Something's Missing in this Phone Call

[HawaiianShirts]

I haven't had to take many phone calls lately, but we had a great deal of callers yesterday, so some calls actually ended up coming to me in the computer department. Usually easy stuff like customers asking if we still had X Item or how much a stick of RAM would cost or some such.

Then there was this guy...

Me: *Store* computers, this is HawaiianShirts.
Guy: Hey, I'm wondering if you have a certain item.
Me: What're you looking for?
Guy: A portable hard drive. It's the Western Digital Passport.
Me: I have those. You need the Passport Essential or the Passport Elite?
Guy: Whichever's cheaper.
Me: That would be the Passport Essential, then. And they just happen to be on sale this week. I have a 160GB for $XX.XX, a 250GB for $YY.YY, and a 320GB for $ZZZ.ZZ.
Guy: Cool! Hang on.
(short pause)
Guy: Hey, do you guys price-match?
Me: (thinking he's still talking to me) Yes, we do.
Faint Female Voice: (simultaneously with me) I think...
Guy: Nice! Here.
Female Voice: H- Hello?
Me: Hi!
Female Voice: Hello.
Me: I understand we're looking for hard drives. What can I do for you?
Female Voice: ... Uh, I don't know.
Me: Is the guy I just talked to wanting to buy a hard drive?
Female Voice: I guess.
(rustling sound)
Guy: You still there?
Me: Yeah.
Guy: Good. Hang on.
(short pause)
Guy: So, did you get the information you need to do the price-match?
Me: ... Who am I matching?
Faint Female Voice: Um, actually I need to have an advertised price to do the price-match.
(Now I think I get what's going on.)
Guy: Oh, right. Hey, is your price advertised?
(short pause)
Guy: Hello!
Me: You talking to me?
Guy: Yeah! Is your price advertised?
Me: I think so.
Guy: Great! Yeah it's advertised. So you can give it to me for $YY.YY then?
Faint Female Voice: Well, I...
(click)

I get it. The guy was in one of our competitor's stores and wanted them to match our price on that hard drive. He was talking to one of the employees there. He didn't have any proof of what my price was, so he wanted me to tell the employee there, which he thought would be sufficient proof for them. Unfortunately, I don't know the outcome, but I think he was at one of those stores that requires customers to bring in an ad from the competitor if they want to do a price-match.

The problem was that he didn't let either me or the other employee know what was going on when he put us on the phone with each other. I thought I was talking to his wife or girlfriend or something. "Here, complete strangers! Talk to each other so I can get a discount!"

[One-Fang]

Weird. I mean, a sort of reasonableish idea, but it really does pay to actually TELL these people you're talking to what it is you're doing. Sheesh.

[bainsidhe]

Is it wrong of me to hope that the "click" at the end was from you? Please?

[HawaiianShirts]

Is it wrong of me to hope that the "click" at the end was from you? Please?

Alas, it was not. It was the guy who had called me. Apparently he figured I was no longer a necessary part of the conversation.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

The whole point of it having to be advertised is so customers don't try to hold the store to some ridiculous and incorrect price given by an employee.

Written proof is king. I do give that guy some credit for a creative approach though.