Exchanges with People that Make Your Brain Hurt

[EmmaJ.]

I was at Panera and had this mind boggling exchange (to the best of my recollection)

Me: I would like a large frozen caramel
Worker: We don't have a large frozen
Me: Hm... really?  I know I've ordered it before.
Worker: No, there is only one standard size.
Me: (baffled) okay, I guess...
Worker: well you can get the 20 oz
Me: Wait what
Worker: its an add on
Me:  so it's larger... but it's not a large.  So what is it called?
Worker: It's not called anything
Me: (gives up) okay... I'll have that....

I'm pretty sure she was a manager too, which meant that when I had some spectacularly bad service yesterday, I did the online survey instead of complaining directly to her.

I don't think that was "spectacularly bad service" she was trying to explain that they don't call it "large" because there is only one size.  The only reason you would need to specify that something was large is if there was a medium or small available as well.

But, if I'm reading this right,  it's not the only size...you can get an 'add on' to bring it up to a 20 oz

Ah, sorry I misread that as the 20oz being the size she could get but that it was an add on to the  meal, like instead of a soda she could get the frozen caramel.

This is all hurting my brain......   

[Adelaide]

I went to a drive-thru and had no idea about their sizes but knew that I wanted the smallest coffee they had. I hurt the cashier's brain.

Me: "I'll take the smallest size coffee you have, black."

Him: "Uh...you'll take what size coffee?"

Me: "Small? Tall? The smallest one you have."

Him: "Well our coffee comes in Regular, Medium, and Large."

Me: "The Regular."

[Luci45]

When we are talking with each other about the cost of something, the conversation is between just the two of us, I say "That is $15 dollars," or "That is $30,000," or "That is $200,000", and the salesperson interupts and says, "No, $14.99," or "$29,995,"  or "$199,900."

I used to try to explain that I was just making it easier for me to think about something, estimate additional costs, and the percentage is almost insignificant, but finally gave up. Be it a shirt, a car, or a house, the sales person seems to think that a penny, 5 bucks, or $100 dollars is going to make a difference on how we think and decide on a purchase.

Now, we've just given up and say not to worry about it, we are thinking out loud.

[jedikaiti]

I was at Panera and had this mind boggling exchange (to the best of my recollection)

Me: I would like a large frozen caramel
Worker: We don't have a large frozen
Me: Hm... really?  I know I've ordered it before.
Worker: No, there is only one standard size.
Me: (baffled) okay, I guess...
Worker: well you can get the 20 oz
Me: Wait what
Worker: its an add on
Me:  so it's larger... but it's not a large.  So what is it called?
Worker: It's not called anything
Me: (gives up) okay... I'll have that....

I'm pretty sure she was a manager too, which meant that when I had some spectacularly bad service yesterday, I did the online survey instead of complaining directly to her.

I don't think that was "spectacularly bad service" she was trying to explain that they don't call it "large" because there is only one size.  The only reason you would need to specify that something was large is if there was a medium or small available as well.

But, if I'm reading this right,  it's not the only size...you can get an 'add on' to bring it up to a 20 oz

dawbs is correct - there is a standard size and then there is a larger size, not to be confused with a large, because that is not what they call it.  Never mind that I have been ordering it as a large for probably over 10 years now.

And just to clarify, this was not the spectacularly bad service - it was another encounter that I didn't bother complaining about to management.  I will share it in another thread when I get the chance.

I just made my own brain hurt - I read it as a large frozen camel, not caramel, and was wondering what you were masking, or if Panera had started stocking whole animals.

[mbbored]

I went to a drive-thru and had no idea about their sizes but knew that I wanted the smallest coffee they had. I hurt the cashier's brain.

Me: "I'll take the smallest size coffee you have, black."

Him: "Uh...you'll take what size coffee?"

Me: "Small? Tall? The smallest one you have."

Him: "Well our coffee comes in Regular, Medium, and Large."

Me: "The Regular."

I have this conversation all the time and it drives me crazy. How hard is it to translate "smallest coffee you sell"? And do they really think good customer service is being condescending to customers who haven't memorized their lingo?

[PeterM]

When we are talking with each other about the cost of something, the conversation is between just the two of us, I say "That is $15 dollars," or "That is $30,000," or "That is $200,000", and the salesperson interupts and says, "No, $14.99," or "$29,995,"  or "$199,900."

That would drive me insane. I fully understand why stores price things at $99.99 instead of an even $100, but I think if a salesperson kept insisting on the difference to me I'd ask them to explain, at length and in depth, the significance TO ME of that extra penny, and why they seem utterly convinced that it's so important.

[KimberlyM]

When we are talking with each other about the cost of something, the conversation is between just the two of us, I say "That is $15 dollars," or "That is $30,000," or "That is $200,000", and the salesperson interupts and says, "No, $14.99," or "$29,995,"  or "$199,900."

That would drive me insane. I fully understand why stores price things at $99.99 instead of an even $100, but I think if a salesperson kept insisting on the difference to me I'd ask them to explain, at length and in depth, the significance TO ME of that extra penny, and why they seem utterly convinced that it's so important.

My husband does the opposite, it drives me nuts.  He'll ask me to stop and pick something up for him and say there are several of them, I want the one that is $10.  So I buy the one marked $9.99, he apparently meant the one that was $10.99, because that's $10.  I am forever trying to explain that no, that's $11.  No big deal on something small, but when you get into bigger numbers and he starts talking about how we should buy something that's $100 when in reality it's $189 or something, that is nearly $100 difference!

[Adelaide]

I went to a drive-thru and had no idea about their sizes but knew that I wanted the smallest coffee they had. I hurt the cashier's brain.

Me: "I'll take the smallest size coffee you have, black."

Him: "Uh...you'll take what size coffee?"

Me: "Small? Tall? The smallest one you have."

Him: "Well our coffee comes in Regular, Medium, and Large."

Me: "The Regular."

I have this conversation all the time and it drives me crazy. How hard is it to translate "smallest coffee you sell"? And do they really think good customer service is being condescending to customers who haven't memorized their lingo?

The only explanation I have is that in the past people must have given given/charged for the wrong sizes, so the store is trying to cut down on wasted food. Unfortunately I think that in training "clarify what size the customer actually wants" comes across as "verbally flog the customer for showing the unmitigated gall of not knowing what our branded sizes are".

[Barney girl]

I've noticed that when people order in the coffee shop I often go into no-one uses their published sizes ( I can't remember what they are, but it some sort of fake Italian) and they all say small, medium and large.

[Snooks]

<snip>
My MIL, who is also in her mid 50's, is one of these people.  Doesn't even have an email address, whines about having a digital camera and won't use a computer.  Her sister is the same way and she's not even 50 yet.  Yanno, I can get being slow to adapt to cell phone technology, as I still don't have a smart phone and just fairly recently decided I want one.  But there comes a point where you can only fight against the progress so much. Computers are here to stay, might as well learn to use one.  No one said you have to be yoked to it, but they do come in handy.

I feel like saying that to people at work who have got at least another 15-20 years in the working world yet refuse to have any process put on a computer.

[Piratelvr1121]

DH had a ride along with the owner of a company before he got this job and the guy did ALL his paperwork on actual paper.  No computers at all.   DH came home and told me that and I found myself VERY thankful that this was not the only company that was interested in him and he had other choices.  I can just see the headaches that would bring, not to mention errors and lost paperwork.

[hjaye]

DH had a ride along with the owner of a company before he got this job and the guy did ALL his paperwork on actual paper.  No computers at all.   DH came home and told me that and I found myself VERY thankful that this was not the only company that was interested in him and he had other choices.  I can just see the headaches that would bring, not to mention errors and lost paperwork.

I worked for an armored car company for almost fifteen years, and even though I left in 1995, computers were being used by companies like UPS and Fed Ex to keep track of their packages and deliveries.  I know some of the upper management of the company I worked for did not like computers, that, plus the fact it would have been very expensive to implement a modern computer package tracking program meant we did everything using paper. 

It always hurt my brain that the company would try to put in multiple layers of responsibility and security to ensure that the bags of money that were picked up were properly routed and delivered, but since it always relied on human oversight, there would always be a failure somewhere in the system. 

They didn't want to spend the million or so dollars to implement a program that would better track and secure the bags of money they picked up, but all it would take would be one major loss and that would have paid for the program plus some. 

[Tea Drinker]

I would probably interrupt the salesperson and say "No, it's $15. I know you're trying to make me think it's fourteen, but it's not. Are you going to let me talk to my partner, or shall I make this purchase somewhere else?"

Those "xx.99" prices are specifically meant to make you underestimate what you're spending, and if I'm making decisions, I want to make them with good information. That's aside from the politeness issue of interrupting my conversation with my companion. This isn't "excuse me, but that model doesn't come in green" after I say I want a green widget--that's actual information that I might find useful.

[White Dragon]

The documents my office creates are in a large format: 11"x17" (Ledger).
Unfortunately, most office desks aren't sized for documents that large.
Folks make do.

Cue brain hurty conversation with my coworker:

Jed {via email} "Hey, can you please order me some 11x17 hanging file folders?"

Me {via email} "Sorry, but I'm not sure they actually make that size. Also, that size doesn't fit in our desks."

Jed then came over to my desk and opened the drawer. "See? It's the right size."
"Well, my desk is different than yours, and the documents won't fit in yours."

Jed "No, I'll show you"and he lead me back to his office.

Jed "See?" {holds up a file} "These fit in my desk."
Shows how file fits in his desk. Then he holds file beside one of the large documents.
Puzzled "Why doesn't this match?" 

Me "Um...because the file you're holding is 8 1/2 "x14" and the other document is 11"x17"?"

Jed {headdesk}.

Poor guy. He was just having a brain hurty day. We had a similar circular conversation about taxes and I kept explaining that 5% of the total was going to be the same amount as...5% of the total.

Yeah. He works with numbers. Does it show? 

[BabyMama]

Ha, I'm an editor and half our documents are printed on 11x17. I just sort of stuffed them into my hanging folders. It took me two years to realize that I could FOLD THE PAPERS IN HALF to make them fit. I actually exclaimed that out loud, in front of a coworker. Yeah, I felt super smart that day