Oh I don't know aboyut that being a dumb question. Depending on who you ask what Starbucks sells isn't coffee so much as near black piss.scarletStiletto said:
Retail jobs: the dumbest customer question you've been asked?
- Thread starter funkyjiveturkey
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Oh I never found that nearly as taxing as the people who would come in saying "I saw such-and-such in the ad for thisNorthern64 said:
price but it's marked another price." So you helpfully pull out the copy of the ad you keep near your work station for
just such occasions and begin looking for the item. At which point the customer snatches the ad from your hand, quickly
leafs through it and when they discover that it isn't in there, flings the ad back at you angrily declaring that you
must have taken it out. The pages in those ads have consecutive numbers. For a retail employee to have "taken it out"
they would have had to scan the whole thing in to photoshop or a similar program, re-lay the entire page and print it
back out on the appropriate size of newsprint. All to deny the customer their 20% off of one item.
I worked in tech support for a company that had a retail side and I've taken a lot of stupid questions from customers and dealt with a lot of grief because the sales associates blatantly lied to make a sale. The best though came from a co-worker who had a customer say "So I was cleaning my shotgun and didn't realize it was loaded. It went off and now there's a massive hold through the centre of my computer. I was just wondering if you guys could do anything for me?" The company took it off his hands and gave him a new computer because the engineers wanted to see the damage for themselves.
While not retail, I am a paramedic, and work both on an ambulance, and in an Emergency Department, one of the largest in my state. Being a medic, I do most of the IV starts, as nurses are not very good at them (they opening admit this). I also seem to get someone annoyed with me because they are "afraid of needles". Okay, I can handle that. You are still getting the IV, but I can understand that. The stupid ones are the people that tell me this, and are covered in tattoos and look like they feel face first into a tackle box.
Imagine, if you will, working at a popular fast food chain that specializes in "southern" [US] foods, the most notable of which being fried chicken and biscuits. Now imagine again, if you will, a customer coming up to you and asking for a staple of many Chinese food restaurants: shrimp fried rice.
With a straight face.
With a straight face.
"How much does this cost?"
Might sound like a legitimate question, but mind you I work at a Dollar Tree. It's a dollar store. Everything is exactly one dollar or less. In fact, it's plastered up on our walls and on our windows that everything is a dollar or less, and is even in the announcements we make on the intercom...
... yet, even still, I get dozens of people who don't seem to understand the concept of a "dollar store" at all.
Might sound like a legitimate question, but mind you I work at a Dollar Tree. It's a dollar store. Everything is exactly one dollar or less. In fact, it's plastered up on our walls and on our windows that everything is a dollar or less, and is even in the announcements we make on the intercom...
... yet, even still, I get dozens of people who don't seem to understand the concept of a "dollar store" at all.
I've never worked in retail, but a friend used to so I'd go to his store and hang out. As a person in their early 20's even without identification people would assume I worked there. I'm also quite polite so people would come up and start rattling stuff off and end 10 mins later and I'd just get in "I don't work here", and they'd be frustrated and leave.
But I had heard a few questions that were pretty stupid.
This was during the phase when games were both on PS2 and PS3, "Which one will work for my Playstation?... Ours is black and has 2 controllers."
When looking at a fighting game, I think it was Tekken 6, "How violent is this game?"
A girl came up to me with a Kirby game, "Is this too hard for my little brother?"
Phone section was right next door, "Will I be able to use my sim card in both at the same time?... Yeah but shouldn't I be able to make calls between both for free?"
"Can I speak to the manager?" - "What about?" - "I can't find something (Wiggles dvd of a specific concert...) and I want to know if you have it in stock."
(Very common) "Could you tell me which console we have?"
"Will this work in my dvd player?" - "Yes it's a dvd the blue ray ones have blue cases and a sign above them saying Blue Ray" - "But you never know, what about these HDMI ones" - "We don't stock HD dvd's as Blue Ray is the only supported format of Hi-Def dvd." - "I KNEW IT, so you fat cats just run a monopoly only selling Blue Ray dvds." - "No the developer just stopped supporting that format, we had no control over that situation at all." - "Yeah right like I believe that"
Alternatively
"Where are the Blue Rays?" - There's a Massive sign that says Blue Ray and all the cases are blue... >_>
But I had heard a few questions that were pretty stupid.
This was during the phase when games were both on PS2 and PS3, "Which one will work for my Playstation?... Ours is black and has 2 controllers."
When looking at a fighting game, I think it was Tekken 6, "How violent is this game?"
A girl came up to me with a Kirby game, "Is this too hard for my little brother?"
Phone section was right next door, "Will I be able to use my sim card in both at the same time?... Yeah but shouldn't I be able to make calls between both for free?"
"Can I speak to the manager?" - "What about?" - "I can't find something (Wiggles dvd of a specific concert...) and I want to know if you have it in stock."
(Very common) "Could you tell me which console we have?"
"Will this work in my dvd player?" - "Yes it's a dvd the blue ray ones have blue cases and a sign above them saying Blue Ray" - "But you never know, what about these HDMI ones" - "We don't stock HD dvd's as Blue Ray is the only supported format of Hi-Def dvd." - "I KNEW IT, so you fat cats just run a monopoly only selling Blue Ray dvds." - "No the developer just stopped supporting that format, we had no control over that situation at all." - "Yeah right like I believe that"
Alternatively
"Where are the Blue Rays?" - There's a Massive sign that says Blue Ray and all the cases are blue... >_>
I work at a JC Penenys (clothing retail) and I'm one of 5 guys that work at the store, 2 older men as janitors, one gay gentlemen in the salon and me and a Belizian guy. At least once a shift a customer will come up to me, stare blatantly at my name tag and ask "Do you work here?" I've been working there for almost a year and a half and I still get this. Just because I am a straight male I cannot work in a clothing retail store? Seriously?
Yeah I don't get that either, girlfriend has a ton of piercings but absolutely craps herself whenever she has to get an injection or blood taken. She has a tongue piercing and one through the cartilage in her ear, needles should be nothing compared to that.dfphetteplace said:
If it's ok with you, I'm going to post this story on my FB page. I have got to share thisthejackyl said:
Was the person perhaps Chinese? Because in China, KFCs do sell rice dishes. I found it strange too but there you are.SageRuffin said:
chadachada123 said:
I have worked at a 7 Eleven for years... and yes, every fucking time! "That means it's free, right?" No shit head, it doesn't, and that wasn't funny the first time I heard it... never mind the 1oooth.
I do love it when people come in and ask us if we sell cigarettes though
This is what you get for taking your children to a fucking salon for their snip-and-brush haircuts. Pocket change to my rich pricks of parents.solemnwar said:FORTY DOLLARS FOR A HAIRCUT? Jesus Christ. I have long-ass hair that requires a fuck ton of maintenence and I pay only like, $25. And that's NOW; because of inflation, that $40 is equivelent to some higher amount nowadays, good lord
*shoulder pat*Fuzzed said:
I'm so sorry.
When I was in high school I worked in a liqueur store.It was a cavalcade of bad questions but the one that stuck was somebody coming up to me and asking where the, "O.K.-toberfest," beer was. I asked him if he meant, "Oktoberfest," he spent ten minutes yelling at me about how I shouldn't correct my elders and how they spoke.
I work as a super market cashier, so I often get people complaining about the price of something like I some how have power over changing it. A lot of people also obsesses over the price per pound of a product, they don't care about the actual price of the product, just how much it is per pound. Oh and one time I was having this great conversation with a lady since she was a alumni of the college I go too, which I enjoy because with most customers the conversation goes like this
Me: Hello, how are you doing today?
Customer: *grunts*
Me: That's good, where you able to find everything you where looking for?
Customer: Yes
So yeah, I'm happy when I actually have a nice conversation with one of them. The customer after that comes up to me and asks "did I know how long I took with that customer?", "you took ten minutes with that customer, I was waiting while you talked away." it took a lot of personal control to not say anything to her.
Me: Hello, how are you doing today?
Customer: *grunts*
Me: That's good, where you able to find everything you where looking for?
Customer: Yes
So yeah, I'm happy when I actually have a nice conversation with one of them. The customer after that comes up to me and asks "did I know how long I took with that customer?", "you took ten minutes with that customer, I was waiting while you talked away." it took a lot of personal control to not say anything to her.
I was a basic attendant at Dunkin' Donuts for three years. And dear lord I'll never forget the stream of questions I got there in a single day on the much slower afternoon shifts.
"Do you have coffee?"
"Do you have donuts?"
In the drive-through, while they are staring at a HUGE MENU that says we HAVE those very same things.
"Is this Dunkin' Donuts?"
Once again, IN THE DRIVE-THROUGH WHILE THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE HUGE MENU THAT SAYS DUNKIN' DONUTS!
I don't know, maybe it was because it was one of those Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins stores. And then of course, back in the freak blizzard in March 2009, we had to close because the conditions were getting too bad out. We actually still had people coming through the drive-through WITH A BLIZZARD GOING ON.
Although that might just be people that really want their coffee.
"Do you have coffee?"
"Do you have donuts?"
In the drive-through, while they are staring at a HUGE MENU that says we HAVE those very same things.
"Is this Dunkin' Donuts?"
Once again, IN THE DRIVE-THROUGH WHILE THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE HUGE MENU THAT SAYS DUNKIN' DONUTS!
I don't know, maybe it was because it was one of those Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins stores. And then of course, back in the freak blizzard in March 2009, we had to close because the conditions were getting too bad out. We actually still had people coming through the drive-through WITH A BLIZZARD GOING ON.
Although that might just be people that really want their coffee.
I don't normally frequent the forums, but in this instance, I've got to chime in. While I was i high school (and for a couple years after graduation, before college) I worked as a chef. Generally, I didn't have to deal with front of the house stupidity (at least relative to the wait staff, hostesses, etc.). However, at one point I worked in a hospital's kitchens. One day they were shortstaffed in the cafeteria sections (think a mall's fast food court) and asked if a few of us could cover.
In any event, I'm now chilling in a Quiznos, popping out sandwiches. There are four stations in this mini food court, a Quiznos, a little burger grill joint, a salad station, and a smoothie shop. They form a simple 'U', and all the menu's are displayed not only back wall of each area, but on the little glass sneeze guard positioned, at most, A FOOT AND A HALF from the customer's face. Yet, and I shit you not, over two hours, I recieved requests for fried chicken, tacos, and LASAGNA. This is a Quiznos, we sell submarine sandwiches, that's it, nothing else, stop asking for random shit. And if you do ask for random shit, do not get irate an loud when we do no produce said random shit at your behest.
I suspect it's commonplace for people to storm into a McDonalds and demand a filet mignon, shrimp scampi, potatoes au gratin, and a glass of merlot.
In any event, I'm now chilling in a Quiznos, popping out sandwiches. There are four stations in this mini food court, a Quiznos, a little burger grill joint, a salad station, and a smoothie shop. They form a simple 'U', and all the menu's are displayed not only back wall of each area, but on the little glass sneeze guard positioned, at most, A FOOT AND A HALF from the customer's face. Yet, and I shit you not, over two hours, I recieved requests for fried chicken, tacos, and LASAGNA. This is a Quiznos, we sell submarine sandwiches, that's it, nothing else, stop asking for random shit. And if you do ask for random shit, do not get irate an loud when we do no produce said random shit at your behest.
I suspect it's commonplace for people to storm into a McDonalds and demand a filet mignon, shrimp scampi, potatoes au gratin, and a glass of merlot.