I know what you need, you idiot

[4thecatylist]

Yesterday I was stocking the STIHL isle when I saw a guy wandering around with a confused look on his face.

Me: Something I can do for you?
SC: Yeah, I was wantin' to know if this is the right blade. I've got a Stihl saw, but I don't remember the size it takes.
*Shows me an abrasive wheel for cutting steel*
Me: Yes, that will work. All Stihl chop saws use a 20mm arbor.
SC: Have you got any bushings? If I saw the bushing I could tell you if it was the right size.
Me: ... Well we have a few bushings, but I don't think we have one that will convert to or from 20mm.

*I take him to the bushings*

SC: I used to have a couple of orange bushings. If I saw 'em I'd know if I got the right size.
Me: Nope, it appears we only have 5/8ths to 3/4" adapters. Fortunately all Stihl saw use 20mm, so that blade will work without one.
SC: Do yalls rent a chop saw?
Me: Yes, it is right over here. We rent a sthil saw and we use a blade with a 20mm arbor.
*SC picks up a stihl brand blade meant for a different material*
Me: That will fit, but it is for cutting asphalt and ductile iron.
SC: Well, that's what I was gonna cut anyway.

Problem 1. I don't get it. Why, why, would you ask me a question if you aren't going to believe the answer. Is it because I am a girl? If I pulled our grizzly good-ol-boy mechanic away from his duties to tell you the same thing would you believe him?

Problem 2. Even if we has bushings to convert from 20mm to another arbor size, how would you know which one to get? I guarantee any adapter he picked up would be the wrong size.

Problem 3. There are only three things you need to know to buy an abrasive wheel. One of them is the material you are cutting. How did you manage to screw that up?

Also, a quick reference for anyone who wants more info.

http://www.stihlusa.com/construction/comparison.html

20mm is the only metric arbor size commonly available. How do you know your saw has a metric sized arbor? Because it was designed by German people!

[infinitemonkies]

Problem 1. I don't get it. Why, why, would you ask me a question if you aren't going to believe the answer. Is it because I am a girl? If I pulled our grizzly good-ol-boy mechanic away from his duties to tell you the same thing would you believe him?

Sadly, this will often be exactly the case for as long as you work with tools and/or technology.

Also, I don't recommend becoming a proctologist.

[bainsidhe]

There are only three things you need to know to buy an abrasive wheel. One of them is the material you are cutting. How did you manage to screw that up?

My guess? He grabbed the first thing he saw instead of looking to see which blade cut what material. And he probably knew something wasn't right about the blade (since it was for the wrong material), but he couldn't get past asking about the bushing.

And I don't saw squat, so nothing about the bushing/20mm/whatever made any sense to me.

[Teskeria]

After you tell him the second time, when the idiot asks a third you change the answer a bit. you add a male name "Hans, the company rep, mentioned when he was here that All Stihl chop saws use a 20mm arbor.[. So that one will definitely work for you. (Hans because it sounds German, so will make SC sense).
Now that it was said by a male, it will sink into what passes for his brain and hopefully he will leave you in peace.

[TonyDonuts]

"Why, why, would you ask me a question if you aren't going to believe the answer"

Because he's stupid.

A normal person, who didn't know something, will ask for an answer, receive the answer and then act on that information.

The stupid person, who doesn't know something, also doesn't know that he's stupid (how could he, he's stupid?), therefore if he doesn't know the answer, he's not going to really believe that anybody else will know either.

Hence the lack of trust in your answer.

Bonus points if you're a "little girl" answering questions about driving directions, personal computers, power tools, video games, video game consoles, cell phones, calamari (?), hand tools, cars, car repairs, yard work, or anything else, I guess.

And yes, asking questions if you're not going to believe the answer seems like a colossal waste of time and energy to me, too.

People are funny.

[Jester]

And yes, asking questions if you're not going to believe the answer seems like a colossal waste of time and energy to me, too.

Well, yes and no. In retail and customer service-related fields, sure. But there are times in life where we really don't believe the answer to a question, for whatever reason.

I famously asked The Brit to marry me several times, because each time she said "yes" I was in shock. (And the first time we were both smashed.)

[XCashier]

Bonus points if you're a "little girl" answering questions about driving directions, personal computers, power tools, video games, video game consoles, cell phones, calamari (?), hand tools, cars, car repairs, yard work, or anything else, I guess.

Unless of course, the questions regard "girly things" like floral, baby/children's items, and other things sexist yutzes consider "women's work". Then the male associate who assists them is the one who "don't know what he's talking about!"

Chances are, if someone works at that specific store, he or she has had at least some training about the products, or has an interest in them. So the lady working at the hardware store and the gentleman working at the fabric store most likely know what the hell they're talking about. Listen to them!

[Jester]

Unless of course, the questions regard "girly things" like floral, baby/children's items, and other things sexist yutzes consider "women's work". Then the male associate who assists them is the one who "don't know what he's talking about!"

Not that any of us work in retail, but....

If you approached my stepsister and myself about a car problem, she would be far more likely to know what the hell was the problem.

If you approached myself and my friends Little Red and Neets, both girly girls, and had a cooking question, I would be far more likely to be able to help you.

So thank the lords that I don't work in retail. (Though if I did, I would want to work in a place like Bed, Bath, and Beyond, or some other kitchen type store. The discounts alone would make it worth it......)

[Miss Maple Leaf]

I often wonder what those types of people make of the employees in my store. Out of all the employees in the Hardware department, only 2 are male, and one of them only works the rare shift, meaning that 95% of the time the only employees available to help them are female.

Also, half of our Sports department employees are female, and one of the males is only part-time, so once again they'd be more likely to get a female employee than a male one.

I should ask my coworkers if they ever get any of these types of customers.

[Mytical]

See for years I have been doing it wrong. . When I got to a place, and ask questions of somebody who works in say..hardware..I always assumed they would probably know more then me (or else why bother to ask them..). Male or female, didn't matter. Also assumed if they didn't know they would say "I don't know." what a fool I've been.

All the time I should have made sure to ask some random guy who may or may not know their head from a hole in the ground. For instance, you ask me about tools, cars, general 'handyman' questions, etc..you are putting your life at risk. Cause I know probably less then nothing.

[Sparky]

4thecatelyst, may I ask you a personal question? Are you actually married to this customer?

I ask because I can tell my husband something until I'm blue in the face and he'll never believe me. Then some man -- and it doesn't matter who; it could be his brother in law, a dude at work, a guy down the street, some guy who was picking up trash in a parking lot, whatever -- but some man will tell him THE EXACT SAME THING that I said, and he'll think it's gospel truth. It's a guy thing.

[4thecatylist]

I don't think I could stand being married to that guy.

It's funny, I don't usually get that kind of reaction from people. After about 4 years in a hardware store I have learned one of the most important skills: sound confident. Never stutter or hesitate mid-sentence. Don't be afraid to call someone else over for a consultation over a question that is beyond your range, but if you have info you MUST share it calmly and confidently. Even if you are just fetching a manager to bail you out of a plumbing question you do it politely and right away without exposing your ignorance or guessing. A customers faith in our good advice is the only thing that saves hardware stores like mine from being under-cut by Wally World.

Also, I suffer from a weird double standard with my husband. He usually trusts my information until it comes down to fixing something of ours. When our stuff is on the line he has zero faith in my ability to diagnose the broken vacuum or change the oil in the car.

I have no idea why this is.

[Yarnil]

Also, I suffer from a weird double standard with my husband. He usually trusts my information until it comes down to fixing something of ours. When our stuff is on the line he has zero faith in my ability to diagnose the broken vacuum or change the oil in the car.

I have no idea why this is.

Might be the feeling of shame that he doesnt know it?