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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/Unlucky_Charm07 on 2025-05-18 20:09:50+00:00.

I have a friend who likes to occasionally cosplay historical figures (Templar knights, plague doctors, etc.) in public.

One day, while I was working, he decided to show up at the grocery store I work at dressed as a Plague Doctor while he grabbed some groceries. Because there’s a huge window at the front where the tills are, I had seen him outside walking in and was already thinking to myself, “I wonder how this is going to go.”

He came inside and started walking around to find the things he was looking to buy. I tried to focus on the grocery orders that I was ringing through, but I kept glancing around every now and then between each one to see where he was. He also knew that I was working that day, so he came to my till when he was done.

I talked to him for a bit while I scanned his groceries through, joking with him a bit that I didn’t think that Plague doctors ate whatever he was buying. Some other customers who were lining up behind him or passing by looked at him and a couple of them also made some friendly remarks to him.

After he left, I had a whole bunch of people asking me about him. I wasn’t embarrassed by it, and I was happy to explain that he is my friend.

Finally, when the store quieted down a bit, I had a coworker of mine come over and say, “so, did you ask him all the burning questions?”

I replied, “I didn’t have to. He’s my friend, and this isn’t the first time he’s done that.”

Then, my coworker told me that apparently my friend had scared the crap out of a customer while he was shopping. The customer was down an aisle, grabbing some stuff off the shelf when they turned around and saw my friend standing there. They had no idea what to do.

My coworker and I laughed about that for a little bit and I explained to her about the other times where he’s cosplayed like that out in public. There was absolutely no judgement frrom anyone.

Overall, it made my day and a lot of other people’s days - aside from that person who got scared. I’m certain that it will probably happen again in the future.