Their Brain Shut Down Along With The Power

I’m working at the service desk when a customer walks up and sets down an Uninterruptible Power Supply, a type of surge protector that holds a small charge so your electronics don’t instantly shut off during a blackout.

Me: “What can I do for you, ma’am?”

Customer: “Hi. I bought this thing two weeks ago, and it barely worked at all, so I’d like to get a refund.”

She presents a receipt.

Me: “Of course. May I ask exactly what went wrong?”

Customer: “The power went out last night while I was playing a game on my computer. I figured the thing would last a few hours at least, so ignored it and kept playing. Then, my computer died like twenty minutes later! I think I got a faulty system.”

I take a second to carefully consider my words so I won’t come off as condescending.

Me: “Ah, I get it. Sorry, ma’am, but the UPS isn’t designed to hold such a big charge for a very long time; something as powerful as a computer will drain it rather quickly.”

Customer: *Frustrated* “Why not? What’s the point of having a UPS that’s only good for a few minutes?”

Me: “It’s to give you enough time to safely shut down your system, preventing data corruption.”

She gawked at me for a moment, facepalmed, and then grumbled an apology before walking away with her UPS, red with embarrassment. At least I was able to teach her something new!