I needed to buy a couple of the tiny safety pins today, and I went into a local shop that sells such things. The woman brought out six pinned together and asked me how many I needed. I told her I needed two.

“Oh well you can buy just two,” she said, starting to unfasten them.

I figured I could always use pins, so I said I’d take them all. Then I saw some bigger ones and thought I might as well take a couple of them as well.

She put the whole lot in a wee plastic bag and gave them to me with a smile. Old fashioned service indeed!