Coupons (Challenge)
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters belong to Joss Whedon.
Title: Coupons
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters: Anya, Giles
Rating: PG
Emotion: Amused
Spoilers: Set during season 5
Summary: A typical day at the Magic Box until a customer brings in a slip of paper that baffles the ex-demon.
Anya took her job very seriously. She ran a good business. Every day she stocked and fronted the store, vacuumed and dusted, washed the windows, wiped down the counters, answered customers questions as accurately as she could, and always delivered the service with a smile. Why? Because Anya knew the value of money. And she valued other people's money. And at the end of the day she loved putting up the 'CLOSED' sign, locking the door, and then counting the money she acquired. It was a simple system, and one that resulted in her being able to buy things. Of all the human's stupid rituals and necessities, this was one she could understand. It had a good logic.
So why a person was looking at her confused face with one of their own baffled her even further.
"Um, is there a problem with my coupon?" the man in front of her asked. Anya studied the piece of paper in her hands as though it were an alien thing. It was thin, printed on the sort of paper you normally found coupons printed on. Across it read the words "10% Off Any Purchase" and then the Magic Box's logo beneath that. But she couldn't understand why it was in existence. Was some disgruntled demon trying to exact revenge?
"Is this some kind of joke?" she asked the guy. He blinked and shook his head. Anya frowned and held the paper up to the light, as though that would give some clue as to what the hell this had been doing floating around the general public. Finding no answer, she lowered it and squared her shoulders. "There is nothing wrong with our products. I do not see why I should be giving any of them to you at a discount," she huffed. The guy in front of her began to look a bit angry. Well, he could shout and throw a tantrum if he wanted to. Anya was an ex-demon for God's sake. She was no push-over. This also made her a good business-woman.
"Listen, lady, I found that in today's paper. You have to honor it," he argued. Anya placed her hands on the counter and leaned forward until their faces were only a few inches apart. She could sense that the close proximity made the man nervous and a small part of her delighted in that. "Listen, you whining sack of meat," she growled. "I come in here every day, and work my nicely toned ass off to put this store together. I go through incredible lengths to get the products you desire to own and I price them very fairly. And if you think that some mis-print in a newspaper will make me give you a discount on top of that, then you are sorely fucking mistaken. So either buy the product at it's full but reasonable price, or please take your patronage elsewhere."
She leaned back and studied him, daring him to argue with her further. The man stared at her, wide-eyed, before taking out his wallet and handing her the money--enough to pay the full, non-discounted price. Anya smiled brightly, bagged his product and handed both that and the change to him. "Thank you! Please come again!" she beamed. The man took the bag and change, stupified, and left.
At that moment, Giles walked by and let out an excited "oh!", grabbing the coupon. "Oh, how nice! The coupons were printed today!" Anya stared at him, dumbstruck. "You're the cause of this?" she asked. He nodded, studying the print. "Of course. Business was a bit slow lately, so I figured I could lure in some customers with discounts. Nice to see it's working! Just don't forget to keep these in the register with you at the end of the day," he said, and went back to work.
Anya put the coupon in the register, not a bit shamed or humbled by the new information.
Coupons. Humans were so silly.
Title: Coupons
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters: Anya, Giles
Rating: PG
Emotion: Amused
Spoilers: Set during season 5
Summary: A typical day at the Magic Box until a customer brings in a slip of paper that baffles the ex-demon.
Anya took her job very seriously. She ran a good business. Every day she stocked and fronted the store, vacuumed and dusted, washed the windows, wiped down the counters, answered customers questions as accurately as she could, and always delivered the service with a smile. Why? Because Anya knew the value of money. And she valued other people's money. And at the end of the day she loved putting up the 'CLOSED' sign, locking the door, and then counting the money she acquired. It was a simple system, and one that resulted in her being able to buy things. Of all the human's stupid rituals and necessities, this was one she could understand. It had a good logic.
So why a person was looking at her confused face with one of their own baffled her even further.
"Um, is there a problem with my coupon?" the man in front of her asked. Anya studied the piece of paper in her hands as though it were an alien thing. It was thin, printed on the sort of paper you normally found coupons printed on. Across it read the words "10% Off Any Purchase" and then the Magic Box's logo beneath that. But she couldn't understand why it was in existence. Was some disgruntled demon trying to exact revenge?
"Is this some kind of joke?" she asked the guy. He blinked and shook his head. Anya frowned and held the paper up to the light, as though that would give some clue as to what the hell this had been doing floating around the general public. Finding no answer, she lowered it and squared her shoulders. "There is nothing wrong with our products. I do not see why I should be giving any of them to you at a discount," she huffed. The guy in front of her began to look a bit angry. Well, he could shout and throw a tantrum if he wanted to. Anya was an ex-demon for God's sake. She was no push-over. This also made her a good business-woman.
"Listen, lady, I found that in today's paper. You have to honor it," he argued. Anya placed her hands on the counter and leaned forward until their faces were only a few inches apart. She could sense that the close proximity made the man nervous and a small part of her delighted in that. "Listen, you whining sack of meat," she growled. "I come in here every day, and work my nicely toned ass off to put this store together. I go through incredible lengths to get the products you desire to own and I price them very fairly. And if you think that some mis-print in a newspaper will make me give you a discount on top of that, then you are sorely fucking mistaken. So either buy the product at it's full but reasonable price, or please take your patronage elsewhere."
She leaned back and studied him, daring him to argue with her further. The man stared at her, wide-eyed, before taking out his wallet and handing her the money--enough to pay the full, non-discounted price. Anya smiled brightly, bagged his product and handed both that and the change to him. "Thank you! Please come again!" she beamed. The man took the bag and change, stupified, and left.
At that moment, Giles walked by and let out an excited "oh!", grabbing the coupon. "Oh, how nice! The coupons were printed today!" Anya stared at him, dumbstruck. "You're the cause of this?" she asked. He nodded, studying the print. "Of course. Business was a bit slow lately, so I figured I could lure in some customers with discounts. Nice to see it's working! Just don't forget to keep these in the register with you at the end of the day," he said, and went back to work.
Anya put the coupon in the register, not a bit shamed or humbled by the new information.
Coupons. Humans were so silly.