She Won’t Let You Off The Hook

The store I work at is divided into departments with homewares, bedding, and soft furnishings on one side of the store, window treatments across the back, dress fabrics across the front, and our craft and haberdashery department along the last side.

A woman has asked me to show her a particular craft item, so I take her to the aisle where the item usually hangs on a hook, only to find that the hook is empty.

Me: “Oh, sorry, it looks like we might be out of that particular item. If you give me a moment, I’ll go out the back to check to see if it’s in our latest delivery.”

She acknowledges what I have just said and I go out to the back to check on the delivery before returning to her.

Me: “I’m sorry, but we have not yet received any new stock for [item].”

Customer: “Is there anywhere else in the store where it could be?”

Me: “No, this is the only spot we keep this item.”

I point to the empty hook.

Customer: *Points to the other side of the store* “What about there?”

Me: “No, that’s our homewares and bedding department. As I’ve already mentioned, this is the only spot we would have [item] if we had it in stock.”

I point to the hook again.

Customer: “What about over there?”

She indicates our window treatment department.

Me: “No, we only have curtains and blinds over there. This is the only spot we keep [item].”

Again, I indicate the hook along with the price ticket that clearly has the item description.

Customer: “You aren’t listening to me! I need to know where else in the store you keep [item].”

Me: *Completely fed up* “No, you’re not listening to me. I’ve answered your questions three times telling you that this spot is the only place that we keep [item] in the store. How many times do I have to give you the same answer?”

Customer: “Well, what about out the back? Are there any out there?”

Me: “I’ve already checked there; you were here when I did it.”

Customer: “Oh, but what about there?”

She points to the dress department.

Me: “No, we don’t have any there. It would only be here.”

I touch the hook with my pointed finger.

Customer: *Looks at the hook* “Oh, you don’t have any.”

Me: “No.”

Customer: *Shrugs* “Oh, okay.”

She walks off with me staring at her in amazement. My manager comes around the corner at that moment.

Manager: “Was that the woman who wanted [item]? Why didn’t you just tell her we didn’t have any instead of wasting so much time with her?”

I walked off, trying my hardest not to slam my head onto the empty hook. It would have been less painful than dealing with either of them.