RTFM or GTFO!!!!

[Dave1982]

I had to deal with a "customer" the other day who was....well, read on

SC (interrupting me while I'm carrying a HUGE armload of phones): Excuse me, do you have ca- ca- ca- ca- cah reyeeher?

His English was so poor that - apparently - he couldn't pronounce the "sh" sound. Greaaaaaat. He was asking if we carried cash registers for sale.

We do, so I showed him where they are (since we're supposed to bring the customer to the product, not just tell them where it is). He then stammered out (eventually) "How do you set this register for 8.25% sales tax?"

Me: "Sir, I do not know. The answer should be in the manual."

SC: "Manel?"

Me: The book? This comes with a book. That book will tell you how to do that.

SC: <broken English>How do you set this for 8.25?</broken English>

And around and around we went for a full 5 minutes at least. every time I tried ot explain that i don't know how to do that, he tried rephrasing the question. Clearly he was projecting his problem onto me. He couldn't understand what I was tellng him, so he assumed it was ME not understanding HIM! Listening to someone who's English is THIS poor trying to rephrase a question.........not fun.

Me: Sir, I understand that. You need to set the register for 8.25% tax. But I DON'T KNOW! You have to READ THE BOOK or CALL SHARP! (manufacturer).

SC *angrily*: Why?

Me: Why dont' I knwo how? Because I've never used one of those, and because we hardly ever sell these, and because we do not provide tech support in the store for them either.

Finally he whips out a cell phone and called his buddy down in Texas (he had mentioned that this was where the register was set up. Why the hell he was up here - in New Hampshire, a good 2000+ miles away- giving me grief about his own ineptitudes is totally beyond me). Then he thrust the phone in my face and demanded I speak to whoever he'd called. Only VERY reluctantly.....

Me: Hello?

Voice: babble babble babble babble babble babble babble 8 25 babble babble.

I just wanted to hung up on the guy. His English was even worse than the first guy's. In fact, I'm not even convinced he was speaking English to me. Where's a UNiversal Translator when you need one?

Me: Are you asking how to program your cash register for 8.25% sales tax?

Voice: Uhhhh.........yes?

Me: I do not know how to do that. You need to check you manual or call Sharp technical support. *hands phone back to SC*

SC *pissed*: THANK YOU!

Then he turned his back to me, and I walked away, back over to my department to warn the FNG and MOD about this guy, wishing that he would just leave.

Seriously. It's not like this is a small, specialty shop. Why do people expect that we have intimate workign knowledge of every singel product we sell? And why do they assume that we can provide tech support in the store? HELLO! NOT OUR JOB!!!!!! I mean really. All I am required ot know is the "selling features/points" of a product. Any info that i can give you beyond that is a gift, and NOT to be expected. Jeeze.

(For the record, I DO know a good bit more about a lot of the stuff we sell, just not about cash registers).

Painful. Almost physically painful.

[Sandman]

I"ve had a few of those customers in my store as well.

I"m over in the copy center right now helping out, and you would be surprised how many people don't bother to read where to put what they wanted to copy on the glass!


Oh.. btw.. the bablefish is still growing. Sooner or later you will be able to stick it in yourear.

[Gabrielle Proctor]

I can't stand that. We had some foreigner in here the other day that was arguing with me on these figurines. We have Papo and Schleich. Papo is on sale, not Schleich, but they're obviously the same thing and it's all on sale! He was trying to pretend he didn't understand me so I would get fed up and give him the discount anyway. Nope. Not gonna fall for it. We aren't corporate, I don't HAVE to sell you anything.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

While I can empathize with the frustrations of having to communicate with a person who shows difficulty explaining in a manner that can be understood, I'm throwing out a reminder to NOT allow this to turn into another bashing thread about people who don't speak the language (whatever it is) very well.



So far it's civil . . . let's keep it that way.

As a side note: bashing SC's is okay for sucky behavior.

[Tuxian]

On a side note, and anyone who's worked in a casino can probably verify this, it gets very, very annoying when you have a table full of people who barely speak english, ESPECIALLY when you have to explain the rules to them, and they just can't seem to understand.

And surprisingly, the one group that are the worst about this are the Vietnamese. I'm not bashing them, just pointing out that in my experience, they tend to have the worst manners, and many times have to be told by us, the dealers, over and over, night after night, that they cannot do something. It's the fact that they KNOW they can't do it, and yet think that they will somehow slip it past us that really annoys me. A lot of them play big money too, in the hundreds, if not thousands or tens of thousands, of dollars. This, of course, gives them some kind of superiority complex, where they believe that they don't have to follow the same rules as everyone else. Some examples of behavior I've seen, just in the last week.

- Trying to touch their bet after the hand is in play (usually to count the chips for a split/double down).
- On pitch blackjack, tucking their cards faceup, after being told they cannot do this, and my going out and turning them over and retucking.
- Pulling the cards out after they have tucked them and I have gone to another player (cards, once tucked, must remain so until the end of the hand when the dealer is comparing hands)
- Speaking in Vietnamese after having been told the table they are playing at is English-only (Pai-Gow Poker and the other poker-based carnival games).

You get the idea.

[JustADude]

A lot of them play big money too, in the hundreds, if not thousands or tens of thousands, of dollars. This, of course, gives them some kind of superiority complex, where they believe that they don't have to follow the same rules as everyone else.

Figures. They're big enough rollers to be superior assholes, but not big enough their egos have collapsed under their own weight.

I don't work in a casino, but my mother working for Duke University, and we've got some pretty unique family friends. I won't name-drop (they're private citizens, not celebs, and that's Just Not Right™) but I've been introduced some people who would consider $10,000 a hand penny-ante, and they're universally some of the nicest, most down-to-earth people you'll ever meet.

[workerbee222]

Well, he's buying the phones and cash register in NH because he'd have to pay 8.25% tax in Texas, that's why he's in your store...

[Sharsarannon]

\
And surprisingly, the one group that are the worst about this are the Vietnamese. I'm not bashing them, just pointing out that in my experience, they tend to have the worst manners, and many times have to be told by us, the dealers, over and over, night after night, that they cannot do something.
.

I know you probably don't mean anything serious by it, not like that but I'd like to gently point out that the bolded part of this is a bit contradictory, and politely request we refrain from sounding like we're categorizing a whole group of people based on a bunch of SC's. We wouldn't do that, and I know it wasn't your intent. Thx.

[Tuxian]

I know you probably don't mean anything serious by it, not like that but I'd like to gently point out that the bolded part of this is a bit contradictory, and politely request we refrain from sounding like we're categorizing a whole group of people based on a bunch of SC's. We wouldn't do that, and I know it wasn't your intent. Thx.

Sorry about that. I'll rephrase, then. The vast majority of the Vitenamese players we have are well-mannered (when sober), and know how to follow the rules. But there's always those few jerks that always seem to play on my tables that fit the profile I outlined above. I should have been more clear, and I apologize.

[Dips]

Well, he's buying the phones and cash register in NH because he'd have to pay 8.25% tax in Texas, that's why he's in your store...

I think it was worse than that. The cash register was already bought and installed in Texas. The guy just walked into the NH store demanding free tech support for something his friend in Texas purchased somewhere else.

I certainly feel that pain.

[Currently enjoying the last ten minutes of my vacation. ]

[Dave1982]

I think it was worse than that. The cash register was already bought and installed in Texas. The guy just walked into the NH store demanding free tech support for something his friend in Texas purchased somewhere else.

I certainly feel that pain.

[Currently enjoying the last ten minutes of my vacation. ]

That was most likely what he was doing.

Oh, and he wasn't buying those phones; I was stocking them (or trying to when he dragged me into this pain fest).