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Poor Richard.
He fell in love with a Yamaha digital piano in the shop. (I did too. It's such a beautiful thing. I hope to have one some day.)
It's $299. He came in two months ago and put $100 down in a layaway on it.
But hard times have fallen on Richard, and he's getting evicted. He has a temporary job and is going for a better permanent job. But now he's just hoping he can stay with a friend for a while until he gets back on his feet.
He came in yesterday with $13 to his name and put $10 down on the keyboard to keep hold of it. He needs it; it's as important to him as life. I know this; I helped him set it up when he tried it. I saw how he felt about it when he heard it.
The problem is that he told all of his story to Alan, the shop manager who has been there for 22 years. Alan has no sympathy; he's remarkably unmoved by any story at all.
Alan is not a sociopath, although his upbringing made him turn inwards, like an only child might do. But when Richard started buttering him up, saying "You've been as good to me as anyone in my life except my sister," this only made Alan freeze up a little. Made him uncomfortable.
Alan figures that Richard is putting it on thick because he is desperate to keep that keyboard. Alan has heard every story, and he is numb to it. He has to be, in order to do his job.
Right now there are thousands of dollars held up in layaways, and everybody who has one wants special treatment. At some point, if Richard doesn't come through, his layaway is going to become unprofitable for the shop, and the piano is going to go up for sale. And someone is going to buy it, because everyone wants that piano.
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