Hopefully, They Won’t Be “Back”

(I work in a small camera store where basic terminology can be lost on some customers. This morning I get a confusing phone call from a customer.)

Me: “Good morning; this is [Camera Store]!”

Customer: “Do you have any PRO BACKS?”

Me: “Sorry, could you please explain what you mean by a ‘PRO BACK’?”

Customer: “Yeah, those things that go on the back of a lens.”

Me: “Oh, so, are you after a back cap to protect the back of the lens? Those are—“

Customer: “NO! Not one of those! I mean the part that fits the back of the whole thing.”

Me: “Oh, a screen protector for the screen on the back of the camera?”

Customer: “NO! I mean the back! I need a back!”

Me: “I’m sorry, but I still don’t understand what you mean by, ‘back.’”

Customer: “Well, I used to have a Nikon 800 back. The part that goes on the back of the lens.”

(All becomes a lot more clear when I realize that she means a Nikon D800 DSLR camera.)

Me: “Oh, you’re after a camera body? An actual DSLR camera?”

Customer: “Yeah! That’s it! The part that takes the photos! I need a PRO ONE!”

Me: “…”

(In the end, it wasn’t a model we stocked, anyway, in our particular store, but I got a good chuckle out of the whole exchange with my colleague afterward.)