The pharmacy
I used to work in a pharmacy in Leeds train station. After several years, the store was taken over by a new manager who promised to bring about some great changes. One of these involved pinning a notice to the till, asking all staff to write down any customer requests for items we didn't stock; the idea being that she would order the most frequently requested and boost our profits.

Much hilarity ensued over the week as my colleagues and I added various items to the list. It began quite sensibly with hair dye and nail clippers, onto the less pharmaceutical 'fags and booze' (which people genuinely asked for on a daily basis), and how we laughed as we jotted down 'Tina Turner's Greatest Hits', 'Faberge Eggs' and 'Marzipan'.

The end of the week comes and our manager goes through the list with those of us on the late shift. She rolls her eyes at the Tina Turner album, but stops to question us about the marzipan. "Who wrote Marzipan?"

Without a moment's hesitation, our pharmacist du-jour speaks up; a big Asian guy with a very dry sense of humour, the kind of guy who you're never quite sure is joking or being serious until they crack a big grin after keeping you hanging. He calls from inside the dispensary in his Bradford-Indian hybrid accent; "It's medicinal innit. Marzipan yeh? People use it for headache." We wait for his cheeky grin, but it doesn't appear until the manager has left the shop floor.

And when I come in for my shift the next Saturday, there it is. Standing proud with the hair dye and nail clippers. Eight cubes of delicious, golden Marzipan, like a beacon of joy in the otherwise gloomy pharmacy. Every dull moment, every rude customer, I'd look over at the neat row of Marzipan and couldn't help but smile.

It took just three weeks to sell out, but was never re-ordered.
(foxx, Sat 19 Sep 2009, 0:17, 2 replies)

What I love about this the most is....
you actually sold out of it after only 3 weeks! :D
( The magic of chutney Shakes it like an Instagram filter!, Sat 19 Sep 2009, 17:32, closed)

Leeds
Was it perchance ritter squares? or am I thinking of WHSmith opposite?
(Federale, Mon 21 Sep 2009, 14:09, closed)