A regular customer made my brain reboot itself today.
[back story]
Once upon a time, before cs.com went down due to some kind of hack, I posted a story about Ramblin' Man. He comes into my store quite regularly. He can talk for-ev-er. I know I just posted about a guy who had to ask his entire question before hearing any response I made, but Ramblin' Man is different. He understands the social cues that mean "I know what you're saying." He just doesn't understand the social cue that means "I don't want to talk to you any more" or the similar one that means "I'm walking away and ignoring you."
Ramblin' Man spent a great deal of time with me once, babbling about computer stuff, how smart he is, how tech savvy he is, how tech savvy his mom is not, how he still lives in her basement and just bought her old car, what kind of monitor and computer and graphic card he wanted, what DVDs he owns, how his girlfriend just dumped him and stole half of his DVDs, all the stuff he downloads from LimeWire, and on and on and on. He bought nothing.
A few months later, he came in with his mom and convinced her to buy him a new computer package. It was about $2000. He told her he "needed" it all. I didn't have to help him that day, but one of my co-workers must have spent over an hour with him. And I overheard the part of the conversation where he detoured from graphic card options to the synopsis of his favorite Babylon 5 episode.
I've seen him in the store a few times since then, but not much. He's usually just looking at movies or video games, and I try to avoid him. I can usually succeed, but, I guess since I spent so much time with him before, he now thinks I'm his friend. If he catches me, I'll be polite and helpful like a good little employee, but I'll find an excuse to disappear into the stockroom as soon as I can and work back there until I figure he's gone.
[/back story]
Now that you understand all that, perhaps you'll understand one of the reasons why I made a WTF face today.
I'm talking with a nice couple about a computer for the husband's parents. Suddenly, I spot Ramblin' Man. I cringe, hoping he doesn't try to pull me away from this couple for a "quick question." Ramblin' Man spots me, smiles, and starts walking down the aisle toward me.
I'm doomed.
Ramblin' Man speaks: "You need to get a job!" Then he laughs, and walks away.
Me: ... ?
Brain Error. (A)bort, (R)etry, (F)ail?
The customers were a little confused, too, and they laughed about it. After all, I was at work, in my uniform, and working, and it was obvious that I did, in fact, have a job.
What really threw me for a loop, though, was that he spoke one sentence. Just one! That was it! And then he was gone! Not that I'm complaining or anything; it just was not at all what I expected.
Just had to share.
[back story]
Once upon a time, before cs.com went down due to some kind of hack, I posted a story about Ramblin' Man. He comes into my store quite regularly. He can talk for-ev-er. I know I just posted about a guy who had to ask his entire question before hearing any response I made, but Ramblin' Man is different. He understands the social cues that mean "I know what you're saying." He just doesn't understand the social cue that means "I don't want to talk to you any more" or the similar one that means "I'm walking away and ignoring you."
Ramblin' Man spent a great deal of time with me once, babbling about computer stuff, how smart he is, how tech savvy he is, how tech savvy his mom is not, how he still lives in her basement and just bought her old car, what kind of monitor and computer and graphic card he wanted, what DVDs he owns, how his girlfriend just dumped him and stole half of his DVDs, all the stuff he downloads from LimeWire, and on and on and on. He bought nothing.
A few months later, he came in with his mom and convinced her to buy him a new computer package. It was about $2000. He told her he "needed" it all. I didn't have to help him that day, but one of my co-workers must have spent over an hour with him. And I overheard the part of the conversation where he detoured from graphic card options to the synopsis of his favorite Babylon 5 episode.
I've seen him in the store a few times since then, but not much. He's usually just looking at movies or video games, and I try to avoid him. I can usually succeed, but, I guess since I spent so much time with him before, he now thinks I'm his friend. If he catches me, I'll be polite and helpful like a good little employee, but I'll find an excuse to disappear into the stockroom as soon as I can and work back there until I figure he's gone.
[/back story]
Now that you understand all that, perhaps you'll understand one of the reasons why I made a WTF face today.
I'm talking with a nice couple about a computer for the husband's parents. Suddenly, I spot Ramblin' Man. I cringe, hoping he doesn't try to pull me away from this couple for a "quick question." Ramblin' Man spots me, smiles, and starts walking down the aisle toward me.
I'm doomed.
Ramblin' Man speaks: "You need to get a job!" Then he laughs, and walks away.
Me: ... ?
Brain Error. (A)bort, (R)etry, (F)ail?
The customers were a little confused, too, and they laughed about it. After all, I was at work, in my uniform, and working, and it was obvious that I did, in fact, have a job.
What really threw me for a loop, though, was that he spoke one sentence. Just one! That was it! And then he was gone! Not that I'm complaining or anything; it just was not at all what I expected.
Just had to share.
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