Playing The Name Game

Games, Retail, USA, Washington, Wordplay | Right | July 17, 2010

(A customer calls in with a question. This is during heavy snow, so traveling to a store is a big deal.)

Customer: “Hi. I’m looking for [Video Game], but not [Game with a very similar name]. I’ve called in everywhere and no one seems to have it.”

Me: “Okay, let me just look that up for you.”

(I proceed with looking up the game and find out that they stopped making the series and that there wasn’t, in fact, even a game by the title she wanted.)

Me: “Okay, it looks like we have [Game with similar name] but they never made [Game she wanted].”

Customer: “Oh, great! I’ll come right down to pick it up! I can’t believe you have it!”

(The customer hangs up before I can repeat that we don’t have it and that it doesn’t exist. Later in the day, my boss informs me that a lady up front wants to talk to me; I dread going to the front to a woman who has driven through to snow to look for a game doesn’t exist.)

Customer: “Hi, [My Name]! I just wanted to thank you in person for helping me find [Game she wanted]. My son was looking for it everywhere!”

(As she says this, she holds up the game with the similar title.)

Me: “You’re… welcome?”

Son: “Mom! You’ve been calling it the wrong name all day!”

This story is part of our Tongue-Tied-Customers roundup!