This Employee Gets A USB-F In Customer Service

(I am in my early fifties, but I have been involved with technology for a long time. I have need of a USB-C flash drive so that I could connect it directly to my phone and download the photos to it. So, I hie myself off to the local supermarket. I locate the USB flash drives, but not having my glasses on me, I am having problems identifying which are USB-C and which are the older USB-A style.)

Me: “Hi, can you tell me if this is USB-A or USB-C?”

Pimply-Faced Youth: “It’s a flash drive.”

Me: “Yes, but is it a USB-C connection or a USB-A connection?”

PFY: “I’m not sure what you are asking. It’s for connecting to a computer.”

Me: “Or any other device with an OTG host built in. But what is the connection type?”

PFY: “What are you after?”

Me: “A USB-C flash drive to connect to my phone.”

PFY: “You mean a USB cable.”

(He fetches a USB-micro to USB-A cable)

Me: “No, I mean a flash drive, with a USB-C connector.”

PFY: “No, you need a sync cable.”

Me: “Just tell me, does this have a USB-C connector or not? Let me decide if it is what I need.”

PFY: “That has a USB type C connector on one end and a USB type A connector on the other.”

(He put a lot of emphasis on the word “type” each time he said it.)

PFY: “But I’m not going to sell it to you; it’s the wrong thing and you will just be bringing it back later. Why not send your son or grandson in and I will sell them the correct item?”

Me: “Why you– I want your supervisor now.”

PFY: “No. I won’t waste their time.”

(I made a complaint to a department manager whom I found a few aisles away. He had a word with the PFY, who made dagger-eyes at me but sold me the item in silence and then stomped off into the back. The kicker was, when I got home and dug out my reading glasses, it even said on the packaging, “USB-C, USB-A, ideal for mobile devices,” and it works perfectly for my purposes.)