Tweet
BG: CVS at the mall, a relatively quiet weekend day, 10 years ago.
Every so often you get the foreigners who know little to no English. I can group these people into two groups: The friendly, yet difficult to understand, and the belligerent and upset because you can't figure out what they're trying to say.
This guy was in between, although his English actually was OK. The only part of his speech that I simply couldn't understand was simply the name of the product he was looking for.
Him: "I'm looking for Pepida."
Me: "Did you say Pepsi?"
Him: "No, Pepida."
Me: "Could you describe it for me? I'm not familiar with that brand."
Him: "It's for head. Head hurts." *points at his head*
Me: "Oh, well, we have many pain relivers over here" (show him to the pain reliever aisle) "See? We got, Asprin, Bayer, Tylenol..."
Him: "But I need Pepida."
At this point I'm really confused. Generally speaking, anything with "pep" in the name often indicates medication that relieves stomach problems. I'm wondering if he's thinking of some kind of prescription brand which can't provide because we don't even have a pharmacy at this small mall CVS.
Me: "Are you sure it's called Pepida? I really haven't heard of that brand, and if we don't have it on these shelves here, we most likely do not carry it."
I double-checked with a colleague, who, too, has never heard of any product called Pepida. We double checked behind the registers where some of the more potent drugs were being kept (we had a problem with teens stealing some of that stuff to get high) to no avail.
Me: "Ok, I'm afraid we just don't carry Pepida."
Him: "But I need Pepida. My head hurts."
Me: "Is there any reason you can't try any of these other pills?"
Him: "I need Pepida. You must carry it."
Me: "No, this is a much smaller CVS than most of the other locations. We only have a subset of the items the bigger ones do. It could be that what you're looking for is some over-the-counter medication or even a prescription you need to get from a Doctor. I'm afraid there isn't anything I can do."
He finally got the hint and he started to leave the aisle. As he was leaving the store, something caught his eye and he turned.
Him: "PEPIDA! I'VE FOUND IT!"
I see him enter the feminine hygine aisle where he picked up a box of Pamprin.
Me: "Wha-- wait, that's not really for... er... you, that's for--"
Him: "See?" (He shows me the details on the box, among relieving vaginal cramps and other ailments, it mentions that it relieves migranes and headaches.) "It's for my headache."
Me: "Well, technically, I guess it can, but I really don't know if it works for men. I mean I suppose it probably does, but it could have other side-effects that--"
Him: "I'm getting this."
After more back and forth I finally gave up. There was no talking him out of buying a product that was clearly meant for women and did more than just relieve headaches.
The happy ending was he actually reported how helpful I was and expressed satisfaction that I did everything I could to find what he was looking for.
How he got "Pepida" from "Pamprin" is beyond me.
Every so often you get the foreigners who know little to no English. I can group these people into two groups: The friendly, yet difficult to understand, and the belligerent and upset because you can't figure out what they're trying to say.
This guy was in between, although his English actually was OK. The only part of his speech that I simply couldn't understand was simply the name of the product he was looking for.
Him: "I'm looking for Pepida."
Me: "Did you say Pepsi?"
Him: "No, Pepida."
Me: "Could you describe it for me? I'm not familiar with that brand."
Him: "It's for head. Head hurts." *points at his head*
Me: "Oh, well, we have many pain relivers over here" (show him to the pain reliever aisle) "See? We got, Asprin, Bayer, Tylenol..."
Him: "But I need Pepida."
At this point I'm really confused. Generally speaking, anything with "pep" in the name often indicates medication that relieves stomach problems. I'm wondering if he's thinking of some kind of prescription brand which can't provide because we don't even have a pharmacy at this small mall CVS.
Me: "Are you sure it's called Pepida? I really haven't heard of that brand, and if we don't have it on these shelves here, we most likely do not carry it."
I double-checked with a colleague, who, too, has never heard of any product called Pepida. We double checked behind the registers where some of the more potent drugs were being kept (we had a problem with teens stealing some of that stuff to get high) to no avail.
Me: "Ok, I'm afraid we just don't carry Pepida."
Him: "But I need Pepida. My head hurts."
Me: "Is there any reason you can't try any of these other pills?"
Him: "I need Pepida. You must carry it."
Me: "No, this is a much smaller CVS than most of the other locations. We only have a subset of the items the bigger ones do. It could be that what you're looking for is some over-the-counter medication or even a prescription you need to get from a Doctor. I'm afraid there isn't anything I can do."
He finally got the hint and he started to leave the aisle. As he was leaving the store, something caught his eye and he turned.
Him: "PEPIDA! I'VE FOUND IT!"
I see him enter the feminine hygine aisle where he picked up a box of Pamprin.
Me: "Wha-- wait, that's not really for... er... you, that's for--"
Him: "See?" (He shows me the details on the box, among relieving vaginal cramps and other ailments, it mentions that it relieves migranes and headaches.) "It's for my headache."
Me: "Well, technically, I guess it can, but I really don't know if it works for men. I mean I suppose it probably does, but it could have other side-effects that--"
Him: "I'm getting this."
After more back and forth I finally gave up. There was no talking him out of buying a product that was clearly meant for women and did more than just relieve headaches.
The happy ending was he actually reported how helpful I was and expressed satisfaction that I did everything I could to find what he was looking for.
How he got "Pepida" from "Pamprin" is beyond me.
Don't think that would do much for headaches.
I hadn't really thought of it until now, but that's why I was prescribed it, it was almost like I had a really bad cold/allergies around my period.
Comment