing they hear. You just tell the first
woman who comes in with a teacup for
paregoric a good stiff yarn about some
one in the neighborhood, and In ten min
utes you will have a teacup trade which
will last for two hours. A piece of Cos
sip at about IL o'clock in the morning
Is the best toni a neighborhood can have,
have known women sick in bed to
get up and drop in for full particulars.
/ knew a drug clerk who used to amuse
himself by putting up such jobs; the
druggist had to discharge him. The
great danger lies in getting two, or per-
haps three, of the women in at a time.
"There are some people who come in
and ask pretty regularly for precisely
what they don't want. L had one lady
who used to come regularly to buy some
thing and forget what she wished to pur-
chase the moment she entered the store.
She would go out after a while, and after
walking homeward q few blocks, her
memory would return. Once or twice
she forgot her business the second time,
and once went home wholly unable to
think of what she wanted. I asked her
why she didn't make a memorandum at
home of what she wanted. She said she
always forgot that, too, Or If she did
happen to make it, would forget to bring
the paper with her. At last 1 began to
remember what she wanted and to say
the goods off to her untIl / hit the mark.
Finally she used to come in and ask,
'What do / want?
"One regular customer couldn't buy
anything until he had taken off his over
coat and folded it up on q chair. In
warm weather he would take off his hat
and put it down carefully until he could
make up his mind to buy. One nice old
gentleman who called occasionally would
not give his order until he had put on his
eyeglasses. Yet he always called for
some patent cough drops already put up,
and wouldn't even look at the box itself
after he got his glasses on.
"Some customers will go out without
paying, until you ask them if they found
their change c~orrect;' some will regular
1y leave their change on the counter, and
plenty on going out will ask If they have
paid for what they had, although they
know perfectly well they have done so.
Then there are people who viii leave
their medicine behind them, and others
who will take their own and other peo-
pies too, If they get the chance.
sin knowing just what they want, buy
ing it, and never disputing the price, the
Italians have the call. The Germans are
particular buyers, and ask many questions
about both goods and prices. An Eng
1ishman Is a square buyer, and always
wants the best. He generally seems sat
is3ed, though I've known Englishmen to
grumble away for ten minutes while
waiting for o prescription. Irishmen are
liberal buyers, and generally lively and
~good-natured, but If anything goes wrong
with their medicines, We expect what they