A little while back I bought my first pack of larger condoms - the ones I bought are called "RFSU Grande" where RFSU are a manufacturer of several different condom models here in Sweden. At that time I thought I saw a small glittering in the eyes of the young girl working there when I gave her the money for the Grande condoms.
Was that impression correct or was it just me and my feelings about buying large condoms for the first time?
Ok... so I was feeling a little bit cooler about the whole thing yesterday when I was going to buy my second package of 10 Grande condoms. I went in to the shop, and on my way in noted that today it was another woman working at the cashier, rather good-looking, maybe 30-35 years young. I picked up the condoms and a small can of silicon-based lube and went to the cashier. There was one customer before me and I noted the the woman working there looked somewhat absent-minded and I wondered if that would change when it was my turn. Nah... it's just me. While I was waiting an older man and a woman came up behind me waiting in line.
My turn... I laid my two items on the desk. First she bleeped (is that understandable in English?) the lube and put it in a small plastic bag. Then she picked up the package of Grande condoms, looked at it and halted. She looked at me and said (in Swedish, but I'll translate): "I wonder if you can help me with something?". I was naturally surprised, this was not a reaction I had expected...
She reached out behind her and picked up another package of Grande condoms and held it up for me, and the man and woman waiting behind me, to see.
"I have this slightly damaged package...see... it is only the cardboard back that is ripped here at the top so we cannot hang it up among the other condoms. The package is not damaged in any other way and has not been opened".
She showed me that the seal was intact.
"Ok, I see", I said keeping it cool.
"I can give you a 10% discount if you buy this package instead", she continued.
"That's fine", I said. "I can buy that package, that little tear does not bother me".
"Thank you", she said and once again confirmed that there is nothing wrong with the package except that.
While we were talking another woman working there came to the desk and opened the other cashier and started serving the man and woman that had waited behind me. The two working women exchanged a short eye contact when the other woman first came to the desk.
I paid for my two items and she casually showed "my" Grande package to her colleague and said that she was going to hang it up among the other packages. And so whe walked in to the shop towards the Intimate shelf, and I walked out with a small smile.
I had no problem with this situation. I found it rather amusing and a discount is always nice.
But I wonder if they would have done the same thing if it was a teenager that were going to buy a package of condoms of a size smaller that normal, and they had a torn package...
