Foot in mouth disease

[Luna]

This story is compliments of my hubby - who even now - a couple months after the fact wants to crawl up in a big ball of shame upon the retelling.

Hubby works at Bed Bath & Beyond as an Assistant Manager. He was called over the walkie to assist a customer with a bridal registry. Only "certified" people can do it and most of his staff is greener than mold so they have no idea b/c the store is so new.

Basically the customer wanted to add stuff to her registry, but she was having problems with the new scanner the store had. She origianlly registered in another store with different (old model) scanners. So hubby comes over to help.
He notices she only has one full arm. Her right arm was gone from the elbow down and her sleeve was neatly pinned to her shoulder.

The customer asked how the new scanners worked and he started to explain to her how you scan from either side. Then her asked her "Well, are you left handed or right handed?"

:eek: .......

Then he clamped his hand over his mouth and started mumbling apologies. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry. I didn't...I mean I saw..but it's just..well they twist now so you can use it comfortably no matter which hand, oh God. Oh God! I'm so sorry I uh ...SHIT."

The customer actually laughed and told him it was okay. And he showed her how to use the scanner and then he ran upstairs to the managers office. The regional HR manager was there and he told her and then within a few minutes the whole store knew.

They're still making fun of him til this day. He told me if he could have willed himself to pass out to get out of the embarrassment - he would have. :doh:

[Comp_geek]

One of my former managers had the same sort of thing.

She was out on floor one time and saw this gentleman looking through things. Instead of asking if she can help him, she asked "Can I give you a hand?" (same thing I know but different wording). Well then the man turned towards her and asked her where something was, she showed him and then ran back in the office. Turns out the man had hooks in place of both hands.

She felt really bad.

[icia]

i'm left handed and usually when a customer is signing with their left hand, just to make friendly conversation i'll say something like "woo! yeah, i'm a lefty too. go you." once a friend of mine was checking an older man out and he looked grumpy (i usually ensue in friendly conversation in an attempt to lighten their mood, sometimes works, but backfires too :() he was signing with his left hand and i made a light offhanded comment about it. he looks up at me and shakes his head frowning and it was then that i realized his right hand was disabled and he couldn't move it at all. oops :eek:

[Clintmax]

I walked up behind this lady some time back...

ME: "Any questions on anything so far, Ma'am"

Lady turns around and it's a dude with long hair.

ME: "Oh, sorry, Sir." *chuckle* "I meant; Any questions on anything so far, Sir?"

We both had a laugh about it, but it was still embarassing. :o

[Imogene]

I walked up behind this lady some time back...

ME: "Any questions on anything so far, Ma'am"

Lady turns around and it's a dude with long hair.

Had that happen to me while Mom and I were grabbing lunch at the casino. Waitress comes up behind me. "What can I get you ladies today?" Walks around me, sees the unshavenness. "And gentleman?"
"No, no, go back to the first one."
Mom was beet red.

[Kiwi]

your hubby shouldnt feel to bad, im sure she saw the funny side

I always loved it when customers got snippy because I had to get them to repeat themselves, they would act like it was the biggest inconvience in the world and I had a couple of differnet ones ask "What, are you deaf or something?"

the look on their faces when I replied, "well yes actually I am"

[Spiffy McMoron]

I had a customer at my old store who would come in all of the time. He was missing both arms, and had prothestetics put on, with a combonation hook/clamp on the end.

And everytime that he came in, I would will myself to ask, "Did you need help with anything?", rather than "Did you need a hand with anything?" If I had, I believe I would have called in sick for the rest of the shift.

[AFpheonix]

Heh heh heh....Embarrassing, but good teasing fodder, too :)
I had one similar. A gentleman came to get his wife's insurance history for the last year for insurance purposes. Being the good little HIPAA person that I am, I told him I'd be happy to print it out, but that she would need to pick it up herself.
He told me she passed away. :eek:
I ran and got it off the printer, stumbled a bunch of apologies, and sent him on his way....

[Primer]

1976, I was in one of my first jobs in a fried chicken place. A very masculine person came in, wearing a dress. I took and filled the order, and said, "thank you, sir....er...ma'am....er...gaak! I'm so sorry!!" (S)he replied, "That's ok, I've been called much worse!"

[Seanette]

I walked up behind this lady some time back...

ME: "Any questions on anything so far, Ma'am"

Lady turns around and it's a dude with long hair.

ME: "Oh, sorry, Sir." *chuckle* "I meant; Any questions on anything so far, Sir?"

We both had a laugh about it, but it was still embarassing. :o
Reminds me of one oops while I was office "manager" (wasn't really permitted to function with any degree of independent thought by one particular partner in that company, she was the reason I quit) at a small wholesale company. Answered the phone one day, customer is calling in about recent shipment. I say something like "Sorry to hear that, sir. Let me pull that invoice", and am informed by a caller who's laughing about the whole thing that she's a she, thanks (this woman had a deeper voice than a lot of men I know). :o

[dragonflygrrl]

Reminds me of one oops while I was office "manager" (wasn't really permitted to function with any degree of independent thought by one particular partner in that company, she was the reason I quit) at a small wholesale company.
Wow, if you had said cell phone dealer instead of wholesale company, I would have said I took your job. Or maybe my boss used to be a partner in a small wholesale company...LOL

Back to topic, though, the other day I had a deaf person come in to pay a bill. When I told her her total, she said something about how life is expensive, and like a dumbass without even thinking I said, "Yeah, I hear that!" I guess she is probably used to people saying things like that, and she didn't say anything, but I felt like a loser.

[Format C]

Stuff like that happens. Your husband is human and at least he tried to cover his rear on this one.

[MystyGlyttyr]

I do enjoy shutting the ones down who comment on my mental status. "What are you, stupid or something?!"

"Actually, I was recently diagnosed with a form of autism."

*crickets chirp*

[Buglady]

I do enjoy shutting the ones down who comment on my mental status. "What are you, stupid or something?!"

"Actually, I was recently diagnosed with a form of autism."

*crickets chirp*

Heh.

I have ADD and have said much the same thing :P

(The ADD diagnosis sure helped explain a hell of a lot, including why I can have an IQ of 135 but still can't remember a telephone number long enough to dial it. Including my own number... How are you doing with your diagnosis, if I may ask? Do you feel relieved? I did, and I thought what a weird reaction that was!).

[braindead]

This is a mistake I made a while ago. I like to talk to my customers. It makes them feel like I care. Well one day I was listening to a woman talk about how her doctors bills were really high. Well me and my big mouth popped off with yeah them doctors they will take and arm and a leg. *this is where I began to taste a bit of foot.* She says well yeah they did. Last year they had to amputate my arm and this year my leg. And the foot became firmly lodged in my mouth. Lucky for me she was a pretty cool lady because otherwise I think I deserved a write up for that one.

[JustADude]

Yeah them doctors, they will take and arm and a leg... She says well yeah they did. Last year they had to amputate my arm and this year my leg.

:spew: :rotflmao: I know it's completely wrong of me, but that could hardly have been funnier if someone had made it up. Hopefully she sees the humor in the situation, because laughing with her is much better than laughing at you. :devil: ;)

[braindead]

thankfully for my benefit she did have a sense of humor and I work on the phone so easy enough mistake to make. I have never felt like such an asshat. She understood and did find it funny. She laughed, I laughed because what else can you do when something like that happens. :o

[Jester]

I have confused men for women and women for men and on and on so many times, I couldn't tell you. And there are times when, frankly, I have NO IDEA whether someone is male or female. It's at this point that I start using a lot of "you." "May I get you anyting else?" "How are you doing?" And so on.

On the flip side, there is one subject that occasionally people slip with me on, not due to their own knowledge. I'll be talking about "my parents," or some such, and it will come out that "my parents" mean my mom and my stepfather. And someone will ask something along the lines of "Do you hear from your dad much?" To which I reply, "It would be a neat trick if I did, seeing as he died in 1981." I say it with a smile and a laugh, and it unsettles them a bit, but they usually laugh. Hey, I could be an ass and just say, "No. He's dead." Topeople who piss me off, I have actually said, "No. He's worm bait." THAT really throws them!

Hell, my father would have laughed his ass off at the whole thing. He is where I got my sense of humor from in the first place.


Speaking of Foot in Mouth Disease, a handful of times some dipwad has been rattling along, and then says something disparaging or downright insulting about Jews. To which I will say, "Oh, by the way, hi. My name is [my name which somewhat recognizable as being Jewish]." Or, "Yeah, I can't stand Jews either. That is why I hate family reunions." The second one sometimes goes right over their head.