Someone needs their hearing tested...

[SeasonalSlave]

Work was horrible in terms of sales today. Abysmal, even. I think I sold maybe three computers, if that. Customer wise, most were normal and a few very friendly. Had one guy with an air of impatience and superiority, but not outright sucky. Then, there was this old lady...

SS: Me, short and geeky
OB: Old Biddy
NM: Nice Mother
CW: Coworker

OB: *Looking at a certain laptop* Will this run my husband's program?
SS: What program is that, ma'am?
OB: Some program for his model trains. He gets it through a catalog.
SS: Hm... Do you know the name of the program?
OB: No... He gets it through a catalog. I don't know what it's called.
SS: Unfortunately, without knowing the specifications or the program name to look it up, I can't tell you for certain if that program will run on this laptop. Possibly, but there's no guarantee without the specifications.
OB: So his program will work on it? Okay, I'll take it.
SS: Again, I'm not certain if it will work. It would be better if you waited and found out the specifications, just to be certain.
OB: I'll take it.
SS: [*Sigh*] Very well ma'am. Let me just check to see if we have it in stock.
*Checks inventory on computer*
SS: Okay, we have plenty of these in stock!
OB:
(The next part is important)
SS: I'll go grab the laptop from the back. I'll be right back ma'am.
OB: All right.
*SS fetches laptop and returns*
NM: Excuse me ma'am, can you help me with a computer?
SS: Certainly ma'am! *Holds up laptop* Just please give me one moment, I'm helping another customer. Once I give her this laptop, I'll come assist you.
NM: Okay, thank you!
SS: *Looks all over computer department for the next few minutes; cannot find OB anywhere*
NM: *Still patiently waiting* Can't find her?
SS: No... I have no idea where she went... Well, I don't want to keep you waiting, so until she returns, what help do you need?

NM proceeds to explain her situation - two broken computers, looking for a new one. She has lots of questions, is semi-informed, and very friendly and listens to suggestions and is overall an awesome person. Her young kids were a little rowdy, but she kept them in line without much fuss. After helping her get a good idea of what kind of computer she needs, CW comes over.

CW: Hey, did you tell a lady to go to customer service to pick up a computer?
SS: No... Why?
CW: There's some old lady over there who says you told her to go to customer service to get her computer. She's not very happy.
SS: I... Said nothing remotely close to that. I told her I'd get her PC from the back and return. I looked around the department and couldn't find her, but I didn't want to keep other customers waiting. I have no idea where she's getting the customer service thing from.
CW: Some customers don't listen. Well, you might end up with a customer complaint, but don't worry about it. I'll let management know what happened.
SS: Thanks.

Unfortunately we didn't have NM's laptop of choice in stock, but I showed her where to find it on our online store so she could still get it. She thanked me for my help and was generally awesome. I never saw OB again or heard anything from my manager or the customer service people about OB complaining, so I'm unsure if anything'll happen from it. It still irritates me that she wasted the poor customer service team's time and made a fuss because she wasn't listening to simple statements.

[shadowpanda]

Some people just don't listen, but it's always somebody else's fault that the sales person didn't magically know where they were going

[Crossbow]

Some people just don't want to listen, but it's always somebody else's fault that the sales person didn't magically know where they were going

Fixed that for you.

[MoonCat]

Yeah, hearing test, stat. But that won't help with common sense...Bet the husband comes in looking to return/exchange it because it won't run his program..."She said you told her it would!"

[protege]

Sounds like someone uses a computer to control their train layout. Or, at least they've automated their signaling. Still, many of those programs assume that the installation is using an older computer...and don't require state-of-the-art electronics.

Back on topic, it wouldn't surprise me one bit, if the husband returned and screamed about the "inconvenience" of the program not working

[Ironclad Alibi]

OB: Some program for his model trains. He gets it through a catalog.
SS: Hm... Do you know the name of the program?
OB: No... He gets it through a catalog. I don't know what it's called.

Sounds like someone uses a computer to control their train layout. Or, at least they've automated their signaling. Still, many of those programs assume that the installation is using an older computer...and don't require state-of-the-art electronics.

I would guess it was a model railroad database program, a model railroad CAD program, or maybe a train simulator.