Check-out courtesy

Wal-Mart and Home Depot and other superstores may value uniformity for its efficiency, but they no doubt have noticed that all their planning meets a far older force here in Maine and in probably a few other places: the unspoken cooperative alliance around here between clerk and customer. For example:

At Sam’s Club in Bangor, a shopper at the check-out station was ready to pay for a poinsettia she had picked out. “Wait a minute,” said the clerk. “I can find you a better one than that.” She left her post and, sure enough, came back with a plant that was bigger and prettier.

An older man preparing to go on a fly-casting venture for the first time in 50 years looked at the display of rods at L.L. Bean’s. Times had changed, and an old bamboo fishing pole wouldn’t do. He picked out a fine modern rod and was resigned to paying the hefty price. The clerk looked him over and said, “That one is really for an expert. You could probably do better with something simpler.” He helped the man pick out a rod that was, indeed, simpler-and a lot cheaper.

At one of the coastal restaurants, a man ordered a bowl of clam chowder, a hamburger sandwich, and a big plate of chicken wings, pieces of fish and two kinds of salad. The waiter suggested that the servings would be big and the customer might want to cut back his order at first and see if he wanted more later.

An Ellsworth woman says she sometimes gets a little discount when she knows the clerk.

In short, again and again a Maine clerk takes the side of the customer. A clerk often advises a customer to wait to buy an item because it is going on sale next week. Or “You can find the same thing at a lower price at So-and-So’s down the street.”

So, you big box stores, beware that you are no longer in New York or Connecticut or Philadelphia but in Maine, where things are different.