(a few very common interactions that happen at my store)
Customer: I need ink for my printer
Me: Ok, what printer do you have?
Customer: I don’t know, but I bought it here.
—
Customer: I need a case for my tablet
Me: Ok, what kind of tablet do you have?
Customer: I don’t know, but I got it here.
—–
Customer: I need a new battery for my laptop
Me: Ok did your bring your laptop in with you?
Customer: No, but I got it here.
(I work in an electronics store. One day I see a man looking at small Bluetooth speakers, so I go to see if he needs help.)
Me: “Is there anything I can help you with today, sir?”
Customer: “Yes, I’m looking for a noise-canceling speaker.”
(I’m confused, so I ask him to clarify.)
Me: “What exactly do you mean by noise-canceling?”
Customer: “You know a speaker that drowns the noise out around you, but as small as these.”
(He points at very small Bluetooth speakers.)
Me: “Oh, you mean noise-canceling headphones.”
Customer: “No, I mean a noise-canceling speaker, so that when I’m listening to music I don’t hear anything.”
Me: “That type of technology does not exist.”
Customer: “No, it does. I’ve seen it before.”
Me: “Sir, it is physically impossible for a speaker this size to drown out all the sound around you.”
Customer: “You obviously don’t know what you’re talking about. You need to find a new job.”
(At this point I just walked away.)
So I spent some time while in Grad School working for a big box chain electronic store (Clearly everyone knows which one) and I was the only girl in the Portable Electronics section (basically anything you could pick up and steal. iPods, CDs, Cameras ect) So I got all the interesting customers but this one made me the maddest.
Im minding my own buisness stocking shelves and a woman drags her daughter in and heads straight my direction.
Me: How can I help y’all today?
Customer: Like I need your help. *turns to daughter* Do you want to end up like this? Working here? Doing nothing with your life?
Me: *cutting her off* Excuse me, please dont speak about me that way
Customer: *gettingloud* Dont you talk back to me missy, if you had done something with your life and studied a bit more maybe you wouldn’t be here!
Me: Do you want to know why Im here? Im here because I just finished my Masters Degree at Oxford. Pembroke College by the way. And now Im an adjunct at the university you are so proudly wearing colors for, that nearly everyone in this city wears when less than 1/2 of them even WENT there- while I work on my doctoral dissertation. Dont you DARE come in here and look at us and say we didn’t do something right, because I can guaren-f*cking-te most of us did.
(I explain our extended warranty to the customer.)
Me: “So, do you want that?”
Customer: *while shaking head no* “Yes.”
Me: “Okay… So… Yes?”
Customer: *while shaking head no* “Yes.”
Me: “Okay.”
(I grab the form for the warranty and start to put the sku in the till.)
Customer: “Don’t you understand?”
Me: “I guess not. Do you want the plan?”
Customer: *shaking head no* “YES!”
Me: “So… Yes, then? You want it?”
Customer: *shaking head no* “YES! Don’t you know what that means?”
Me: “No, I don’t.”
Customer: “No! IT MEANS NO!”
Me: “Well, I’m sorry, but you were shaking your head no but saying yes, so of course I would be confused.”
(I have been in retail for over six years. A sweet elderly lady comes into the TV department.)
Customer: “I have a bug in my TV.”
Me: “Can I ask what issues you have been having?”
Customer: “There is a bug inside my TV. I have pictures.”
(I was thinking it was a panel issue or something she could capture on camera. Then, she pulled out the photos, and sure enough, there was a real-life insect inside her TV, crawling around so that it was being projected onto the screen. I didn’t know what to tell her, and to be honest, I did laugh a bit. I took her over to the repair desk to ask for any suggestions and after they laughed at this odd situation, all they really had to say was to either let it die, take off the back cover, or try compressed air. This just goes to show that you will always be surprised, and sometimes the customer actually is right.)
