Sign of the Times
One thing I learned during my time in retail was that people don’t read. Oh sure, maybe I’d think differently if I’d worked in, say, a bookstore, but somehow I doubt it. You see I’m one of those people who likes to read every word they come across. The more I read, the more I know. I like to know things. I think it’s an off-shoot of my collecting-stuff issue. I know it, it’s mine.
Normal people, ie people not me, seem not to do that. When I was in the deli I lost count of the number of times a customer came up to the front of the counter and asked how much (insert product here) was despite the fact there was an A4-sized sign standing between them and me proclaiming the price in great, big letters. When I was on checkout it was the same but with the “Sorry I’m closing” or “12 items or less” signs.
You may be wondering whether I actually have a point. Well shame on you. I always have a point. My point is, this evening the Man of the House magnanimously agreed to take me to our local office supply store so I could resupply my office. Among other things I needed ink. So I headed straight for the ink department, while my printer model was still fresh in my mind. I selected my ink and turned to approach the counter. A bottle-blonde woman got there first much to my dismay. Why is the hair colour important? Well…
She had a problem. Well, not just the one, but we won’t get into that. Her immediate problem was for some reason she kept buying ink and it kept not working. She was putting it into her printer but her printer kept saying that she was out of ink. It was all very mysterious. How could it possibly be so? She seemed oblivious to the fact that the poor service assistant didn’t really know what to tell her. They’re just a retail store. They don’t do printer troubleshooting. She persisted and I stood there waiting patiently, idly wondering whether it at any point occurred to her to suggest he just sell me my ink and let me go on my way, until finally he decided to get rid of her by accepting her allegedly useless ink cartridge and offering her a new one, free of charge. He explained to her that if this one didn’t work it meant there was a problem with her printer. She agreed wholeheartedly and made off with her new ink cartridge.
That’s when I saw it. She had been leaning her elbows right on top of a giant, fluorescent pink sign saying “Please choose carefully, we do not replace or refund ink cartridges”. No wonder the guy behind the counter seemed so uncomfortable. I found myself wondering, did she not see it or did she “not see it”?
I bet if it had said “Free ink!” she would have spotted it even if it was the size of your average business card.
Tagged: attitudes.