The cashier at a hardware store in Wichita told me something that stuck for years

I was buying a shovel and some sandpaper, just random stuff for a Saturday project, and this older lady at the register, maybe 65 or so, just looked at me and said "You know, most people buy stuff to fix things they don't even like anymore." I laughed it off at first, figured she was just making conversation. But then I got home and looked at the broken fence post I was about to patch up, and I realized I actually hated that fence for years. It was wobbly and ugly and I never wanted to look at it. I went back the next day and bought a whole new section of fencing instead. That one line from a total stranger made me stop and think about all the other things I was just repairing out of habit instead of asking if I even wanted them around. Has anyone else had a random comment from a employee or stranger that completely shifted how you saw your own stuff?

3 comments

3 Comments

spencer_coleman24d ago

Tbh I think you're reading way too much into what was probably just a tired old lady making small talk. Cashiers say random stuff to customers all the time, it's usually not some deep life philosophy. Like one time a guy at Home Depot told me I should try a different brand of paint because "the color stays truer" and I was like okay thanks, I bought the other paint, it looked the same, moved on with my life. Sometimes a shovel is just a shovel and a broken fence post is just a broken fence post. Not every random comment from a stranger needs to be a spiritual awakening about the meaning of stuff.

the_jennifer24d ago

Huh, that's funny you mention the paint thing because I had almost the exact same experience but with a lady at Joann Fabrics who told me I should buy a specific thread because "it doesn't snag on the needle like the cheap stuff." I bought it, my project still looked like a mess, and I think she was just in a bad mood that day. Sometimes people just want to feel like they're sharing a useful tip, not dropping wisdom on you.

west.richard24d ago

Yeah but you're kind of missing the point. That cashier was talking about the mindset of fixing stuff out of habit, not the actual cost or effort of replacing something. Like yeah, sometimes a repair makes sense, but her point was about stopping to ask yourself if you even want the thing anymore before you bother fixing it.