(A teen girl walks through security and collects her belongings.)
Teen: “Excuse me, sir, what did you do with my purse?”
Worker: “I’m sure it came through, ma’am, just look around for it.”
Teen: *in a condescending tone* “Sir, I would appreciate it if you would find my purse that went through YOUR machine that YOU lost. That’s your job you know, now reach up in the machine and feel around for it.”
Worker #2: “Umm, your purse is on your arm.”
Teen: “Oh…” *walks away*
This story is part of the Totally Unobservant Customers roundup!
(It is around Christmas. To provide some context, we have a display for Guitar Hero 3 set up which, among other things, has a playable guitar, a big huge sign that says GUITAR HERO 3, and a display “case” that has the guitar from the game and the game set up to look real pretty.)
Customer: “Hi, I’m not sure what my son wanted, it was something 3… Hylo…”
Me: “Halo 3?”
Customer: “Yeah, that’s it! Do you have that?”
Me: “Sure, it’s just in the back. Let me go grab a copy.”
(After I go in the back and grab a copy…)
Customer: “Wait a minute, where’s the guitar? I want the one with the guitar.”
Me: “Uh… oh, you must’ve been looking for Guitar Hero 3! I don’t have the one bundled with the guitar right now, but if you already have the guitar you can buy just the game.”
Customer: “No, you do. It’s over here!”
Me: “Oh, really? Where’d you see it?”
(This is Christmas season; things can magically appear from nowhere at a moment’s notice, so I’m not surprised she said that. I follow the customer over, and she points to that clear display I mentioned earlier.)
Customer: “See? You DO have the guitar.”
Me: “No ma’am, that’s just our display just to show you what comes with the box when we have it.”
Customer: “But… I see the game, right here! It’s right here!”
Me: “No, ma’am, that’s just empty. It’s just all there to look nice.”
Customer, flustered: “What’s the difference between Halo 3 and Guitar Hero 3, exactly?”
Me, stammering: “Uh… in Halo 3, you shoot aliens, and in Guitar Hero 3, you play rock music.”
Customer: “Oh, he’d want Halo 3, then.”
Me: “Okay, let me go and get that copy for you I left in the back.”
(After grabbing it…)
Customer: “Where’s the guitar?”
(At this point, to spare the readers, I went through the ENTIRE conversation again.)
Customer: “But someone on the phone told us you had the Halo 3 Special Edition.”
Me: “Yes, we do. That’s this in my ha–”
Customer: “So, why aren’t you selling it to me? I want it with the guitar.”
Me: *stifling laughter* “Ma’am, look, I can’t really say it any clearer. We have Halo 3. Halo 3 is not played with a guitar. We do NOT have Guitar Hero 3. Guitar Hero 3 is played with a guitar.”
Customer: “Oh, for god’s sake. We drive all the way here and you people don’t even know what the f*** you’re talking about. I’m going to [Competitor].”
(I’m at the front bar of a certain coffee shop, in the middle of making a caramel macchiato. An old, angry, hovering customer approaches me.)
Customer: “What are you doing? I didn’t ask for caramel; I’m allergic! Are you trying to kill me?! I had to wait in line all this time and I can’t get a d*** coffee made right!”
Me: “Ma’am, this is a caramel macchiato. I’m sure this isn’t your drink. What did you have today?”
Customer: “I had a latte. I’ve been waiting for ten minutes!”
Me: “Ma’am, there’s a latte right here on the counter right next to your handbag.”
Customer: “Why didn’t you tell me? I’m late for my movie!”
Me: “Ma’am, I called the drink out three times; you were standing there the whole time.”
Customer: “You should have called louder!”
Me: “I’m sorry, I was practically yelling. I figured it was loud enough. Well, there you are, have a nice day.”
Customer: “YOU MADE ME LATE FOR MY F****** MOVIE!”
Another Customer: “You get the evilest people here, don’t you?”
Me: “LA’s finest. Here’s your macchiato. Have a nice evening.”
This story is part of our Allergic To Common Sense roundup!
Me: “[College Name] tech support, this is [My Name]. How can I help you?”
Caller: “Yes, I’m having trouble with my e-mail client. I can’t figure out how to set up my account.”
Me: “No problem, let me walk you through it.”
(I talk her through the account set up screens. Finally, when we’re done…)
Me: “All right, click on ‘OK’ and you should be all set.”
Caller: “What ‘OK’? I don’t see anything that says ‘OK’.”
Me: “There’s a button to the lower right of the window that says ‘OK’, next to the ‘Cancel’ button.”
Caller: “I don’t see it.”
(This exchange goes on for about 5 minutes. I have the program open on my computer and describe the window to make sure she’s in the right spot, and she is. I make sure she’s running the same version, she is.)
Me: “Ma’am, I have the program open right now, and there should be an ‘OK’ button to the right of a ‘”Cancel’ button…at the bottom right of the screen.”
Caller: “That’s so strange… I just don’t see one.”
Me: “Hmm. Well, what building are you in? Maybe I could help you better in person.”
Caller: “I’m in the–oh, wait! You mean THAT ‘OK’ button?”
Me: “The one at the bottom right, next to a ‘Cancel’ button?”
Caller: “Yes!”
Me: “…yes. Click on that.”
Caller: “Thank you!”
(The other IT techs were laughing throughout this whole conversation… then one informed me that the caller was actually head of the college’s financial aid department. I suddenly understood why half of my friends were having problems with their financial aid.)
This story is part of the Totally Unobservant Customers roundup!
