Customers Slay Me

[trystinn]

A customer calls in, explaining that her child's teacher has requested they order Stephen King's "Elements of Style". Go ahead and hit your head repeatedly into a desk, it gets worse from there.

I'm madly checking ISBN searches and databases during this, trying to find *something* that might be along what she's looking for.

T: Ma'm, is there any chance that the teacher meant "Elements of Style" by Strunk & White?
C: No, no. Its written by Stephen King! I don't know who this Strunk & White is.
T: Stephen King, as in the horror writer?
C: Yes, that Stephen King. Are there others named Stephen King?
T: Quite a few, actually. Stephen King did write a sort of autobiography called "On Writing", could that be it?
C: No, I told you its called "Elements of Style". Its for a creative writing course.
T: Strunk & White's is the only book called "Elements of Style" that I'm aware of that is routinely used by teachers. There's also a "Elements of Grammar" & "Elements of Punctuation" in that series.
C: No. I told you, its for a creative writing course! Why would Grammar & Punctuation be included in a creative writing course?? Its called "Elements of Style", could you search on that, please?
T: That would typically be the Strunk & White guide, ma'm. The rest are books on architecture, etc.
C: I don't know why you're being so difficult. The teacher told us to get "Elements of Style" by Stephen King.
T: Ma'm, I'm sorry I cant' find any record of any book by that title by that author.
C: He wrote it back in 1960.
T: Ma'm, Steven King, the horror writer, was born in 1947. He was 13 in 1960. His first novel was published in 1974.
C: That's it.
T: Ma'm, his first book was "Carrie". I've checked Stephen King's website, it doesn't list a book called "Elements of Style" in the list of his published works.
C: So you can't order it for me?
T: I can't order you "Elements of Style" by Stephen King. I'd be happy to order the Strunk & White "Elements of Style" so you can take a look at it. You're under no obligation to buy it, however.
C: I'm going to contact the teacher and let her know that area businesses cannot order it.
T: Yes, ma'm. Why don't you have her call the bookstore - I'll be here until 4:00pm.

*headdesk*

Comments

[brock-tn.livejournal.com]

Had a similar problem with a customer in the paint business a number of years ago. The company I worked for then did a lot of business in enamels tinted to match the manufacturer's colors for farm machinery and construction equipment. He came in and wanted four gallons of "Grove Yellow," to repaint a mobile crane. Our formula for "Grove Yellow" involved tinting cans of "Caterpillar Yellow," since the Grove Equipment livery color is a bit redder and darker than the Caterpillar color, and we didn't have enough requests for "Grove Yellow" to justify a separate production run and inventory line item. I brought the cans up, and the customer wigged out because the labels still said "Caterpillar New Yellow." Accused me of trying to cheat him. Eventually I told him to come back tomorrow, that we would make up a new batch of paint, especially for him, but that he would have to buy all ten gallons. He agreed.

I went back out to the tint station, tinted up six more gallons, printed ten labels saying "Grove Yellow," and relabeled all ten cans. The guy came in the next day, paid for all ten cans, and walked out with a smug expression on his face for having bent us to his will, even after I charged him a premium for a custom production run on short notice.

He wound up paying us about four times what his original order would have cost, for two-and-a-half times as much paint as he originally wanted.

[onyxtwilight.livejournal.com]

Yay! Victory!