wrong size

[dawntazz]

I just have to share this with you.

I had o woman come in last night looking for window blinds. this woman was so full of life we will say,she came in asking for some help because she didn't know what size she needed:

sc: excuse me i need 14 blinds for my house

me: thinkin 14 damn. okay what size are the windows

sc: i don't know. if i open my arms they come to bout here

me: hmm okay lets see what we can find

sc: i think they measured 4'6" but i dont see any here like that

me:mam are you telling me they are 4 foot windows

sc: oh no they are only this big (holding out her arms)

me: ok mam that looks to be about 46 inches not four foot

sc: oh shit you mean i've been here looking for the last hour for the wrong size (she cracks up)

me: laughing i say if you've been looking for four foot blinds then yep

we laughed about that for about 10 minutes then her kids came up and asked what was going on so we told them. who doesn't love to laugh at there mom

[4Gifts4Lisa]

At least she laughed and didn't expect you to mind-read!

I went in to Home Depot once, my husband sent me to get nails. So I walk into the nail aisle...um, hello...there are 495835825842 different nails! I flag down some guy, and then pull the "husband-in-lingere-store-act". "Um, excuse me Home Depot guy...my husband needs nails. He is about your size. What size should I buy?" I was cracking up at the time, so the guy just laughed with me. Then I called my husband and asked "WTH? I am going to need some more info".

[powerboy]

Thank god, for when I go shopping for nails or screws, I take one that is the size I need with me, and just get the same size.

[Jester]

I am a guy, and I am a guy that can handle doing handiwork if I have to, but I am also a guy that can be very, very, VERY clueless about various things. My stepfather would qualify as a full-on handyman...I....would not. So, whenever I find myself heading into Home Depot or some similar store in search of a part, such as a nail or screw or what have you, whenever possible, I bring along the nail or screw or what have you that I need to replace/match/etc. I find the whole transaction goes much smoother when I can say, "Hi, I'm an idiot....but I need more of THESE."

I realize this doesn't work with every project, but when you can actually bring in a sample of what you are looking for, it makes everything much, much, MUCH easier.

Now pass me that wrench. I need to hammer in that screw.

[Seanette]

[giggle] You're making me feel very competent with hand tools, thanks, Jester.

I like the "take a sample to match" approach, especially for car parts if DH sends me on the parts run. Amazing how the counter guys at car parts stores take it in stride when a bewildered-looking customer comes up, hands them a plastic bag, and says "I need X of each item in the bag, please".

[chainedbarista]

yes! i've also found taking in the item to search for a similar/same item (if it's small enough) works well, or knowing the part number/color of paint/*insert applicable concept here* saves me time, but if i'm clueless, i ask, and try to get as specific as possible.

[dawntazz]

i'm very handy when it comes to repairs so most the time i dont need a sample pieces but i have taken just to be safe.

what i hate is when a female walks into a store thats mainly a guy hangout (for example advance auto) and all the clerks look past her to find the guy. then they look at u and say can i help you. as if u don't have a clue.

I look at them and say i don't know do u think u can tell me if u got this and say whatever i need.

i just love that stupid look they get

[symposes]

Imagine the fun of being an electrician apprentice and getting sent for sky hooks, left handed screw drivers, and wire stretchers.

WEeeeee

Btw, Skyhooks dont exsist, most screw drivers work well with either hand.
And wire stretchers... well... Wire stretchers are now an actual item. they are just a splice that is about a foot long, adding 1 foot to a piece of wire basicly.

[AFpheonix]

I guess when I hear wire stretcher, I think of a come-along, but I guess that's due to having to put up wire fencing before....

[Imogene]

Imagine the fun of being an electrician apprentice and getting sent for sky hooks, left handed screw drivers, and wire stretchers.

What? No elbow grease? Or headlight fluid? Or company line? None of the interesting stuff?

[Horsetuna]

I got sent once for a left handed card shoe at the casino.

They sent one of the new security guys for 'shoe grease' too.

I ended up walking ALL OVER the casino naively before it sank in.

My friend in the military in Europe says they've sent new people in between CITIES (hours by train) on such missions, usually paid for by the military. And they call ahead to the people in the new city to help keep the game going. I think they said their record was a guy searching for some sort of wing-cream stuff for three weeks.

[Lehk]

brb getting a bucket of compressed air

[friendofjimmyk]

How 'bout sending new servers to fetch the plastic frying pan or the can of steam for the cappucino machine?

[Rapscallion]

What? No elbow grease? Or headlight fluid? Or company line? None of the interesting stuff?

Sending someone for a benzene ring is good.

Rapscallion

[Jester]

The bucket of steam is a classic in the restaurant business.

I, however, got nailed by a good one when I was young and stupid(er).

The setting: My first job, the ice cream parlor. For those of you in the NE US, we are talking Friendly's. In this particular location, all of our tables were booths.

The players: Denise, the restaurant GM, who was one of the nicest people ever, and one of the best managers I have ever worked for; another manager, whose name is lost to the mists of time; Greg, the dishwasher; and a 16 year old Jester who had already impressed the management with my work ethic (which my mother didn't know I had.)

The time: Closing.

The situation: Denise came up to me near the end of the night, and asked if I had done the booth cleaning. "Why yes, all of them are wiped down, as always. Why?" No, no, no, she said sweetly. Once a week, she explained, we were supposed to take the seats from the booths back to the dishwasher to be run through and cleaned. The seats in these booths came right out, and the restaurant stored various things under them, like extra plates, etc. Seemed odd to me, as the seats were clean already, but he, Denise is the boss, right? So I start picking up the seats from the booths and hauling them back to dish, expecting that Greg will wash them, and I will put them back. A bit of a pain in the ass, but hey, I am the new guy...this is one of the things they do in a restaurant, right?

On about the third or fourth trip back, Greg looks at me, and says, "Jester, what the hell are you doing?" I told him I was bringing....the booth seats....back to...be......er......um................



Greg's look of told me someting was wrong. At this point I looked out front to see Denise and the other manager absolutely losing it, giggling like schoolgirls.



I realized immediately I had been had, laughed along with then, and went about replacing the booth seats that had no business being anywhere near the dishwasher anyway. (As Greg pointed out, they would not have even FIT through the dishwasher!) I vowed revenge on Denise.

I never did get that revenge.