Goldilocks and the three travel mugs

[Pixilated]

This is not so much an SC as a "WTF?!"

At my place of business we sell travel mugs. One holds 11 ounces, one holds 14 ounces, and one holds 16 ounces. The 14-oz is actually more costly than the 16-oz because it's more ornately decorated.

So Goldilocks comes in looking for a travel mug. The little one fits nicely in her hand but doesn't hold enough tea/coffee. The big one holds enough tea/coffee but is awkwardly large for her hand. The mid-sized one looks as if it would hold enough beverage AND fits nicely in her hand ... but it's too expensive.

I should add that she was polite about it; she wasn't whining or anything. Still ... by the end of her comparison and manhandling (womanhandling? personhandling?) the various mugs, I was standing there in a rather state of mind, having completely run out of sales patter. I mean, I'm sorry, lady, but those are your three choices, at least in this store. I cannot magically alter the dimensions of any of them to meet your requirements.

Ultimately she did buy one ... but as she was paying, she also asked about our return policy.

[Argabarga]

Just skip to the part where the 3 bears come back to the store and chase her off...

[Pixilated]

Alas, I think they were on their lunch break.

[Jester]

I will sheepishly admit that that is the kind of customer I often am. When I have choices that I can't decide among, I will hem and haw and compare them till the cows come home, because, damn it, I just can't decide. You laugh, but I have at various times spent anywhere from 10-60 minutes doing this.

Yes, I am absolutely serious. Witness how long it took me to decide which phone I was going to get......

[PepperElf]

Ultimately she did buy one ... but as she was paying, she also asked about our return policy.

what, was she planning on drinking and then returning it like a rented mug?

[Mr Hero]

I cannot magically alter the dimensions of any of them to meet your requirements.

Your store should R&D Time Lord Technology.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Yes, I am absolutely serious. Witness how long it took me to decide which phone I was going to get......

I'm the opposite most of the time - at least 90% of the time I already know what I'm getting before I order it.

As far as phones go, for example, even though I had done some research into several models and read reviews, I already knew pretty much what I was getting, it was just a question of which model.

So when it came time to order online, I simply looked to see what deals they had on the iPhone models available, picked out my 3GS and in less than 5 minutes had it ordered and already had the shipping confirmation email.

And that email came before I had even finished ordering my case on Amazon - which was already saved to my wish list.

Now if I'm going clothes shopping, that's another story. If I keep coming back to the same item 3 times, it's going home with me.

[Pixilated]

what, was she planning on drinking and then returning it like a rented mug?

I'm guessing it's going to be something like that ... she will "try it out" and see whether she can live with its shortcomings. (She didn't buy the expensive-but-perfect one, needless to say; IIRC she bought the small one.)

Your store should R&D Time Lord Technology.

I'll mention that to the boss!

Jester, I've done that as well ... dither and fumble while I try to make a decision. I admit she might've just been thinking out loud, but I interpreted (perhaps incorrectly) the way she kept looking at me while she talked about the various mugs that she was waiting for me to somehow solve the dilemma for her.

[PepperElf]

Now *THAT* would be a TARDIS mug worth having.

Especially if it makes the vworp vworp sound!

[zombiequeen]

I am the exact same way, but I try not to look at the store clerk (or my husband) while I argue with myself over stuff.

[Jester]

Jester, I've done that as well ... dither and fumble while I try to make a decision. I admit she might've just been thinking out loud, but I interpreted (perhaps incorrectly) the way she kept looking at me while she talked about the various mugs that she was waiting for me to somehow solve the dilemma for her.

It's certainly possible that many clerks have thought the same about me as I hovered and thought and debated internally and tried to decide and asked questions about A vs. B vs. C, and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on ENDLESSLY.

Yeah, I'm terrible about stuff like that. There's a reason why my friends will no longer go into book stores with me!

That being said, when I KNOW what I want, I march in, grab it, pay for it, and am out of the store before the clerk's had a chance to breathe or even blink.

[MoonCat]

It makes sense to compare when you're buying something as expensive as a phone and/or a phone plan. But a coffee mug??

Betcha that woman's not married.

[Jester]

I used phones as an example, but I've done the same with bicycling gloves, books, music, etc. Hell, I do the same thing in the grocery store, though to a lesser extent.

[Merriweather]

I will sheepishly admit that that is the kind of customer I often am. When I have choices that I can't decide among, I will hem and haw and compare them till the cows come home, because, damn it, I just can't decide. You laugh, but I have at various times spent anywhere from 10-60 minutes doing this.

Yes, I am absolutely serious. Witness how long it took me to decide which phone I was going to get......

I am the exact same way, but I try not to look at the store clerk (or my husband) while I argue with myself over stuff.

Are either of you by any chance a Libra?

Libras (sign of the scales, & balance) are known for being able to see both sides of an issue or decission so clearly, with all the positives & negatives of both, that it actually makes it harder at times to make a decision if the sides are equally bad/good but in different aspects.

That what I blame for my indescission, at least

[zombiequeen]

Nope, scorpio here.
I grew up getting yelled at if I bought ANYTHING even with my own money, so I never take a shopping decision lightly. That...and I am super picky. My husband has learned to deal with it over the years because that means I don't go around spending all of his money. :P