I am not Google!

[sierrazen]

This afternoon I had a lady call the store and ask me when The Lord of the Rings was published. After jumping onto Google to find out it's original publishing date, she then asked if there was a limited edition that was published. I tried to explain to her that considering how long The Lord of the Rings has been around there have been countless

Comments

[kingshearte]

I used to have this woman who would phone up every few days and ask us to look up movie reviews in a particular book. Usually several at a time.

The first time, I was so shocked at the request that I just did it, and then I'd set a precedent, so I did it a few more times, but then it started to get really ridiculous, so I asked my manager about it in order to get managerial authority to tell her (much more politely, of course) to get lost.

Seriously, though, if you're going to use the books we are *selling* asa reference library, you can't at least drag your carcass to the store and look the stuff up yourself?

[thtsgoodsquishy]

I swear I once had a woman who was trying to get me to do her child's book report over the phone.

[bitwhizzle]

Same.

Although, not to ME...but to my co-worker, who ended up saying: Ma'am, I am not going to do your 14 year old's book report. And neither should you.

I was most tickled!

[thtsgoodsquishy]

ONCE? ONLY ONCE? I have owned my shop since 1995. I have done more book reports and theses than any 27 students. I am pretty sure that I have come close to a doctoral dissertation a time or two.

[oddnumbereven]

It is almost impossible for me to express my feelings about this phenomenon without resorting to blasphemy/capslock. There's just so much incoherent rage. I think it's the accompanying sense of entitlement that particularly gets me worked up.

[gregoria44]

I think it's the accompanying sense of entitlement that particularly gets me worked up.

I agree - and for many more cases than with this phenomenon!

Especially when it's begun with 'Would you mind...?' which is, after all, a question, and is inevitably followed by self-righteous rage when you suggest that yes, actually, you would.

Gah.

[fuunsaiki]

I don't necessarily mind that kinda thing. If someone pops in on the off-chance we can give them directions, I don't mind firing up Google to help them out. I had some ladies doing a scavenger hunt once and they tried using our booksellerly knowledge for it. Luckily, they got me, and I got such a kick out of the whole thing that I commandeered a little-used PC and got Googling on their behalf. :3

[kid_lit_fan]

Ooog, I would think that enforced rapport building in a lingerie shop would encourage the heck out of skeevy customers to be skeevier.

I think I'm generally a nice(ish) person, and I tried to give good customer service when I worked retail, but there were times when customers took advantage.

[fuunsaiki]

Happily, we didn't get very many skeevy customers, and despite her um... *fervour*, shall we say, the manager was very understanding if we felt the need to sidle up to her and demurely whisper that we didn't feel comfortable if we encountered any creepers. :3

Nonetheless, it's still a major part of the reason I was desperate to get hired at the bookshope up the road. XD

[gregoria44]

I despise the beige souls of these people.

An off-topic query is fine. A general local enquiry is fine.

Wasting the time and patience of other customers while people are simply unprepared/unwilling/unable to do their own research/googling/telephoning/child-minding is neither productive nor any shade of customer service and they can get lost.

Of course, I have yet been unable to fit the above paragraph into anything resembling something I could actually say AND keep my job, but heck, what else do I love this comm for?