let's mix and match the different possibilities

[vacation_rentals_suck]

Guest: Hi Dave, my husband and I want to come down September 6 for the week and we want your nicest home and we want oceanfront

(I tell her what I have)

Guest: well is that all you have?

Me: for oceanfront homes, it is

Guest: well if being oceanfront is going to limit my options, I would consider being off the beach too and I am not limited to those dates either if that will help you. Lets mix and match all the different possibilities

Me: ok when did you want to check?

Guest: well we can come in winter, spring, summer, or fall....the possibilies are endless and it could be a villa too

Me: one bedroom?

Guest: or two or three or four.....like I said I want to know all the possibilities

Me: well there are only two of you so I think a one bedroom would work best

Guest: yea but I mean I am open to other suggestions....I a extremely flexible

So we check that week

Guest: ok now I heard there was a restaurant called Island House there

Me: yes ma'am it's right next to the bridge connecting this isand to the next one

Guest: oh there is an island right next to you....well lets look at that area too. Lets leave no stone unturned and I dont just want you to say "here is what's available", I want suggestions and input from you.
(damn why did I open my big f___ing mouth)

An hour and a half later

Guest: you know what, Dave, I think we do want to have a house right on the ocean after all but I think we will rent with your competitor as we always have in the past but I appreciate you checking for me.

[UncleImpy]

I've read your stuff for a while now, and while I know it would bring the entertaining stories to an end, I HAVE TO ASK:

Why in all that is colored purple do you still work there???

[Evil Queen]

Why in all that is colored purple do you still work there???

This is over several years (I think) and the OP enjoys this job a lot when the SCs are out and about; away from him.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

You see I would have just told that guy he can see all the availability on our website or if he tried to hit me with the "but I don't have a computer" line I would simply say I do not have time to go over EVERY SINGLE one of our properties in such detail at this time.

90 minutes and then he goes to your competition. This is a fucknut who should have decided where he was renting BEFORE he ever picked up the phone and wasted your time.

[smileyeagle1021]

oh when I was in the call center I HATED people like that. You know, I didn't mind the people who would do things like "I looked online, I saw a few locations that I was interested in and was wondering if you could help me figure out which would work best"... because that's why I was there, I was there to answer the questions not readily available on the website and quite frankly answer the questions that required judgement calls that would be impossibly to program into a website... but it shot me up the wall when people would say "hey, I'm thinking of going to San Diego, can you tell me about all your properties there"... umm, there are 26... chose at least an area to narrow it down for me asshole.

[Gerrinson]

Gah, reminds of when I worked in reservations at the inn. I was just about to shut down and clock out for the night when my favorite bellhop (who is now over in Iraq ) came in and told me there was a guest on the line who was 'desperate' for a room tonight. My manager told me I could go into OT to take the call if they were desperate, since I was better at assigning rooms than the desk staff.

I took the call, turns out she wanted two rooms for an entire weekend, THREE MONTHS in the future. I then spent 45 minutes going over options and packages to get to the part where she says 'well, the friends that will be staying with us aren't here to talk about it, so we'll book later after talking it over with them.' Guess she was really desperate for that room, alright. Bitch.

[MadMike]

Guest: you know what, Dave, I think we do want to have a house right on the ocean after all but I think we will rent with your competitor as we always have in the past but I appreciate you checking for me.

And people like that are only alive because it's illegal to murder them.

[AnaKhouri]

Wow, that sucks! We sometimes have people like that call the bookstore, but not about rooms of course. Yesterday this woman called wanting prices on 3 titles. 3 titles turned into 6. Then "Just one more..." Well, one more turned into 3 more. In the end I checked nine titles for her, all out of print or available to order. But NO, she doesn't actually want to order of them, she just wanted the prices. I spent 25 minutes on the phone while actual customers who were going to BUY books had to wait for me to help them.

I don't usually mind helping people look up a million titles...as long as they tell me right off it will take a while. Don't LIE to me at first and then drag it out!

[zigcat]

At the pizza place we have an extensive topping and combination list. It always used to irk me when people would call in (busiest times of course) and want me to run down the entire list only to have them order a pepperoni and mushroom (that's what they had in mind all along) or tell me they'd call back.
Now I just refer them to a third party website that handles online ordering for the U.

[guitardude1987]

I think the longest I've ever been able to stay on a phone with someone doing "research" is twenty minutes. I work in retail, so this "research" included me doing several price checks on Hotwheels merchandise...I finally told the guy that I had other things I needed to be doing...and hung up.

[thehippie777]

This conintues my theory that the majority of society wishes someone to hold their hand all through life, cuz decisions are tough!!!

[RetailWorkhorse]

Guest: you know what, Dave, I think we do want to have a house right on the ocean after all but I think we will rent with your competitor as we always have in the past but I appreciate you checking for me.

....

*Stabbity-stabbity-stabstabSTAB!*

[eltf177]

Sounds to me like this dry pool diving member was just looking for price matches and never had any intention of renting from you in the first place!

[Apathy]

cuz decisions are tough!!!

They sure are!

There's such a thing as being to flexible. Pick an option, people.

[Catwoman2965]

I get that with searching other stores for certain sizes and colors...or to see if something in the catalog is in the stores as well. When we search, we have to search by specific size and specific color. So i have to ask, what size and color, as our system won't just pull up generally whether or not we have an item in blue or green. We also can only search by district, state or region, but not the whole US at one time. So if its an item a customer really really really wants, i sometimes have to do many searches!

customers will get pissy when I ask, but hey, you want the info, you have to help me out a bit. and if you want that item THAT badly, you will have to be patient while I search each region, and don't tap your fingers, huff and puff or make any other impatient sounds or gestures.