The most difficult question in the world.

[GingerBiscuit]

Impossible to answer, leading to confused stares, stammering and a general air of injured incomprehension.

How dare we ask such difficult question at the till point? How DARE we ask our customers to make such a hard decision on their lunch break?

How dare we ask them if they need a bag?

[smileyeagle1021]

I've got the same situation... how dare I ask people which nights they would like to stay... after all, all they want is the rate, what would room availability have to do with the rate I can offer.

[Boozy]

"Is it a gift?"

Inevitably, I have to dumb this one down to "Are you drinking the wine yourself or giving it to someone else to drink?"

[bigjimaz]

Wait until your wife asks you if those pants she's wearing make her butt look fat, especially if she is 5' tall and 180 pounds before she put them on. All else fails in comparison.

[crazylegs]

Wait until your wife asks you if those pants she's wearing make her butt look fat,

Or when she asks you what colour shoes she should wear. (hint, you'll never be right :) )

[gunsage]

There is something very interesting/annoying I can sort of relate to this. As stated in my profile, I'm an Ohio resident. In Ohio, there's a law about open container. When I worked in gas stations, what we needed to know was that an "open container" was considered anything that could have potentially been opened. Examples...

- A forty that is not in a bag, EVEN IF IT ISN'T OPEN, is an open container.
- A 12 pack, since most are completely enclosed, is not an open container.
- A 6 pack, since most are "half open" (meaning the bottles are visible), is an open container.

Confused? Good. I remember INSISTING several times to "the regulars" in our area that they needed to have their forties bagged.

"Nah, fuck it. I ain't doin' dat. I'ma prolly drink it as I roll up on outta here, anyway."

Now yes, THAT'S 100% illegal...no question, but you get the idea. In any case, there was a situation that occurred recently at our local supermarket. Normally, it's a 50/50 thing if the bagger asks if I'd like my milk/OJ bagged, but I ALWAYS insist on having alcohol bagged, if possible...just in case.

Whether it was that I wasn't paying attention, the bagger was new/an idiot, or what, I don't know. I actually didn't notice it until I had gotten to my car. What, exactly? THE BAGGER DIDN'T BAG MY HUGE ASS WINE JUG. ARRRRRRRRHRHRRHRR! Just a small rant. Sorry about the buildup. :p

[Tito]

I know what you mean about asking them difficult questions. I, too, have been guilty in the past of asking people a very difficult question when they call in while I am covering the switchboard. When they ask for customer service, I ask them what type of policy they are calling on (different CSRs deal with different types of policies). Seem like a simple question, right? WRONG!!!! The response I often get is 'Umm', 5 seconds of silence, & then an answer. Also, alot of times when they answer, they sound totally dumbfounded.

[smileyeagle1021]

oh, I've been taking 800-holiday overflows (i hate overflows) and you'd be amazed how hard it is for people to tell me the answer to the question
"which location would you like to stay at?"
or "which city and state will you be staying in"
you meen we actually have to know where we are travelling to to reserve a room...

[donruss]

How about when at the pizza shop I ask the customer on the phone:

"What kind of crust would you like on that?"

After about 5 seconds of "Ummm, Ohhh, I don't know, what kind do you have?"

I reply:

"Pan (Deep), Thin (self-explanatory), Hand-Tossed (kind of in the middle), or Stuffed-Crust (again, self-explanatory and only in large)."

They still cant make up their minds.

Jeez, its not brain surgery people! :soapbox:

[protege]

TConfused? Good. I remember INSISTING several times to "the regulars" in our area that they needed to have their forties bagged.


Cape May, NJ has a law like that. If you try to walk out of a restaurant with an open (or even sealed) bottle of wine, you can be arrested. How do I know this? Well, about 2 years ago, my mother nearly did that. She was about halfway out the door, when a waitress stopped her and gave her a bag for the wine. Yep, that would have been fun explaining it to Grandma :lol:

[AnaKhouri]

Oh dear God, and don't even bother asking what color they want for the holder for the gift card they just bought.

Red or Blue?

Doesn't seem to difficult to any of us, but you don't see the look of panic that comes over their faces... "Red? Blue? I CAN'T HANDLE THIS!" :cry:

[OhHerro]

Every year, my store runs a DVD sale. If you buy 2 DVDs, you get a 3rd (of equal or lesser value of course) for free. It's seems simple enough. If a person manages to get to the register with 2 DVDs and misses the 500 signs in the department notifying them of the sale, we let them know that they get another one for free. By the looks on their face, you'd think I was trying to explain quantum mechanics to them.

Seriously, go to the shelf and pick another DVD. Hell, give it to me, I don't care.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

My hardest question for people is "What is the phone number you're calling about?"

People are just dumbfounded by this difficult question. Exhibit A:

Me: Can I have the phone number you're calling about?
SC: Um...where are my minutes at?
Me: I'm not sure. Can I have the phone number you're trying to put minutes on?
SC: I placed an order but I didn't get the minutes...I don't know what's going on.
Me: Can I have the phone number?
SC: Can you tell me what's going on?
Me: Probably, but I need to look up the phone number first. Can I have that number?
SC: Oh...hang on let me figure out what it is.


Exhibit B:
Me: Can I have the phone number you're calling about?
SC: I NEED YOU TO DO THIS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I SAID SO!
Me: All right, Ma'am, can I have the phone number for that account?
SC: I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! WHY CAN'T YOU DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS! YOU'RE ALL STUPID!
Me: Ma'am I need to pull up the account before I can help you. What is the phone number?
SC: I DON'T KNOW! IT'S NOT MY PHONE! WHY CAN'T YOU HELP ME DAMMIT!

etc.

[JustADude]

Red or Blue?

To quote Church: "Red sucks, blue rules!"

[xlr82xs]

The one that seems to stump people the most is "Have you been here before ?"
if for nothing else than they get it wrong ?!

typical conversation with a customer

SC : Internet
Me : I'm sorry what ?
SC : Internet
Me : Oh, you'd like to use a computer ?
SC : Internet
Me : *scanning a card* Have you been here before ?
SC : Yes, Internet
Me : Ah huh
*5 minutes later*
SC : How log internet now ?
Me : Well, if you hadn't said that you had already been here (and thus understood how to follow the instructions on the card that make it PAINFULLY obvious to put the number on the card into the box on the computer that says Guest Card Number) I would have explained this to you.


And no, i'm not implying any sort of racial thing with the terseness of speech i assigned to the average customer, 70% of the customers that come in after ~2am and aren't there to play games speak like that, regardless of their nationality

[JustADude]

And no, i'm not implying any sort of racial thing with the terseness of speech i assigned to the average customer, 70% of the customers that come in after ~2am and aren't there to play games speak like that, regardless of their nationality
EMPHASIS MINE


That's because Homo Sapiens Atarius is a naturally nocturnal species, which can function during daylight if forced to, but prefers the dark of night for its active period. :D

[ArenaBoy]

How dare I ask the VIPs if they have a pass, heaven forbid that someone might sneak in to the lot without a pass.

On a side note, today is the home opener for the arena's basketball team, it feels weird to not work it.

[Nephy]

How dare we ask them if they need a bag?

What really irritates me is when they finally come to a decision... and then change their mind.

Or the people that are sooo insistant on not getting a receipt. Because apparently their world would come to a flaming end if they had to be in possesion of a small peice of paper stating that they bought a pack of gum.

I had one crazy woman state imediatley that she did not need a receipt. Fabulous, I don't really care. I finish the transaction, and throw away her receipt.

She comes storming back in a few minutes later flailing a receipt around the air shouting "How dare you give me this when I specifically asked you not to!"

I see the receipt, smile, and inform her that it was infact a receipt for the grocery store nextdoor.

[Listerfiend]

1) I agree--I hate asking customers if they want a bag only because they make it a much bigger deal than it is.

2) "Credit or debit"? Seriously, most people flounder about for a moment when I ask that and then bark back "uh, whatever's easier I guess." To which I have to respond that they're equally "easy" and that it's really their call. WTF? Have people never bought things before with their cards?? I hate that I'm usually the one to make the call...

3) My chain makes us ask every customer his/her zip code, and a lot of times I get blank stares followed by, "uhhh.... I think it's..." :confused: Do you not know where you live? Seriously?

4) If someone's paying with cash I always repeat the amount they gave me to make sure it's the correct amount being used, but I always get people who say "yes" to "out of $xx?" and then rummage in their wallets to find random change and think nothing of making me go back and mark the receipt, re-count change/cash, and most likely have to open my till, etc.

So the extremes are the worst--the ones who over-think, and the ones who make decisions in a rush...

[JustADude]

2) "Credit or debit"? Seriously, most people flounder about for a moment when I ask that and then bark back "uh, whatever's easier I guess." To which I have to respond that they're equally "easy" and that it's really their call. WTF? Have people never bought things before with their cards?? I hate that I'm usually the one to make the call...

Me, I just hit Debit. It's less work for me, since we have a customer swipe-pad, and I don't have to futz with getting a pen or anything, and they're forced to take the time to put their info in as the price for annoying me with the question. :devil:

[simplyanother]

1)
3) My chain makes us ask every customer his/her zip code, and a lot of times I get blank stares followed by, "uhhh.... I think it's..." :confused: Do you not know where you live? Seriously?
...

I've noticed that the zip code gets people EVERY time. I've had people proceed to give me their phone numbers, their social security numbers...their pin numbers. Great fun.

I think a lot of people think it's a security measure, because they are ..."you want the one for the card, or for my work..or what? I don't want to get it wrong!!!". Any 5 digit string of numbers will do. Really, watch....

I only hate the ones who are pissy about it. Like I'm going to be able to track them down with JUST their freakin zip code. "You aren't going to send me a bunch of junk mail are you?" ..."Yes, yes, I AM! Lots of it! And just for YOU!"....

Shut up and say "no", NICELY. I have a special code for that! ;-)

I hate the ones who don't want a bag....until I'm ringing up the next guy, and instead of asking me for one, they TAKE it. Bugs the shit out of me. Mostly because I'm easily annoyed.

[B&NGoddess]

i sometimes get blank stares when i ask people for their phone number. and then i get "ummmm..." dude, seriously?

or my favorite: "can i have your name?"

":confused: what?"

you know, the thing people call you. other than fucking moron.

[Juwl]

I've noticed that the zip code gets people EVERY time.
That's a requirement on any sale I do, and no one in the store knows why. What's really fun is when a customer pays with a card, we have a machine next to the bags for them to slide their own card. Which we both then have to wait for the register to catch up. And as soon as the card is approved, I ask, "And your zip code?" And, inevitably, everyone will return to the pin pad and try to figure out how to put their zip code in there.
"No, no, I need to know, so I can type it in over here..."

[tangrid]

Wait until your wife asks you if those pants she's wearing make her butt look fat, especially if she is 5' tall and 180 pounds before she put them on. All else fails in comparison.

No, of course not, dear. The pants don't make your butt look fat...:devil:

Or when she asks you what colour shoes she should wear. (hint, you'll never be right :) )

Black, dear. That's a slimming color, right? (jk on both of these of course, but I am the kind of person who'll tell the truth when asked these kinds of questions... Any wonders why I'm still single?)

[Andara Bledin]

"What kind of crust would you like on that?"

Oh, that's easy. Stuffed crust. Always.

That's because Homo Sapiens Atarius is a naturally nocturnal species, which can function during daylight if forced to, but prefers the dark of night for its active period. :D

Hee... I like.

Me, I just hit Debit. It's less work for me, since we have a customer swipe-pad, and I don't have to futz with getting a pen or anything, and they're forced to take the time to put their info in as the price for annoying me with the question. :devil:

I actually was asked this somewhat recently and I just said "whichever" because it really doesn't matter to me one way or the other. The guy did debit, and it took me several seconds to remember my PIN because it had been more than a month since I'd needed it.

^-.-^

[aurelemsrealm]

You know, as a customer, I never have a problem giving a quick answer to questions about whether I want my items bagged, or whether I'll be paying via credit or debit. The only issues I might have is deciding what I want to order at the restaurant. If it's fast food, I stand back and wait until I make a decision, and inform the help that I'm undecided so that I'm not wasting their time. If it's sit down, I just let the server know that I'm browsing the menu, and then wait patiently once I've made a decision. In short, I try to anticipate such questions and communicate my intentions so I'm not wasting everyone's time.

When I'm working, I've become accustomed to leading people by the hand if they seem indecisive. Yes, I'm good at telling others what to do when they seem hesitant because it's the only way to keep some people moving forward and out the door so that I can get on with the rest of my life. For instance, it's definitely not a good idea for a customer to tell me to just pick a lottery ticket for them, then complain that it wasn't what they wanted or that it wasn't a winner. My response will range from an indifferent shrug to being given the "It's your own fault that I did as you requested, so don't blame me," speech.

Yep, indecision is generally only a problem for me when deciding what I want to eat at the restaurant, what movie I want to rent, or something like that. Then, I just try to stay out of everyone's way until I make up my mind.