I don't care. Really, I don't want to know

[Zyanya]

Yes, we sell hand held showers. I will point you to the display and if you need, I can explain how to install one. That is really all the interaction we need to have on the subject.

No, I don't want to know what you were doing that caused you to break your old one.
No, I don't want to know what you intend to do with your new one.
No, I don't care about your medical issues that make you want a hand held shower.
No, I don't want to know about why your girlfriend wants you to have a hand held shower.
No, I really don't want to know if there is a vibrator attachment for that hand held shower. In fact, I think I now need to go stab out my eyes before that mental image wins.

And for the record, I do not need any of the following information to sell you a hand held shower:

The year you got married
How many wives you have had
Why you think Ford makes a better vehicle than Dodge
The details of your recent trip to the doctor
Why picking a color to dye your hair is such a trauma for you
What prescription medication you take
What non-prescription medication you take
What non legal medication you take
What medication you really should take but don't
Your opinions on gay marriage
What church you attend



This isn't kindergarten. You don't have to share anymore. Here is the hand-held shower display, I'm going to go find a liquor store now.

[Apathy]

I'm also not the person to:

complain to about someone else in the store (employee or otherwise)
complain to about the size/layout of the store
complain to that the handheld showerheads were not where you expected them to be

[Librarybabe]

I just put one in...

Actually, I installed one in my MIL's apt. bathroom on Sunday afternoon. It took all of 7 or 8 minutes. She wanted a "bare-bones" model, so even choosing one was really simple. I didn't even have to track down a CSR to find the store display.
Silly old man...

[Dilorenzo]

Ok, first parts, ew. Just... ew.

Second parts. I've never considered ever sharing any sort of information with a store employee. Sure, smalltalk while we're waiting for someone to come with the forklift, why not - after all, the weather needs to be talked about or it'll cause some sort of black hole to appear in the sky - but why on earth would someone feel that cars, church or drugs are in any way necessary for the purchase of... anything?

[Zyanya]

About two weeks ago, I had a woman in who was looking at patio furniture. She picked out the kind she wanted and I asked her if she was going to need help loading it into her car.

She burst out sobbing and ended up crying on my shoulder for almost half an hour. Turns out, her husband of 50 years had just died the week before and she was purchasing the patio furniture to donate to their church in his name. My comment had reminded her that he wasn't around to help her with heavy things again and that just triggered the outflow.

I also helped a guy in the early stages of senility with a faucet, and whenever he got distracted he'd spend five minutes telling me about his grandkids until he remembered what he'd come to the store for.

Sometimes, it's understandable. Occasionally a bit freaky, but understandable.


The guy that spent five minutes telling me about the nasty bowel reaction he'd had to some medication and what the results in the toilet looked like while I was showing him where the items to repair the toilet were? Yeah, not so understandable.

[Ringtail Z28]

- but why on earth would someone feel that cars, church or drugs are in any way necessary for the purchase of... anything?

I've always guessed that some customers are lonely and desperate for social interaction and feel that the employees must be too, since they also happen to be in the store at the same time they are.

[Eben56]

Yes, we sell hand held showers. I will point you to the display and if you need, I can explain how to install one. That is really all the interaction we need to have on the subject.

No, I don't want to know what you were doing that caused you to break your old one.
No, I don't want to know what you intend to do with your new one.
No, I don't care about your medical issues that make you want a hand held shower.
.

Sorry to disagree on this one.. While some of the sexual connotations are things we don't need to know... If you are selling hand held showers, you need to be able to guide them to the right one for their needs.

Customer service means you try to find the right product for the person you are serving. You don't have to put up with bullshit, but if I am going to provide you with the product you need, I need a little info.

If your biggest complaint is that people try to tell you why they need a product, then you are living a truly blessed CS life.

Sorry.. Just venting.

[Cyphr]

i do hope they meant a massager and not a vibator and if your looking for a vibrator go to the sex shop not Lowes' or home depot

[RetailWorkhorse]

No, I don't want to know what you were doing that caused you to break your old one.
No, I don't want to know what you intend to do with your new one.


No, I don't want to know about why your girlfriend wants you to have a hand held shower.
No, I really don't want to know if there is a vibrator attachment for that hand held shower.

THOSE *points up* are the ones I wanna know the answer to!

-Set Scene, Zayanya's store, RetailWorkhorse in attendence to the older man as posted in the Opening Post (this is seriously how I do business watch and be horrified!)-
RetailWorkhorse (in uniform and low-top sneakers): HOW did you break your old one?? Did you throw it against the floor or something?
I'd assume you were gonna use it to wash the dog. Ya want directions to the nearest pet place to get a really good shampoo? My pup used to use the kind with oatmeal in it! Made her skin feel all nice and cooled down.
If your girlfriends as the kinda migraines that my Mum and I get then I can understand why she would feel that you'd need a hand held shower thingy. It helps lessen the pounding so ya don't gotta take so many aspirins and did you know that with a hand held shower you can wash the bottom of your feet better? Makes it easier to wash the soap and stuff off your legs, too, and a quick rinse around the shower helps keep the soap scum down.
The vibrating attachment actually helps a lot if you got sore muscles from yardwork or heavy lifting, ya know. It's kinda like having a pro. Messuse give you a rub-down, and it helps your skin come back to regular temperatures if you're really cold. Something about the pressure points or some such thing, I never really stopped to think about it but you can be sure that I'm going to look into it tonight when I get off shift. Oh, you found what you're looking for? Would you like me to ring that up for you? Oh, you got someone else, huh, well okay bye! If ya got anymore questions just let me know!

-End Scene-

[Apathy]

If your biggest complaint is that people try to tell you why they need a product, then you are living a truly blessed CS life.

Very true, but I still don't want to hear about people's personal life.
"I can't reach my feet very well" isn't in the same vein as "I clogged my toilet after eating *food* which came out looking like *CENSORED*.

[42_42_42]

Gah! I used to get this all the time when I was a cake decorator. People would tell me their whole life story before *finally* getting to the point.

[thehippie777]

Prolly 3 out of 10 people who make reservations decide the details as to why they are staying in the hotel are important for the reservationist to know. At least that is the rough estimate I am taking for my hotel.

[It shouldn't]

Oh geeeezz YES!
I work at a locksmith, 1 out of every 3 callers feel the need to explain to me in detail why they need their locks changed.
1 in 5 will get into excrutiating detail about their soon to be ex- husband/wife/employee.

I found out if I stay very quiet once I have all their necessary info, not even an "oh" or "hmm" most of them get the point within 3-5 minutes that I'm not all that interested in their whinning. The ones that don't get the hint, I use the cell to call our other line and then excuse myself to 'answer the other line' and put them on hold indefinitely.