Choose Your Battles, Part 2
This remains the only encounter in the bookstore where I worked that I would not have believed happened if it hadn’t actually happened to me.
Customer: “You’re selling an offensive cookbook!”
Me: “What book are you referring to, ma’am?”
The customer brings up a rather standard-looking baking cookbook and shows me a recipe.
Customer: “See, here! It says, ‘apply liberally,’ when it says to add the cream!”
Me: “What is the problem with that, ma’am?”
Customer: “I’m an American and a Republican! This book is encouraging its readers to be liberal!”
Oh… my… God.
Me: “No, ma’am, that’s not what it means. It just means to be… uh… generous with the portions when adding the ingredient. It’s not a political statement.”
Customer: “I’m still offended! They could have used a million other words! I bet the cook is a liberal and a communist!”
My nearby manager swoops in and tells me to man the counter. I see him talk to the customer for a minute more. She nods solemnly and wanders off. My manager comes over to me, and I have to ask:
Me: “What did you say to her?”
Manager: “That I understood her complaint and that I would be writing to the publishing company myself to demand that they change the recipe to say, ‘apply patriotically,’ instead.”
Me: “And she believed that?”
Manager: “Sometimes you can only fight stupid with stupid.”
Related:
Choose Your Battles
Question of the Week
Have you ever served a bad customer who got what they deserved?
