Cumulative IQ: Two. And A Half.

(I approached a youngish looking husband/wife couple checking out our bedroom furniture to see if they needed any help.)

Wife: *pointing to a headboard* “Do you have this in stock?”

Me: “Give me just one minute, and I can go check that for you.”

Husband: “But before you do that, what is it?”

Wife: “I was wondering that too.”

Me: “It’s a headboard.”

Husband: “But what IS it?”

Me: “It’s a headboard. For your bed. You attach it to the top.”

Wife: “But what does it do?”

Me: “It makes your bed look nice.”

Wife: “But does it DO anything?”

Me: “Makes your bed look pretty?”

Husband: “But WHY?”

Me: “Some people like the added touch.”

Wife: “But why should WE buy it?”

Me: “If you think it would look nice in your room, then it would be a great addition to your decor.”

Wife: “You still haven’t told me what it does.”

Me: “Um, it helps your bed match the color scheme of your room.”

Husband: “What’s a color scheme?”

Wife: “Does that have something to do with carpets?”

Me: “Um…kind of. Carpets, curtains, bedspread, furniture. People generally like them to match. The overall color is called the color scheme.”

Wife: “Oh. I had heard of that, but no one ever told me what it was.”

Husband: “So we would need a real bed for this?”

Me: “Well what do you have?”

Husband: “A futon.”

Me: “A headboard wouldn’t work with that.”

Wife: “So I can’t get this?”

Me: “Well you could, but you wouldn’t be able to use it with your bed.”

Wife: “Why not?”

Me: “It only attaches to a regular mattress bed frame.”

Wife: “Oh. But what does it do?”

Me: “Let me go find someone that can better help you.”

(I ran off to find my manager because I couldn’t contain the laughter anymore. It took her 15 minutes to explain to them what exactly a headboard was, and why you couldn’t use it with a futon. We’re pretty sure they still didn’t really get it.)

This story is part of the “Customers Who Don’t Know How The World Works” roundup!

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