you could feel the relief

[Racket_Man]

Went to the local B&N book store to order some books (I have gotten into the total Dune series and am missing some titles).

I do not want to order through their web site because they will only deliver to a home address NOT the local store. I literally live across the street from a high school, I work nights and mostly sleep during the day, AND I do not was some UPS or FedEx driver leaving packages out in the open in my front steps. I have tried to specify the "ADULT signature REQUIRED" option so the delivery person WILL HAVE to at the very least knock on my door but that failed when a driver once left a $250 PC sound system sitting on my steps in the middle of the day.

I go to the Guest Services counter and talk to the clerk there. I tell her I wanted to order 5 books. NOW I have been around this board long enough to know that some SCs do the "I think they have RED covers" "NO I do NOT know author's name" " I think it is a Sci-Fi book" thing. Part of me saw her tense up a bit.

I then said "I know the author's name AND I also know the exact titles I want". You could almost see the relief and the tension leave her.

I gave her the author's name and the book titles. She looked them up and put in my order. Had a VERY pleasant conversation and SHE recommended a few titles and authors I might like.

This goes to show KNOW WHAT YOU WANT and be nice about it.

[sirwired]

Give her the ISBN numbers and you'll really make her day, as it tells them exactly which edition you want.

[raudf]

If you think that's bad, wait until you get a customer at a parts store. I'm sure many a hardware store worker has this too.

At MW repair, I'd occasionally get SCs who had no idea what the part they needed was. No, it wasn't the women.. it was the MEN. They'd come in looking for a part. Here is a basic rundown of the conversation...

Me: Hi, welcome to MW repair, how may I help you today?
SC: I need a part for a lawn tractor. (They almost always know the product. I'd only had one that didn't...)
Me: And which part do you need?
SC: I don't know.. the one that does.. what was it?
Me: If you don't have the name, that's fine. Can you describe the part? Or where it's located on the tractor? Is it located in the engine or on the deck?
SC: Umm... it's part of the engine and it looks... sort of roundish... mine broke and I took it off. (Why the hell didn't you bring in the broken part?)
Me: Part of the engine and looks sort of roundish. Did it have a belt attached to it?
SC: A what?

You know what? I'm gonna save my brain cells and your eyes. What this guy wanted was the blades, which aren't a part of the engine and are only roundish when rotating. I really don't want to use any tractor this guy was working on...

No, it's not just about not knowing the name of a part. If I mention the words, "Blade adapter," not many will know what it is. But once a normal person sees it, they can usually give a description of, "It's the piece that attaches to a shaft and the blade bolts to it. It has three round holes (or two round and one star-burst one.)" Or they bring in the old one.

[katzklaw]

many years ago my husband worked in the hardware section of a Home Depot. every time anyone came in and started with "i need this thing..." they were sent to hardware, didn't matter what they really needed.

altho the funniest 'i need this thing' story my husband had was one guy who came in and says to my husband "i need a thing that goes like this..." and he held hands up, one hand the pointer finger and thumb made a ring, and the other hand he put the pointer finger into the ring... then removed it and put it back in... rinse and repeat a few times. now keep in mind, the guy did this totally innocently. he honest to God actually was trying to describe what he wanted and it wasn't registering on him what that looked like. so my husband was trying to keep a straight face and is like "i'm sorry sir, but we don't carry any of that here." custy gives him a weird look, and husband continues "Sir, you realize what that looks like to me, right?" then the guy is all of a sudden "Oh my God! i'm so sorry! That's not what i meant!" and turned 16 shades of red. they had a good laugh and then hubby found what the guy really wanted. i think it was some kind of hook-and-eye, or gate latch or something.

[WishfulSpirit]

At MW repair, I'd occasionally get SCs who had no idea what the part they needed was. No, it wasn't the women.. it was the MEN.

As a woman, I'm totally OK with admitting I'm clueless when it comes to hardware (unless we are talking about jewelry pliers). Back when I worked at Jeers, and hubby needed me to pick up something from the tools department, I'd get part name, model number, AND a photograph of what he wanted before I went and asked where the item was.

(Some) men seem to think their genitals will drop off if they even so much as hint at needing help in a hardware store.

[Seanette]

When DH has had to send me to auto parts stores, I've taken the old part along as a sample if at all possible. Alternately, we hit the place's Web site and get the listing for the part, then I print that out and take it along.

I am clueless about car stuff, so I need that level of detail to have a chance at getting the right item.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

When DH has had to send me to auto parts stores, I've taken the old part along as a sample if at all possible. Alternately, we hit the place's Web site and get the listing for the part, then I print that out and take it along.

I am clueless about car stuff, so I need that level of detail to have a chance at getting the right item.

That would be me at the auto parts store - or if I don't have the part, I have what I need wrote down and tell them what year, make and model that car is for.

Or, if I'm lucky, Mom has called ahead and let them know what she needs and I'm just in there picking up for her and swiping the ol' debit card.

[bainsidhe]

I feel the pain of the work involved so packages aren't left at your door. I used to live in an apt where some a-hole neighbor stole packages. Anytime I bought something, I'd ask the shipper to mark the package"IF NO ONE HOME, DO NOT LEAVE AT DOOR. WILL PICK UP AT LOCAL OFFICE". It usually worked pretty well, when I noted in special instructions that packages would be stolen. For some reason the shipper took that seriously.

[notalwaysright]

I go to the Guest Services counter and talk to the clerk there. I tell her I wanted to order 5 books. NOW I have been around this board long enough to know that some SCs do the "I think they have RED covers" "NO I do NOT know author's name" " I think it is a Sci-Fi book" thing. Part of me saw her tense up a bit.

I then said "I know the author's name AND I also know the exact titles I want". You could almost see the relief and the tension leave her.

I probably get the same look when someone (usually a guy) comes up and says "so I was sent here..." Because seriously, sometimes the end of that sentence is "to get some more of this red fabric my wife bought a while ago." or "to pick up some iron on stuff, she said you'd know what it is." or "to buy some fabric for our cushions. Gray, I think." *shudder*

I do remember one guy started that, but he produced a note which had a detailed list, with the actual brand and color names (not just a description like "pink." She had written the product color name, like "sunset.") It was so great. And he made sure to say she normally did her own shopping, but she was laid up from surgery. So that person I'm more than happy to walk around and find products.

[Headset Hellion]

I got that look from a clerk at a wine & spirits store back in PA. I was in line behind a young couple who had somehow missed the very large, eye-level sign on the door stating that everyone in your group will be ID'd even if only one person is buying. They spent a ridiculous amount of time arguing with him before finally leaving. So he was already on edge. I guess I should mention that I look a LOT younger than my age.

I started to explain that I had some questions about some wines that I was thinking of buying and realized that he was giving me major side-eye. It's a look I get very frequently when purchasing age-restricted items, so I paused and said, "Oh, and don't worry; I do have my ID on me." His face visibly relaxed. "You caught that, huh?" We had a good laugh.

[Kristev]

Personally, I've learned that when Mother sends me to buy something at the store for her that I don't normally buy, if she's got one in the house, such as motor oil or salad dressing or something else I'd never use, it helps greatly to take a photograph of it with the cell phone.

But then, I'm an ex-Wal-Mart worker and I know how busy the staff there is. And even if I do end up needing help, it's easy enough for them to direct me once they see the photograph.

[earl colby pottinger]

Make a list

Personally, I've learned that when Mother sends me to buy something at the store for her that I don't normally buy, if she's got one in the house, such as motor oil or salad dressing or something else I'd never use, it helps greatly to take a photograph of it with the cell phone.

My mom would angry at me because she would start off saying she wanted me to pick up one or two items and the next thing you know she had listed a dozen things. At which point I would insist she write down what she wanted me to get.

Time after time she would try to argue that I should remember the items, but I learnt my lesson years ago. If I went out and forgot an item or got the wrong version or she added an item without telling, I would get blamed for not getting what she wanted.

With the list I would just hand it to her and ask her where the said item she said I was to get was on the list.

Boy, she sure hated making out a list, but it stopped a lot of disagreements later.

[TheSHAD0W]

I'd recommend investing in a PO box. The price difference between ordering books at the store versus ordering them online will pay for the box very quickly, and of course there are lots more things you could have shipped there. Not to mention going just once to pick up, and avoiding going before to order.

[Racket_Man]

I'd recommend investing in a PO box. The price difference between ordering books at the store versus ordering them online will pay for the box very quickly, and of course there are lots more things you could have shipped there. Not to mention going just once to pick up, and avoiding going before to order.

Very nice idea BUT I do not order that much on-line these days . Especially with all of the stores and sites being hacked these days. I have already had 2 debt cards replaced because of recent big box store computer hacks/break ins. Add in that about a year or two ago my computer was hit with a series (as in several different kinds) of malware attacks (like 3 or 4 months worth) so I am really paranoid about on-line safety.

I buy books maybe twice (or on rare occasions three times) a year. Most other stuff (say computer related) my current needs are humble and rare.

Yeah I know I could have gone to say Tiger Direct or Amazon to purchase my new USB 3T backup drive but in the end I ended up going to the local Best Buy.

Side note: YEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS Books arrived at the store and I am consuming them now. Down for the count and the world can end and I would not know

[prjkt]

I can understand not liking the back risk - some I know get around that by using a pre-paid credit card, and only top it up with the amount they're spending at the time.

Also helps limit impulse purchases some sites try to snare you with.

In Aus though, it's different, the retailers themselves don't store card details at all, not sure if it's a difference in law or infrastructure?

We've also got a (relatively) new initiative for receiving parcels - called a "Parcel Locker" - where you give a personalised address at the local post office that has this facility, usually a 10 digit code as the first line of the address, followed by the PO's street address, and it goes to a bank of lockers you can access at any time of the day, even after the rest of the PO is closed. All you have to do is enter your ID/mobile number, and a six digit code sent to you when you receive delivery notification and the right door pops open.

Has really helped with the number of packages I receive (toy collector, receive them from all over the world.)