What An &&&-hole

I work in a bakery, helping customers place orders for cakes and other baked goods. One dark day, I answer the phone to this:

Customer: “I need to order a cake.”

The customer provides contact information and describes the type of cake.

Me: “Would you like a message written on it?”

Customer: “Yes, I’d like, ‘Happy Birthday [Name #1] and [Name #2].’ But instead of ‘and,’ could you use an ampersand?”

Me: “An… ampersand?”

Customer: “The symbol for ‘and.’”

I’ve never heard the term before, but of course, I am familiar with what he is talking about.

Me: “Oh, do you mean the one that looks like a treble clef?”

Customer: “No! It’s the backward three with a line through it! You know what? Next time, why don’t you find someone with a higher level of education to take my cake order?”

The customer hangs up. I stare at the phone and then go into the office and tell my coworkers on break what happened. Halfway through the story, one of them bolts straight up in her chair.

Coworker: “I KNOW THAT GUY! HE’S AN A**HOLE!”

I later discovered that I was in the right: the ampersand refers to the symbol that resembles a treble clef.