I need a battery for my solar calcuator.

[Project_Mars]

Sometime in February I had a rather annoying phone call involving a department I don't work in, but considering it's a thirty second walk, rarely has employees there, has locked pegs that I would need to go over to unlock anyways, and contains something most people think are in my department anyways (Calculators), I saw it to it's end anyways.

Me = Me
PG = Phone Girl. Make a note of this: It sounded like English was the first language she spoke. I mention this now, because I would like to note that there seemed to be nothing lost in translation.

Me: Electronics
PG: Hi, the battery on my calculator died and I need a new one.
Me: Okay, what kind of calculator is it?
PG: A formula one.
Me: *silently facepalming* Umm... what kind specifically.
PG: A Formula one.
Me: We have a couple different kinds, and i need to know what kind it is specifically so i can tell you what kind of battery it takes.
PG: Oh, well it's a *rattles off a number*
Me: Okay, let me go look for it, please hold.

I put her on hold and go look for the calculator, not finding one.

Me: Ma'am, I couldn't find one.
PG: Well you sold it to me.
Me: *a bit frustrated* Okay, well can you read off what the calculator says?
PG: It's a Casio T869
Me: I think I saw one of those, let me go double check.

I put her back on hold and go look for it again. This time i see it, and note one thing: It's a Solar Calculator.

Me: Ma'am, we do have that calculator, and it says here it's a solar battery, so all you need to do is leave it in the sun for a bit so it'll recharge.
PG: Yes, that's the one, what kind of battery does it take?
Me: We don't really sell that kind of battery, it's solar so that means it'll recharge in the sun.
PG: yes, Casio T869 Solar.
Me: Right, that means you don't really need to get a new battery, it's rechargeable.
PG: Yeah, my battery died, what kind does it take.
Me: We don't have that kind, it's an internal solar battery.
PG: right, Casio T869 Solar...

That kind of thing went on for a few minutes before i finally broke down and told her about a place a block from us called "Batteries Plus", and told her that if any place in town had that kind of battery, it was most likely to be them.

I still don't think she understood the concept of a Solar battery though... It's like she didn't want to hear logic or something.

[Magpie]

I'm confused. Do solar calculators charge the backup battery, or is it just that the model she had didn't have any battery at all?

[Project_Mars]

I'm confused. Do solar calculators charge the backup battery, or is it just that the model she had didn't have any battery at all?

As far as I know, it has just the one solar battery. Can't really open things like that to look, considering it's wrapped in a plastic case that you would need a sharp object to open.

[Andara Bledin]

Based on the conversation as presented, I'm fairly certain she didn't understand what "solar" meant. At all.

So, when you kept telling her it was a "solar battery" she heard "battery for a solar calculator" and not "battery that is charged by the sun."

^-.-^

[C-130]

My calculator has both a normal AA battery and solar battery. If it looses light to convert into power the calculator will revert to the normal battery.

This girl however was either failing to fire on all cylinders or was looking for ways to test you.

[bainsidhe]

Imagine having a similar solar-powered conversation, except the customer is asking if the calculator will work in the dark. Um, without light you wouldn't be able to read anything anyway. That conversation went on a few minutes too long.

[RetailWorkhorse]

Sounds to me like she was dickin' with ya.

But then I just heard a conversation over "y'all" and "you'in" in the c-store (Dad and I went for eggs since the Dollar General was out) and it gave me a headache.

[Darkforge]

It might be that the solar battery is faulty and no longer holds charge and so the SC actually needs a replacement solar battery, its unlikely but possible.

I remember the rigmarole I had to go through when I needed to replace the rechargeable battery in my wireless home phone after it got dropped and damaged. Everyone I spoke to just said "Its rechargable, you don't need a new one, just plug it into the base every so often" before hearing me out.