New Mexico, Old Problems

(I work at a chain clothing store that also has a website that you can order from. Sometimes, if they are out of an item online, the call center will direct a customer to a store that has it in stock and have the customer order it from the store. One day an online rep calls me for this type of transaction, to check if I have the item a customer wants. I look, find the item, and this takes place…)

Me: “It looks like we have that item!”

Online Rep: “Great! Let me patch the customer over to you and you can get that sent to them!”

(A lady answers with a thick Southern accent:)

Caller: “Hello?”

Me: “Hello! So, you want to order [item] today?”

Caller: “Yes… so, it’s going to be shipped from a store to me?”

Me: “Yes, that’s right! We happened to have it in stock, even though they’re out online. “

Caller: “So, wait… how long is it going to take?”

Me: “It’ll be the standard three to five day shipping, ma’am.”

Caller: “Where is this store located?”

Me: “We’re in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “

Caller: “You’re going to ship it all the way from New Mexico? I’m not sure I want to wait that long…”

Me: “Well, it’s still three to five day shipping, so you will get it in three to five days.”

Caller: “But all that way? I don’t think I want to wait that long… I’ll just wait for them to get more online. ”

Me: “Okay, but if you do that, you might have to wait several weeks for them to get in, and then you’ll have to wait for it to ship to you. I can get it to you in three to five days.”

Caller: “I just don’t want to wait for it to come all the way from New Mexico… bye.” *hangs up*

(It occurred to me after she hung up that she might have gotten New Mexico, the state, confused with Mexico, the country. Either way, three to five day shipping still means you’ll get it in three to five days. And, ironically, our warehouses are on the west coast, so it probably would have to have gone a longer distance if she had ordered online.)