It's not ALL about the snow! LOL

[hobish]

In the record store the other day i was trying to find a cd by a band my friend had played for me the day before. All i could remember was that it was a screamy band & that the name was long & kind of lame & might have had an "m" in it. Mr. Goblin suggested that i ask the guy behind the counter, but i said no for exactly the reason of not wanting to ask such a vague & silly question. Of course he did ask, and got the wrong answer, which left me going, "Hmmmm...i don't think that was it...." and feeling silly.

((It did have an "m" in it - it was Fear Before the March of Flames, the poor guy had thought maybe it was I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness ... both terrible band names IMHO))

MineralDiva, that sure does sound like an interesting job.

[MineralDiva]

It definitely is an interesting job.  Thankfully, it's rather quiet today.  But I did just get a call about snow!  LOLOLOL 

I told the woman that unfortunately, it's 60 degrees today and most of the snow from a week ago, is now gone.  "We've ordered more, but the warehouse is notoriously slow with their shipping process."  LOL

[MineralDiva]

I must say that this job has certainly made me re-think how I sound, when calling other businesses on the phone!

[Rei-chan]

I feel your pain MineralDiva!

I work for BigName Sporting Goods, in customer service.  The majority of the calls I get sound something like this:

ME:  Thank you for calling BigName Sporting Goods, this is Willow1979, how may I help you?
THEM:  Sporting goods department please....
ME:  I'm sorry sir, but the whole store is sporting goods, I'll need you to be more specific please....
THEM:  Oh, well guns please.
ME:  OK, please hold for the HUNTING LODGE.....

You would think that customers would get the names of the departments right since there are big signs hanging from the ceiling that say "Footwear" or "Hunting Lodge" but apparently not.....

[MineralDiva]

You would think that customers would get the names of the departments right since there are big signs hanging from the ceiling that say "Footwear" or "Hunting Lodge" but apparently not.....

Well, in all fairness to the caller, it is a little difficult for them to see the signs on the phone.    I wouldn't have known that the gun department is actually called the "Hunting Lodge" either. 

[Rei-chan]

You would think that customers would get the names of the departments right since there are big signs hanging from the ceiling that say "Footwear" or "Hunting Lodge" but apparently not.....

Well, in all fairness to the caller, it is a little difficult for them to see the signs on the phone.    I wouldn't have known that the gun department is actually called the "Hunting Lodge" either. 

LOL....I should explain a bit.....most of these callers were calling about rain checks they had, and you have to be in the store at some point to pick one of those up.......a new customer not knowing I would understand!   

[MineralDiva]

People are probably more used to the more "classic" descriptions of the various departments where they shop.  In a case where the gun department is called something else, I'd probably call and ask for the gun department myself!  lol 

Only because I don't have the inclination to keep track of whatever cutesy name the particular store I'm calling, gave the department that carries what I wanna buy! 

I can see how it could be frustrating to the person I'm calling though.  Good GAWD woman!  If you're going to be a customer here...and get a rain check even...at least have the decency not to call our Hunting Lodge, the gun department!  LOL

In that regard, I fear I'm forever doomed to be considered a Cretin, by the person on the other end of the phone line! 

[MineralDiva]

Come to think of it...that must be why I'm getting the calls and emails I do at my office.  It's my own personal Pergatory, for all the people like you, I've pissed off on the phone over the years, asking stupid questions and mangling department names!  LOLOLOL

I did this to myself!  And now I have the nerve to act surprised!  LOLOLOL

[kckgirl]

I went to a movie once and really liked one of the previews. However, after the fact I couldn't remember anything about it. A few days later my friend was going to the movies with her mother, and I asked her to watch for a preview for a movie I want to see. She asked me for info about it, but I couldn't tell her anything (subject, actors, nothing at all). I just told her that when she saw it she would know. She called me a few hours later and told me the name of the movie and who starred in it (she really knows me). We eventually saw it and, what a disappointment, the preview was the only good part of the movie and the rest was just average at best.

[IndianInlaw]

Musicwoman, I'm giving him full credit for asking where it was and not just saying "get me that thing will ya?"

[Slartibartfast]

In the record store the other day i was trying to find a cd by a band my friend had played for me the day before. All i could remember was that it was a screamy band & that the name was long & kind of lame & might have had an "m" in it. Mr. Goblin suggested that i ask the guy behind the counter, but i said no for exactly the reason of not wanting to ask such a vague & silly question. Of course he did ask, and got the wrong answer, which left me going, "Hmmmm...i don't think that was it...." and feeling silly.

((It did have an "m" in it - it was Fear Before the March of Flames, the poor guy had thought maybe it was I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness ... both terrible band names IMHO))

MineralDiva, that sure does sound like an interesting job.

Ooh, that was the best part about my previous job working in a bookstore (and now my current library) - I could actually answer some of the questions like that!  Our bookstore was pretty small and I've been a voracious reader ever since childhood, so I had read most of the books in the children's and young adult sections.  (Boxcar Children were just the right length to take in the storeroom with me for my 1/2 hour lunch break . . .)  I think my favorite questions were "I don't know what it's called, but it's about this thick, pink, and I think it has a heart on it" (Princess Diaries) and "He writes military books and I don't know the name or the title but he uses three initials" (W.E.B. Griffin).  The customers were astounded both those times when I found the right books :-)

I also get a lot of questions about book plots, like "a book where there's a boy who has a pet snake that gets onto a clothesline" or "the girl's mom makes lots of sweaters and can't sell them so the girl ends up wearing lots of sweaters with other people's names on them" or "a fantasy series I read when I was in grade school, I think the fourth book had wolf in the title."  (The Dark Is Rising, which doesn't actually have wolf in the title of any of the books, but the fourth one had a wolf on the cover in some versions.)  I sit here and cruise the Yahoo! questions boards in the "books and authors" section in hopes of answering more of these - it's like a great puzzle, and someone gets happy when you answer correctly :-D

[MineralDiva]

I too, seem to "specialize" in being able to satisfy whacky requests.  But even I have my limits!  LOL

[Rei-chan]

People are probably more used to the more "classic" descriptions of the various departments where they shop.  In a case where the gun department is called something else, I'd probably call and ask for the gun department myself!  lol 

Only because I don't have the inclination to keep track of whatever cutesy name the particular store I'm calling, gave the department that carries what I wanna buy! 

I can see how it could be frustrating to the person I'm calling though.  Good GAWD woman!  If you're going to be a customer here...and get a rain check even...at least have the decency not to call our Hunting Lodge, the gun department!  LOL

In that regard, I fear I'm forever doomed to be considered a Cretin, by the person on the other end of the phone line! 

Oops, I need to further clarify....I was annoyed by the fact that they ask for "sporting goods" when the entire store is sporting goods.....if they ask for the gun dept, that's ok....

[MineralDiva]

Oh!  Well yes, I'd find it irritatingly amusing, when people called to ask for the Sporting Goods department too!  DUH!  The whole place is...which corner of it can I transfer you to?  LOL