Store Owner Mocks Man’s Odor, Next Day Finds Dozens of Garbage Bins next to His Store – Story of the Day

The owner of a popular toy store mocks a customer for his stench. The next morning, he is shocked to find smelly garbage bins lined up at his door.

Jonathan Bailey was proud of his store. He had the biggest, brightest, most beautiful toy store in the entire state. Anything a child could want, Jonathan had it — clowns, cars, life-sized ponies, robots from Mars, fairy princesses, trolls, Legos, and dolls from all over the world.

Jonathan's store was always spick and span and sparkling, and so was he. He put on a suit and a spiffy red bowtie daily, and his shoes shone like mirrors.

One day, a few minutes before closing time, a very unsavory man walked into Jonathan's pristine toy palace.

The man was wearing stained overalls and smelled like an open sewer. Jonathan looked him up and down. "Excuse me," he said arrogantly. "I think you're in the wrong place!"

Everyone should be respected, no matter what they do.

The man looked around, obviously confused. "I'm looking for the Dandy Dolls? My daughter wants one...Can you tell me where I can find them?"

"Not here," said Jonathan coldly. "I think you should look elsewhere."

"Oh," the man sighed. "I've been everywhere else. They said you were sure to have it because you always have EVERYTHING. I guess they were wrong."

"I do have everything," Jonathan said. "I don't have anything for YOU."

"Please," the man said. "It's my kid's birthday, and I know it's closing time..."

"You're not the kind of customer I want," Jonathan said. "Do you understand?"

The man put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a roll of bills. "I can pay for the doll," he cried. "In cash!"

"Oh, I'm sure," Jonathan sneered. "But how will I disinfect the money? I'm sure it smells just as bad as you!"

The man flushed and said with dignity, "I came straight from work. I didn't have time to clean up..."

"I'm sure you'd need at least a year to clean up!" Jonathan smirked. "Come back when you smell better -- if you can!"

"Look," the man said. "All I want is to buy the doll..."

"Sorry," Jonathan said. "It's not for sale." He pushed the man towards the door. "Get out! Your smell is disturbing my customers!"

Jonathan was very pleased with himself until the next morning. When he got to his store, he was stunned to see dozens of big green garbage bins parked on the sidewalk in front of his door.

"What is this?" Jonathan gasped. "I can't have this!" As soon as he got inside, he phoned municipal services. "There are garbage bins in front of my store!" he screamed. "Get them out of here!"

"I'm sorry, sir," the person on the other end said. "We had a report that there weren't enough bins on your street, and our sanitation engineers decided on the most appropriate location."

"APPROPRIATE!" Jonathan shrieked. "In front of a toy store visited by thousands of children every day? Do you think that is appropriate? You're going to ruin my business!"

"I'm sorry, sir," the person said. "That is not my decision. I can ask the person who decides to drop by and discuss it with you. Next month? Would that work for you?"

"NEXT MONTH?" Jonathan asked. "NOW! Today, as soon as possible! My store is starting to smell like a landfill!"

"I can't promise anything, sir," the person said. "I'll do my best."

And with that, Jonathan had to be content. He got himself a can of bathroom deodorizers and sprayed it around the store. But no matter what he did, the sweet-sickly stench of the garbage bins pervaded everything.

It was almost closing time when a man wearing a sanitation department vest arrived.

"Good afternoon," he said to Jonathan with a happy smile."I believe you complained about the garbage bins?"

"Yes," gasped Jonathan. "Look at this! Dozens of garbage bins on this one block? My store smells terrible!"

"Well, sir," the man said, still smiling. "You have twelve apartment buildings on this block. Each has, on average, fifty units, so we should put in even more bins."

"NO!" cried Jonathan. "Please! Look, I'll do whatever you want, but you must take these things away. Where were they before?"

"The bins were in the vacant lot behind the building," the man explained. "But it makes a lot more sense for them to be right here, for easy access by the residents."

Jonathan was almost crying by now. "Even I'm starting to smell like garbage, man!" he said. "You don't know what that is like!"

"Yes, I do," the man said. "You see, I'm the man you turned away last night because I was stinking up your store. I begged you, but you wouldn't sell me the doll for my daughter's birthday.

"You never thought about how I felt; I wasn't human to you, just something disgusting and smelly. Now YOU know how it feels."

Jonathan was devastated. "I'm sorry," he said humbly. "You are right; I didn't think. Your work keeps the streets clean and healthy. I was wrong, and I apologize.

"Let me make it up to you: I will give you all the Dandy Dolls you want for your daughter and anything else you like!"

The man shook his head. "No, thank you," he said. "All I want is to buy my daughter the doll, and be treated with dignity, like any other customer."

Jonathan sold the man the doll and wrapped it up beautifully. When he returned the next day, the bins were all gone, except for one. It reminded Jonathan that everyone deserves to be respected, no matter what they do.

What can we learn from this story?

• Everyone should be respected, no matter what they do. Jonathan learned that the sanitation engineer's job was essential and dignified and that he deserved to be respected.
• Unkindness and arrogance lead to a downfall. If Jonathan had been nice and sold the doll to the man, he would never have had to deal with the unpleasant garbage bins.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a woman who throws a homeless man out of her store, but an hour later, she kisses his hands with tears in her eyes.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.