# Ever have to walk a salesperson through their own sale? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 17, 2006, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-to-walk-a-salesperson-through-their-own-sale/345003 "2006-02-17T21:16:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-to-walk-a-salesperson-through-their-own-sale/345003/41 "2006-02-28T20:49:58Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > I personally do it because it’s good to learn a new skill (especially since it’ll help me learn to sell myself **(shut up)** on job interviews), but the shit pay and bullshit from management is wearing on me. Was that a directive to us Dopers, or is that what you are learning to do on an interview? If it is not the latter, then know that it is often a good interview trait. Simply answer the question completely, then shut up and wait. Don’t feel you need to fill in a silent spot. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-to-walk-a-salesperson-through-their-own-sale/345003/42 "2006-02-28T23:06:22Z")
Two grocery store anecdotes: The store I usually shop at is a couple blocks from a BART (transit) station. This store sells BART tickets. Before my employer added the benefit of buying transit fares as a pre-tax payroll deduction, I bought my tickets at this store. Every week, I’d ask for one. Most of the cashiers knew what a BART ticket was, but some needed help, in which case I’d elaborate “Blue ticket, SKU 2205” and they’d be amazed that I’m so familiar with the thing that I’ve bought once a week for the past 35 months. Same store has one of those “membership” cards. If you save too much money on a grocery order, the system gets confused and the register locks up. Invariably, the cashier gets that deer in headlights look. I’ll ask “Does it say ‘Sum of entries’? You’ll need a manager’s override card.” This one’s not entirely the cashier’s fault. How is anyone supposed to equate “Sum of entries” with “This guy bought so much stuff on sale that the resulting discount is so much that you need to call a manager for an override”? Why didn’t the corporation make the message something like “Verify coupons” or even just “Override needed”? ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-to-walk-a-salesperson-through-their-own-sale/345003/43 "2006-02-28T23:13:57Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Was that a directive to us Dopers, or is that what you are learning to do on an interview? If it is not the latter, then know that it is often a good interview trait. Simply answer the question completely, then shut up and wait. Don’t feel you need to fill in a silent spot. > [/hijack] I would wager that she was directing that towards all of us childish fools. Hehe…she said she’s going to sell herself…LIKE A WHORE! Teehee 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-to-walk-a-salesperson-through-their-own-sale/345003/44 "2006-02-28T23:36:15Z")
I’ve been one of those salespeople. I received rudimentary training on the lottery machine when I started working at the truck stop several years ago. This is how you print a Powerball, this is how you print a Lotto, this is how you do a Pick 3, and so on. I muddled along until one day an elderly gentleman came in and wanted 25 Pick 3s, consecutive draws, quick pick, same number each day, straight/box. He noticed my deer in the headlights look, smiled patiently, and proceeded to walk me through punching in his tickets. Bless his heart. Thanks to him, within a few days I could punch out any kind of lottery ticket anybody wanted with my eyes closed. Except winning ones. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-to-walk-a-salesperson-through-their-own-sale/345003/45 "2006-02-28T23:36:25Z")
There’s a guy at my work who is a “senior” and not a native english speaker. He is in charge of shipping. It is the most painful thing to watch in the entire world. First of all, he refuses to call anyone on the phone because they can’t understand him (his english is very poor and his accent is nigh undecipherable). But since he doesn’t really use email, he just makes other people call when it is necessary. Way to do your job, guy. (So what do we do? Hire another non-native english speaker to be his assistant! Yay! :rolleyes:) On top of that, he is a hunt-and-peck typer and can’t remember anything so each time he does something it’s like he’s learning it all over again. When I watch him fill out a pickup order on the FedEx website using the company account, I want to claw my eyes out because it takes him ten minutes to finish, when I could have easily done it in the space of two minutes, max. Talk about inefficient. I just wish we’d hire someone who is computer literate and able to communicate - we’d get at least twice as much done in half the time. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-to-walk-a-salesperson-through-their-own-sale/345003/46 "2006-03-01T00:35:30Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I would wager that she was directing that towards all of us childish fools. > > Hehe…she said she’s going to sell herself…LIKE A WHORE! Teehee 😃 I knew that…get it from my daughter all the time. Was being nice and giving her an out. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-to-walk-a-salesperson-through-their-own-sale/345003/47 "2006-03-01T00:44:24Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > Oh, no-I’ll give you a pass on the glasses and the xenophobia–I’m calling you on _this_ --YOU GAVE A VACUUM CLEANER FOR CHRISTMAS!!! > > Did you at least wrap the damned thing? Hey, back during my days selling vacuum cleaners at Sears, I met a gold who gave a vacuum cleaner to his wife for Valentine’s Day. I begged him not to. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-to-walk-a-salesperson-through-their-own-sale/345003/48 "2006-03-01T02:05:14Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > I knew that…get it from my daughter all the time. Was being nice and giving her an out. Uh, that would be why I had the parenthetical “shut up” after saying it’s good for selling myself. Thought it’d be clear that I knew the phrasing was a bit of a double entendre (btw, it took until reading **Diosa’s** reply to understand what you meant in that post. The wording was extremely confusing). ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-to-walk-a-salesperson-through-their-own-sale/345003/49 "2006-03-01T02:40:14Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#): > > Hey, let me know if you find any. I assume you mean the ones about an inch across. I might need some myself. > > Apologies to \*\*Hampshire \*\*for the hijack. Home Depot does in fact sell them but I can’t remember the size off the top of my head at the moment. From your location I’m gonna take a guess that you’re in MA. I work at one in MA, in the flooring department. If you need any help, send me an e-mail. I’ll be happy to help. Unlike many retail companies, HD actually spends a vast amount of time and money training it’s employees. In the 3 months I’ve been there, I’ve probably spent over 80 hours in training - both web based and actual classes. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-to-walk-a-salesperson-through-their-own-sale/345003/50 "2006-03-01T03:51:56Z")
The other day I grabbed breakfast at a little place nearby and payed with my debit card. The cashier handed me the keypad. > [@](#): > > Keypad Display: **PURCHASE $13.90 – OK? Y/N** > > Me: **Y.** > > Keypad Display: **TIP REQUIRED? Y/N** > > Me: **Y.** > > Keypad Display: **PLEASE ADVISE CLERK OF TIP AMOUNT.** > > Me: Can you put a $3.00 tip on there? > > Cashier: Okay, sure. [tappity tappity tappity] > > Keypad Display: **PURCHASE $13.90 > +TIP $0.01 TOTAL $13.91 – OKAY? Y/N** > > Me: Um, you’ve put a one-cent tip on there – that’s a little stingy, isn’t it? > > Cashier: Oh, I’m sorry, I owe you a penny. > > Me: Huh? > > Cashier: I owe you a penny. > > Me: But I wanted to put a $3.00 tip on that. > > Cashier: Thanks. > > Me: So, can you do that? > > Cashier: I did. > > Me: No, you put one cent in. See? It says so right here. > > Cashier: Oh, that’s okay then. > > Me: Um, you’re not my server. I _really_ don’t want to stiff her for the tip. > > Cashier: Uhhhh… > > Me: (Leaning over) Look-- push _this_ button. “Cancel.” Now… WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Kiminy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Kiminy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiminy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-to-walk-a-salesperson-through-their-own-sale/345003/51 "2006-03-01T04:23:12Z")
> [@SmackFu](#): > > The checkers at the local grocery store just love to guess at the identity of my produce. I understand it can be confusing since it’s in a bag, but choosing something that’s not on sale and twice as expensive just doesn’t work for me. I don’t particularly enjoy watching them to correct their error. > > Sometimes they even screw up fruit, which is just laziness since the sticker says what it is. My own experience with this kind of thing is that they look quizzically at the item in question, try to match it to their picture card, then finally ask me what it is. I then typically have to spell it for them. When that doesn’t work, I ask to see the card and point it out to them. For really unusual things–like daikon or Nappa cabbage–I can be tolerant with this process. For things that are more common, like garlic or kiwi, I have a very hard time understanding why they don’t recognize it yet. What I _really_ hate though is when they ask me what it is, _then argue with me_! Nappa cabbage and bok choy are _completely_ different vegetables, just as mangoes and papaya are _completely_ different fruits, so why would they even _think_ about telling me that the card has the “wrong” picture on it??? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-to-walk-a-salesperson-through-their-own-sale/345003/52 "2006-03-03T18:34:56Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > These are never bad and I don’t expect every Radio Shack employee to know what every obscure cable is. Do you expect them to know what one of [these](http://www.kmart.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=101800&No=12&Ne=110&Nao=12&nomerch=1&pCategoryId=110&N=1171&Nty=1&categoryId=1171&gpCategoryId=89) is? Maybe I wasn’t clear when I said I needed the box that the round phone line attaches to, with a spot for a regular phone cord to plug into. He tried to sell me something vaguely related to telephones for $10. After I left and got it for $2 at Kmart, I was tempted to go back and show him what I had been talking about. Instead I opted to never go back to Radio Shack. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-to-walk-a-salesperson-through-their-own-sale/345003/53 "2006-03-03T18:51:19Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Do you expect them to know what one of [these](http://www.kmart.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=101800&No=12&Ne=110&Nao=12&nomerch=1&pCategoryId=110&N=1171&Nty=1&categoryId=1171&gpCategoryId=89) is? Maybe I wasn’t clear when I said I needed the box that the round phone line attaches to, with a spot for a regular phone cord to plug into. He tried to sell me something vaguely related to telephones for $10. After I left and got it for $2 at Kmart, I was tempted to go back and show him what I had been talking about. Instead I opted to never go back to Radio Shack. I had to read that twice. I thought you were upset with me at first. 🙂 As long as you ask, not only should any employee of Radio Shack know what that was, they should still be hanging up in the phone section of the store. The RJ45 Wall adapter was one of the Bread-n-Butter items at Radio Shack. I was asking for a Serial Null Modem, Computer stores clerks might look at me cross-eyed for that one. Jim {Yes, I am also an electronics geek} ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-to-walk-a-salesperson-through-their-own-sale/345003/54 "2006-03-03T19:11:55Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > I had to read that twice. I thought you were upset with me at first. 🙂 No way! > [@What Exit?](#): > > As long as you ask, not only should any employee of Radio Shack know what that was, they should still be hanging up in the phone section of the store. The RJ45 Wall adapter was one of the Bread-n-Butter items at Radio Shack. See, that’s the part that’s sort of my fault. I normally say “just looking” and steadfastly refuse help. If I had followed my MO, I would have eventually found the item in question. However, this guy approached me expressing doubt that I had chosen the correct cordless phone batteries and then flummoxing me with the rest of the jack confusion. I ended up just putting everything back and leaving because I got so irritated. Now I just buy batteries et al on-line and save us all the trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-to-walk-a-salesperson-through-their-own-sale/345003/55 "2006-03-08T19:09:26Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Instead I opted to never go back to Radio Shack. Business owner chiming in here. If you popped back into Radio Shack, asked for the manager, and explained what happened, he/she might be able to fix the problem. Responsible business managers _want_ to know about problems. If you simply stop going, they don’t know why–they just lose the business. I’ve been profusely thanked and even given free stuff (and/or discounts) when I’ve done that, and I try to do the same for my own customers. As for the Radio Shack specifically, there are good ones and bad ones–and even the good ones can have bad employees. There’s an independently-owned RS in our small town, and their service and knowledge are exceptional. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-to-walk-a-salesperson-through-their-own-sale/345003.md?page=2)