“I Need A Book. It’s Book-Like.”

“(I work in a shop that sells books, stationery supplies, magazines, and other things. Whilst I have some knowledge of books, my department is stationery, so I know very little about our book stock. The colleague who looks after books is on holiday. An older gentleman walks in, glances at the books for a few minutes, then approaches the counter.)

Customer: “I’m looking for a book…”

Me: “Okay, not a problem!”

Customer: “…but I don’t know the name or author.”

Me: “Unfortunately, I can’t really help unless I have something to go on. I need something to put in to our search engine.”

Customer: “Oh, well, it’s about…” *describes vague generic plot that could relate to any number of books*

Me: “I’m sorry, but I don’t take care of books, so I can’t just pick out a book with only a description of the plot.”

Customer: *scowling, snaps* “Well, this has been a waste of time!”

(He stormed out, leaving me thoroughly confused and thinking, yes, indeed, it was a waste of my time.)