Darley Street: Episode Five – Customers
by Steve Gray
The whole street had stories, customers who were fabulous and others who were not so hot. Some of the shops felt that bad customers came when the moon was full, and some held the theory that those shops were noticing irritable customers at that time.
Penny at the laundrette said a prospective customer we have never seen before, or since, came in, looking rather disoriented, and asked with a sense of urgency, ‘What year is this?’ I tell him, and he stands shocked, mouth open. He says, ‘Wow, that's not what I expected!’
He then apologised and went back out the door slowly, he looked up and down the street and was soon gone. The pair of us still discuss this guy to this day. We joke about where he parked his Tardis.
Carlos says that some of the staff he has had over the last few years have had a ‘smart mouth’ and can put people in their place rather quickly, one of the girls was having an ‘off moment’ one day, an older customer came in to buy a gift for their Grand Daughter, but didn’t like the way she was being served, she said, ‘I don’t like your attitude!’
The girl looked at her and then gave her a blank stare and replied with ‘My mum says the same, and I guess if two people say it, then it must be true…’ The woman walked out, most disgusted with how she was treated. The three of us in the store at the time had a good laugh about it. It was a great comeback.
Most customers are good, they have an idea about what they want, you supply, they pay for it and are gone, ah, the joys of being in business!
Sally read somewhere that good service required you to ‘flip a switch’ the moment a prospect walked in the door; she would mentally flip that switch from whatever she was thinking at the time, to turning on ‘brilliant service’.
Sal had heard some funny stories about service, and had a few examples of her own, but hers was a more serious business; the types of customers who came looking for curios, antiquarian books, prints and the like were often well-heeled, had a deep interest in history and wanted to explore the finer things in life.
Some of these people were mysterious and didn’t want to have a laugh; they wanted to marvel at the technical and artistic prowess of some ancient artisan and how they brought their skills to life.
Her staff shared her interests and were well versed on technical aspects of ancient books, book binding, printing techniques and the ways scammers and forgers would do their best to recreate something valuable and pass it off as an original.
Occasionally, a customer would arrive who Sally knew well and then would converse with on some fascinating antiquarian topic. One of those customers was Professor Alistair Finch, who had dropped in from time to time, and Sally knew him to be an expert and a trusted advisor if need be.
One afternoon, he was in the store when a gent in his forties dropped by and presented what he said was a first edition of an old manuscript. Alistair's ears picked up as the gent proceeded to carefully open a briefcase and lay the piece in front of Sally.
She donned some light-weight disposable rubber gloves and began to take a closer look. Alistair was soon behind the counter by her side, his hands behind his back, looking at details most people would miss.
The pair scanned across each page and soon came to the conclusion that the piece was not worth the paper it was printed on. The man pleaded that what he had was a substantial piece that came with solid provenance from a European family in Tuscany. Almost in unison, Alistair and Sally chimed in with, ‘And you have an invoice?’
The gent avoided any discussion of those details, suggesting he had been given permission from the Abruzzi family in Tuscany to let the book go to a new family who would appreciate the piece. He then produced a piece of paper with a letter outlining the details mentioned.
The pair stood back from the counter, and Sally simply said, ‘No thanks.’
The gent asked what they saw that put them off. Sally indicated, ‘Well, there are a range of things, the stitching on the binding is not consistent with a manuscript of this era and region.
Then the way the gold leaf lettering on the cover has been touched up at some stage, that could hide a multitude of sins, then the way you have the piece presented in the briefcase, it’s not very secure for a book of that age and the value you suggest.’
Alistair noted the title and date that was in the frontispiece as well as a few other minor distinguishing details. Things that he would share with other book aficionados via a web page, to alert others that the gent was aiming to offload the book.
The gent left as easily as he came, the piece safely back in his briefcase.
No two days were the same in Darley Street; people come, and people go. Today was no exception, but almost a deception instead.
Stay tuned for the next episode of Darley Street on Wednesday 2 July!
More from Steve Gray
Steve writes with passion and intrigue, aiming to inspire and or raise awareness of topics. His poetry can take abstract turns, and his 'Odd Angry Writes' on his website are sure to turn heads with his aggressive approach to topics.
A background in Art and Design, as well as teaching, often gives his written pieces a unique creative perspective.
Like many, he is an ADHD person with some neurodiverse edges. A bunch of E books under his belt and some honourable mentions in the Geelong Writers Group puts his work in good standing.
