http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...ps2dd3d3f3.jpg

Once a month I have to go into our local bank to conduct a payment, unfortunately it is not the kind I can do online. When I walk up to the teller I can count the seconds to the same, exact canned questions every single visit: "How's your day going?", "Got any plans for the weekend?".

I realize they're are probably required to make my banking experience a pleasant time but it gets old. At first it was a bit humorous but now I just think - quit the chit-chat and let me get out of here!

I once said "My dog just died last night, and both my father and mother have Cancer.."

Shut the girl up, immediately....LOL.

rjp

Ha! I've actually thought of that too but I haven't brought myself to say it yet.

I no longer make the mistake of ever getting parts from Autozone. All I ever get from them anymore is oil, brakleen, Berryman B-12, etc...

Srsly, when the sales people start circling around you, all you gotta say is "No thanks. I'll find it." and they'll almost always leave you alone 'till checkout time.

This winter I am helping out a friend who owns a bakery (and can't find staff) by working one of the farmers' markets for him. I've been having a lot of fun every Saturday through the fall, selling bread and pastries in a town I used to live in 35 years ago.
Yesterday, two sweet little girls (about the age of my daughter , or younger) showed up at the booth and introduced themselves as working for the Food Inspection agency and one of them started in on a long, carefully prepared speech about the importance of food safety, blah, blah, while I'm trying to look after customers.
After about 20 seconds, I asked, "Can we cut to the chase? What are your recommendations?"
I think part of her reaction was relief she didn't have to go through the whole reasoning, methodology, etc. and I didn't offer I was running a restaurant when her parents were still in elementary school. So they got to write up their recommendation and I got to look after my customers. :rolleyes:

As my wife says, she finds it harder to be awed by 'authority figures' when they're younger than our kids.

Best
Les

"Do you need Lucas injector cleaner? It's on sale..."

rjp

This ^

WRT auto parts stores, specifically, you can almost always go online and look the part up yourself on their website, and then go to the store with the part number in hand. That way you know that what you're getting is correct (based on the accuracy of their catalog) or at least that if it's not, you only have yourself to blame. I worked at a retail parts place years ago. We had plenty of folks that didn't have a clue about cars and were just at a job. There were also lots and LOTS of customers who would come in that wouldn't know what kind of car they were driving. I had a guy tell me once "I've got a Mercury Catalina Pontiac Marquis." I asked him which he had and he insisted that was it. Upon many, many occasions, I had to go read the name off of the fender. Me "what kind of vehicle is it". The best answer that I could get out of them "It's a blue van." Sometimes I could get Ford or Chevy out of them.

There are plenty of smart, capable people in retail. But they certainly aren't the majority or the norm. My wife is always wanting to ask people questions. I cringe because I realize that they most likely aren't going to be able to give us an answer, or they are going to guess (and be wrong) or be certain they are right (while still being wrong).

Occasionally, I'd like help and I ask for it. There are times when I feel certain I'm looking in the right place, but I'm somehow looking right past what I'm looking for. Where an item is in a store is most often what I'm asking about. Even then, in a place like Home Depot (fortunately, no need to go there any more) it wasn't unusual to have someone tell me "we don't have that" and then 20 mins later, I walk out with it. I guess that kind of familiarity comes from owning a home 1/2 mile from a Home Depot for 17 years and not from working there for 6 months.

I don't know everything, and I do occasionally run into one of those gems where the person in the store seems really knowledgeable and I feel like they've enhanced my experience.

Okay, just got the oil changed and the filter fit...phew... (not really worried though)
This is hilarious, because when I was 34, that was my exact mentality. In a way, it still is. Now, at the ripe young age of 44, I already realize I seriously need to stave off this kind of thinking or I am going to have a coronary.

My strategy is to hope they are really busy with other customers so I can shop in stealth mode. They weren't busy. My guy today was a high pressure helper. He was all over my case and I would have had to be pretty rude to stop his helpful "advances." Realizing it's only his job, and that he was high pressure, I took the path of (what I thought) would be least resistance. I let him help, but he made the critical error of stating he could find the info in the computer faster than I could look it up. Big mistake. Race on. As I thumbed through the book "ford-mercury-toyota-volkswagon-volvo-2015,14,13,12,11,10,09,08,07,06,05" he was making a beeline for the front. I knew once he accessed the info, he would have the upper hand, for he would know how many were in stock, whereas I would have to search for each number on the shelf individually. I had to get the hole shot for a number and grab for a filter, hoping the ones I wanted were in stock. Time was critical for my cause!

That's where I was getting p.o.'s at them. I had to remember these large numbers and go search for them, and the entire staff was asking "you sure you have a xc70?" "what year?" "a volvo what?" "what year again?" "you sure you have a xc70?" "is your car a SUV?"

They were totally handicapping my effort, and to make matters worse, they were out of stock on my first choice, so I had to keep referencing the book while they were trying to help.

That's when he came back and told me my car didn't exist and what I really owned was an xc90. At that point he really wasn't helping at all. Fortunately though, I had the filter in hand so I was victorious!

What I think I need is a reversible baseball cap to wear in these stores.
On one side it says"I'm good- stay the F#$ away." On the other side it says "please help me."
That would solve a lot.

ha!!!!

LOL! :D

All of the FLAPS around here pimp them Lucas products pretty hard. NC being a hot bed for left-turn racing, and with Lucas sanctioning, or sponsoring so much of it these days, the products almost sell themselves to the fans. At the rate I'm going though, it'll take me 'bout 5 years to go through the quart of Lucas injector cleaner I bought for my tractor back in 2011.

Right now, I run B80 in summer and B20 in winter so I don't really need ANY cleaner in the fuel.

"Can I help you?"

"No thanks, I'm just browsing."

"Sure, what are you browsing for...?"

"FARKOFF!"

I am most definitely a curmudgeon. At work, nobody talks to me unless something is seriously wrong (and they're already in big trouble).

I must be fortunate to have both semi-local hardware and auto-parts stores (both owned by the same guy) that employs "seasoned professionals" in both locales. I'm recognized when I walk in and pretty much left alone to browse as needed. I only get the "What are you working on today?" when they're interested (and I'm carrying some wacko part they've never seen before).

I usually say something ridiculous to see if they are listening.

"I have a meeting in Sacramento at Noon, so I better get going".

My plans for the weekend are usually "Knocking off a few convenience stores for fun".

Sometimes it goes right over their head, sometimes after a few seconds, they get a puzzled look on their face as I'm walking away.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/XFWeoxrhbE8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I stopped going to Trader Joe's for my coffee because the cashier always wants to ask me how I like that blend, etc. I switched to Costco medium roast and no longer have to answer the cashier's questions.

Guess I'm curmudgeonly too.

Bookstore recommendations! GAAH!!! You know, the little hand-written reviews of each book that they slip under the book and it hangs over the edge of the shelf. Think: Portlandia. GAAAH!!!

We have a chain of family owned stores in MI.(Meijer) that require the cashiers to give a spiel to customers as they ring them through the line. I like to beat them to the punch with "I don't have any bottle receipts or coupons and I found everything I needed." It's fun being crotchety.

I have relatives that work for the chain so they share stories about customers when we get together.

See ... the rockstar gets it !!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1417989451.jpg

Ron Swanson is my hero.

Another curmudgeonish thing I find myself doing is lying to the staff in restaurants.
They will ask "have you eaten at (such and such) before. Even if I haven't, I will always say "yes" because the last thing I want to do is hear their spiel about how their food experience is unique/ the best/ and how their tater tots are fried in a 150 part process. Just gimme a beer and my da#$ food now!