The other day at work a man and his son walks in and asks if we have a certain item in stock as it was on sale for 30% off advertised price. I asked him to wait and it took me about 10 minutes of searching through our warehouse.

I returned to him and advised him there was only 1 of what he wanted left. Despite waiting around for me he still had to call his wife and ask for permission. I eyeballed him up and down: out of shape, bad hair, and poor posture. In other words he was a classic beta bucks.

I smiled politely and told him I would get back to him while I serve other customers. A short while after I ask him how he went and he says that his wife wanted to use the money on something else for herself. I advised him that it was the last day of the sale and we would not have another sale for a long time. He still had to decline as he did not want to upset the wife. I looked at the kid and he seemed disappointed by his Dad.

Lessons learned

• Do not get married
• If you do, do what you want not what she wants
• Dads please be more masculine around your kids