Spoiled kids!

For the last two months, a customer has been saving money with us for a laptop for her teenaged son to have as a Christmas present. The boy comes into the shop with her each time and each time has insisted that he wanted a laptop with silver top - never mind what's inside it, it has to look good! As Christmas had drawn nearer, it has become evident that she was not going to have paid enough for the model he wanted so, very reluctantly and with very bad grace, he agreed to have a cheaper one without a silver top. A couple of days ago, after Keith had pointed out that, for the same money, he could have a desktop with superior performance, he agreed, again, with very bad grace, that maybe that would be a better option.

So, this morning, with eighty pounds still to pay, his mother rang up to inform us that they would collect the desktop late this afternoon and pay the balance.
The computer was duly built and Windows XP installed and registered to them and there it was, all packed up and ready to be collected when they arrived at 5pm to inform us that they didn't want it after all as, "He's having his room done out instead and keeping his old computer."

After I had picked myself up off the floor, I and everyone else assured them that this was NOT a viable option as we had had the phone call only this morning asking when it would be ready and the copy of Windows XP was now registered to them and so could not be used on another computer. After a lot of foot shuffling and arguing between themselves, they produced the outstanding balance and took the computer home. The father complained, when I gave him the tower to carry that he'd been carrying heavy loads all day.
"So have I, as it happens," I said between clenched teeth. "Good exercise, isn't it?"