Just For Her… No Charge

(I work at a large retail chain in Belgium; the company is a big player in the European market. While working there I am responsible for attending customer needs in the Television, Audio, GPS, etc. department. Wireless home audio speakers are just becoming a thing; one particular brand is pretty aggressive in their marketing and thus our store is decked out in their branding everywhere. A female customer, her husband, and their kids approach me. She enquires about our assortment of audio speakers; I take her through the entire lineup from low-end to medium-range.)

Customer: “These tiny speakers—” *Bluetooth portable speakers* “—aren’t powerful enough. We need something with some oomph.”

Me: “Naturally, we’ve got a wide assortment of more powerful speakers, as well.”

(I continue to show her the entire lineup, all the while explaining the differences between each one.)

Customer: “But all of these have wires; we don’t like wires. It’s such a fuss every time and they look ugly in our home. We have a clean, modernistic home, so everything needs to be clean.”

Me: “Okay, wonderful. We do have some higher-end speakers over here that are wireless. No need to connect it to a stereo or use any cables to play your music.”

(I take her over to the special booth that the brand has set up displaying the four different speakers they have. I continue to give them information and flip out my iPod to give them a quick demonstration of their audio quality. The husband and kids are impressed; they’re staggered at the level of quality.)

Customer: “Well, I guess it does sound nice. I do prefer the sound on that one over there.”

(She points at a different brand speaker that does not offer wireless audio.)

Me: “Ah, yes, that’s a really good speaker. But unfortunately, it does not offer wireless connectivity. You will still need to use a cable as I mentioned before.”

Customer: “No, no, no! We don’t want cables! Aren’t you listening?! We have a modernistic house! No cables!“

Me: “Why, yes, ma’am, I completely understand. You don’t want cables, which is why I’m showing you these speakers. They’re a new brand and they offer really good audio quality for a fair price. As you can see, the design is very modernistic, as well; I’m sure they would fit right in at your home.”

(She starts eyeballing them and I notice they need some time to talk it over amongst themselves.)

Me: “I’ll let you to it; take your time and talk it over. If you have any further questions, I’ll be around here.” 

(I go over to some other customers who are looking at smaller, portable Bluetooth speakers. After I finish helping them pick a speaker, the woman comes storming at me.)

Customer: “Sir! Sir! Sir!”

Me: “Yes, ma’am? Were you able to make a decision?”

Customer: “No, I have another question. Can you come take a look at this?”

(We walk back to the speaker stand and she picks up the speaker — nearly tearing it out of its safety shell — to show me the back.)

Customer: “Do you see this?! It’s unbelievable! I keep asking you for a wireless speaker and you show me this thing that does not suit my needs!”

(It leaves me perplexed; she isn’t the friendliest of customers but now I see that she is really raging at me.)

Me: “Ma’am…” 

Customer: “DO YOU SEE THIS?! CLEARLY THAT’S A CABLE! I TOLD YOU, I DON’T WANT ANY CABLES!”

Me: “My apologies ma’am, but that’s the power cable.”

Customer: “SO?! Why would the power need a cable?!”

Me: “Are you aware that sending electricity wirelessly through the air would be extremely dangerous?”

Customer: “Huh?! Why would that be?! A WIRELESS SPEAKER SHOULD HAVE NO WIRES!”

Me: “But the speaker does need a cable to receive its power, ma’am. Even with a big battery, a cable will be needed to charge the battery.”

Customer: “I DON’T CARE ABOUT THAT! I JUST WANT A SPEAKER WITH NO CABLES!”

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but that kind of technology does not exist. The very nature of electricity being sent through the airwaves is technically impossible to do in a safe manner. It’s like a thunderbolt being shot from the sky.”

(She turned around and ushered her family to walk away with her. I stood there completely staggered but turned around and continued my work elsewhere. Sometime later, I spotted her at the register purchasing the speaker.)