I work in retail and as you all know it’s the busy season. So it was insane… And I was by myself serving, trying to get through as many customers as humanly possible.
At one point, I had these two regulars, a married couple.
I usually serve them once every six months or so. But I remember them distinctly because the wife is always very flirty.
Anyway, I served them yesterday and she began asking me If was going to be with family for Christmas. And since I was in a rush and had a bunch of other customers staring at me, I just kind of flippantly told her that my family was in California, but I always make it a habit to try and fly over around January…
And I guess I gave her the impression that I wouldn’t have anywhere to be on Christmas. Because she then insisted that I come to theirs for Christmas.
And that’s incredibly generous of these people. But before I could say anything, she doubled down. *”I’m dead serious by the way. I want you to come to ours for Christmas.”*
With all of these other customers waiting to be served, she had kind of caught me off guard, and I didn’t just want to dismiss her with an *”Uh… Actually, haha, I have somewhere to be after all… Haha!”*
So I just kind of looked at all the customers and then back at her trying to think of a diplomatic out that wouldn’t seem fake or insincere.
She noticed me looking at the customers and realized I was busy, so she demanded I give her some paper and a pen and that she would write down their number so I could contact them if I decided that I wanted to go.
I started serving the other customers and she discreetly slipped over the paper to me. Which has their number and says *”For Christmas lunch. No gifts. JUST COME”*
Half an hour later when it was more relaxed she and her husband returned. And she approached me once again and said *”I’m dead serious by the way. We want you to come! There’s no need to be embarrassed. We’re down some seats this year and I’m this close to going out and inviting some homeless people over!!”*
They seem like genuine people. And she seems to really want me to come (which makes me feel a little bad). But I do have my own Christmas to be at. And her house is also a little out of the way for me to even just drop by just to say merry Christmas.
With all this considered, I feel like it would be very rude of me not to reach out to them. But how do I politely decline their gracious invitation without potentially seeming uninterested?
​