Missing the (decimal) point...

[PatchO'Black]

Haven't posted much lately, but this one was too good to share. A customer called in, asking questions regarding a television. One of them was about the dimensions of the unit. I looked it up, and told him something like "32.82", which is exactly what the manufacture listed it as.

He then asks "What does the .82 mean?"
A bit confused, I replies, ".82 inches".
His response? "There is no such thing as .82 inches! What does that .82 mean?"

That's right. According to him, there is no such thing as measuring inches in decimals.

I tried to explain further, that it was another way of writing "82/100th of an inch", but then he used this gem: His ruler didn't have such a marking on it, thus there wasn't such a measurement. He then decided that, since I could not explain what the .82 was, he would get the television from some other company that did.

Personally, I think we dodged a bullet, as if he didn't understand that there are more ways to measure things than with his ruler, what other complaint his ignorance might bring...

[Sheldonrs]

I have a feeling this isn't the first time his ruler deceived him. LOL

[Argabarga]

OBEY DECIMALS! THE POWER OF 10 COMPELS YOU!

And a frightening number of people these days have no idea what expressed percentages mean, they aren't sucky about it per se, but it's still distressing when you say a quarter, and someone doesn't know that means 25% or 1/4

[notalwaysright]

OBEY DECIMALS! THE POWER OF 10 COMPELS YOU!

And a frightening number of people these days have no idea what expressed percentages mean, they aren't sucky about it per se, but it's still distressing when you say a quarter, and someone doesn't know that means 25% or 1/4

As someone who deals with this stuff a lot, I concur. Some don't know how to say fractions out loud. If they say "one and a fourth" they are getting 1.25, or 1 1/4. Then (after confusion) I realize they meant to say "One fourth" or 1/4.

Or they get confused when the cutting slip says 1.667. "But I asked for five feet!" "Yes, we work in yards, and one yard is three feet, so you needed one yard plus two thirds of a yard." "This is 1.667! That's not five feet!" And I basically need to explain that 3+2=5, and 2/3 as a decimal is .667, and I feel an ulcer coming on...

[prjkt]

Or they get confused when the cutting slip says 1.667. "But I asked for five feet!" "Yes, we work in yards, and one yard is three feet, so you needed one yard plus two thirds of a yard." "This is 1.667! That's not five feet!" And I basically need to explain that 3+2=5, and 2/3 as a decimal is .667, and I feel an ulcer coming on...

That's why I'm glad we don't use the imperial measurements for much (just photo sizes)!over here any more
SI units make it a little easier to explain, but then there are those that just don't listen to any reason/common sense...

[Evannah]

I hate the fact that he more-or-less treated you as if YOU were the stupid one.

[Aldro]

Or they get confused when the cutting slip says 1.667. "But I asked for five feet!" "Yes, we work in yards, and one yard is three feet, so you needed one yard plus two thirds of a yard." "This is 1.667! That's not five feet!" And I basically need to explain that 3+2=5, and 2/3 as a decimal is .667, and I feel an ulcer coming on...

I'm so lucky I have yet to get any one arguing about the decimal amount on the cutting slips, though of course I do end up having to walk customers though their own purchases way too often. "You ordered two and a half yards of the fleece, so that's what this 2.5 means." It's terrifying that these people people are allowed to drive if basic logic eludes them.

[Mike Taylor]

Speaking as somebody who consistently got D's and F's in math in school, even I can grasp the idea that .82 is just a little over 3/4ths (.75) of an inch. Somebody was scoring lower than an F-.

[MoonCat]

Speaking as somebody who consistently got D's and F's in math in school, even I can grasp the idea that .82 is just a little over 3/4ths (.75) of an inch. Somebody was scoring lower than an F-.

Yeah, that's the way I look at it. I sort of round off to the next highest or lowest number. It tells me what I need to know, which usually just involves something like, "how close to a pound is this package of hamburger?"

[mathnerd]

Yeah, that's the way I look at it. I sort of round off to the next highest or lowest number. It tells me what I need to know, which usually just involves something like, "how close to a pound is this package of hamburger?"

Unless precision matters, I do the same thing, and I have a master's degree in math (that I earned with a 4.0GPA). Rounding is usually good enough.

[EvilEmpryss]

...I have a master's degree in math (that I earned with a 4.0GPA). Rounding is usually good enough.

Is that rounded up from a 3.8?

My kids will attest that I suck at fractions, yet I used to work in a fabric store and I can so statistics. When I worked at Annie Jo's, the conversion of measurements because automatic: inches and feet became fractions of a yard without even thinking about it. If I'd had to explain it, then I would have been in a world of hurt.

[mathnerd]

Is that rounded up from a 3.8? .

I walked into that one, didn't I? Though that was a precise number. I almost got an A- once, but then the professor realized he'd been grading me to graduate standards when I was still an undergrad and reworked my grade. (The class was a mix of graduate and undergraduate students but there were different standards for each level).

[Ironclad Alibi]

I tried to explain further, that it was another way of writing "82/100th of an inch", but then he used this gem: His ruler didn't have such a marking on it, thus there wasn't such a measurement. He then decided that, since I could not explain what the .82 was, he would get the television from some other company that did.

Speaking as somebody who consistently got D's and F's in math in school, even I can grasp the idea that .82 is just a little over 3/4ths (.75) of an inch. Somebody was scoring lower than an F-.

Actually 13/16 is another choice, which in decimal is .8125.

Or maybe 105/128, which is .820313.

That guy might find a ruler with 1/16 markings, but I doubt he would find one with 1/128 markings.

By the way, I do have a ruler with .82 on it. It is a drafting ruler divided by marks 50 to the inch.

[TheSHAD0W]

Just ask him if he's heard of a .45 caliber pistol, and ask him what he thought the .45 stood for.

[Kit-Ginevra]

Now...onto those shops that advertise their products as .99c ...