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Shop Employees: Stupid things customers have asked/said to you

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JayDope
Posts: 6842 - Karma: 408
I searched barred there is a similar thread about ppl who work in retail, here is one for ski shop employees. Here is my story from this past week:

So im renting this kid some skis, i ask him to take off his shoes to measure his foot, the first thing that comes out of his mouth is "Hey do u guys sell lawnmowers here?" I looked at him stunned and said "are u serious?" he replied with "yeah, outdoor store" I looked at him again, and said "No, we just sell ski and snowboard gear" And i continued on with my routine. WHAT An idiot!

Today i was hanging out in the Snowboard section and this woman was looking to buy her daughter some boots, so she asks my co-worker about boots, and he explained to her there are different types for entry level riders etc, she looks on the wall and noticed the snowboard bindings, and she said "Oh, are those like snowboard sandals instead of boots?" we just explained to her that those are the snowboard bindings that the boots go into that connect to the snowboard....i really was in disbelief

alright shop employees, share ur stores here
Oct 11 2009 12:22AM
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JayDope
Posts: 6842 - Karma: 408
at my shop and many other shops around me, if u want ur din set higher than what we set it at, then u have to do it urself
Aug 29 2010 6:46PM
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Negro_Jesus
Posts: 1789 - Karma: 91
reading this thread makes me glad that i work at a dog kennel and i dont have to deal with stupid people. although one bitch came in and her dog almost killed another dog but she had no concern for the other dog and her son was laughing
Aug 29 2010 7:39PM
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TheWiseOne
Posts: 858 - Karma: 24
I work for a company that does fishing tours, sightseeing, and ferry services on cape cod. tourists are retarded. "How long is this 1 hour sightseeing tour?" "Wheres the bridge to Martha's Vineyard?" "Does the boat have seatbelts?"
Aug 29 2010 7:50PM
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TheWiseOne
Posts: 858 - Karma: 24
Oh woops didnt realize it was about ski shops
Aug 29 2010 7:52PM
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Caleb.E
Posts: 3556 - Karma: 1,015
completely out of context but u ski schweitzer? im from sandpoint................and i think we might of had this conversation before...........
Aug 29 2010 8:03PM
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Rachy
Posts: 4355 - Karma: 2,761
Ah, this thread just reminded me of my horrible horrible former co-worker. I was actually upset that she never got fired. She was a snowboarder working in a ski shop and she had 4 years of working in a board shop before coming to our shop.. I still really don't know how she got hired.

Anyway, she was helping a man out with gloves and the guy wanted a pair of gloves that were a warmer spring glove. Instead of busting out one of the insulated pipe gloves like any other employee would have done, she pulls out this increadibly insulated glove from grandoe that has a top hand insert area for warmth and a bottom hand insert area for grip and making adjustments and what not when it is freezing but you need to fix something and tried to pass it off as a spring or winter glove. I had to kindly step in her way.

Same girl was fitting an 8 year old boy for a snowboarding helmet. There was a poc contest going on at the time in which whoever sold the most poc helmets got $100 cash. Anyway, i saw her fitting this 8 year old snowboarder for a hard ear poc race helmet. I asked her what she was doing and then the father was all, well this is the only one that fits his head. He returned it 2 days later saying his son was complaining all day that it hurt his ears, he couldnt hear anything, and none of the other snowboarders had helmets like his.

Same girl thought that the oakley splice were the asian fit google that we carried and i watched her try to sell it to an itty bitty asian woman in which it encompassed her entire face. She did not have the "asian face" anyway and could have worn any womans fit goggle but this girl was trying to sell her a splice. I then again stepped in and showed her some lovely smith anthems made for women with bitty faces like hers. We did carry an asian fit though... it was the L-frame.

I also had to explain to the same girl that Uggs are not winter boots. And that she should not be selling them as winter boots unless they purchase serious water proofing and wait at least 24 hours before wearing them.

I hate to say that my shop hired an inadequate employee... but we did and considering how many times I had to stop her from making horrible mistakes, I can't imagine how many people got sold the wrong gear. Makes me sad.

The entire store nicknamed her dingbat.
Aug 29 2010 8:15PM
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feihlination
Posts: 8356 - Karma: 1,084
well its not a shop, but i work as a high ropes course instructor during the summer and normally people are pretty chill, bringing their kids here or doing stuff themselves.

the whole "expert" thing is kinda watered down, since no too many people have detailed knowledge about high ropes courses and rope handling in general. and if they have, they would be out climbing or whatever on that day.

anyways, two weeks ago or so, a guy comes up and asks if his wife and kids can "climb" here. so i say, no problem, i have this other group going right now, just wait a good half an hour (there is a minigolf/pitpat/trampoline/streetsoccer/beachvolleyball/etc-thingy directly near the HRC, so its not that hard to kill a few minutes or hours). he justs says ok and adds that hes got a coupon, and i am like, ok, show it and give it to me because i have to hand it to my boss. so, (hes german btw) he opens a DUTCH brochure (i dont speak dutch) and points to a paragraph were apparently it said that the whole program is free for them.

i am like, sry i have never seen that kind of coupon, its not even a coupon. my boss did not know anything, the guys hotel did not know anything, so i told him they would have to pay. he just yells a little, goes back and forth and leaves while shouting "big disappointment" in my face.
Aug 29 2010 8:17PM
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Charles^stevens
Posts: 859 - Karma: 341
If it aint 200 plus get outta town
Aug 29 2010 8:59PM
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jorb.co
Posts: 2581 - Karma: 468

i also facepalmed.

Aug 29 2010 9:03PM
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Negro_Jesus
Posts: 1789 - Karma: 91
forgot that she also thought they would be allowed to bring the dog back.
Aug 29 2010 10:20PM
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JayDope
Posts: 6842 - Karma: 408
forgot i made this thread last year, and since the new season is upon us, lets hear some good stories, as for now, i have only had some customers flip out over the phone because the rentals they came in to get have still yet to arrive from nordica's factory (ace of spades junior ski) i get calls everyday asking about them, and them yelling at us, and all i can say is sir/madammm, all i know is we can offer u a loaner ski for the time being, as of right now nordica still has yet to contact us as to when they will have their skis shipped here, and i get ppl just going off on me, when there is literally nothing i can do....ahhh gotta love it
Dec 2 2010 12:55AM
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Skirehpot
Posts: 328 - Karma: 64
i dont remember the beginning, but it doesnt matter....

so there was a mad older guy that came in the shop and was complaining about all these skiers with their baggy clothes and said... "they must be learning how to do all them whirly birds in the stunt ditch!"

that line will live with me forever.
Dec 2 2010 2:02AM
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Schlop
Posts: 3640 - Karma: 24
My shift had just started at McDonalds, and I went up to the counter to start taking orders. Immediately, this giant, old, fat woman starts bitching at me so I go over and ask her what the deal is. She says it's her third time having to complain- her double quarter pounder (with cheese) has cheese on it. I asked to see her receipt- there was no No Cheese punched in, nothing at all.

Where the fuck does she get off? Anyways, I inform her that "with cheese" is in the title of the burger. She says blah blah blah I'm allergic to cheese, and I tell her "Sorry, here at McDonalds we cannot read minds." So because the customer is always right, I typed a free quarter pounder (sans cheese) into the register. Right as I'm handing it to this steaming fuck, she half asks-half yells, "DID YOU REMEMBER THE BACON?"


DID I REMEMBER WHAT FUCKING BACON, GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY RESTAURANT AND DON'T COME BACK


..is what I wish I said
Dec 2 2010 11:09AM
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Yossarian
Posts: 1078 - Karma: 56
I have never agreed with anything more on NS ever. You basically have enjoyed the same rental experience as I have. +k

My worst experience was renting these boots to this Aussie chick (I was in NZ at the time) and she came in every morning at opening, the shop opened at 7am and she was there before I got there to unlock the freaking doors, to try on a different set of boots each day. Not that this is irritating enough, but she was bragging about all her racing and skiing experience and basically she didn't have a fucking clue.

AAAAAnd she kept saying the boots were too tight on her "muscular calves from skiing" Bullshit she was a fat bitch.

Glad I got that off my chest...
Dec 2 2010 11:34AM
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Peach.
Posts: 3879 - Karma: 933
Being boot bitch sucks. No two ways about it. Theres nothing like shoving some old sweaty ladies feet into boots that are already two sizes to big and having them complain that you are "purposly trying to fit me with boots that are two small because they cost more"
Dec 2 2010 1:12PM
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theWIZARD
Posts: 935 - Karma: 76
i work in a restaurant and a waitress came up to me while i was on the line cooking...
Her: "Jon, my customer wants to know whats in the omelet."
Me: Well it depends what she gets on it..."
Her: "No i mean like, the omelet itself"
Me: "What you dont know?"
Her:"ugghh no?"
Me: "Its just egg...how dont you know that?"

How is that both waitress and customer didn't know what an omelet is made out of!?
Dec 2 2010 1:30PM
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Anathema
Posts: 21048 - Karma: 5,061

do you have size 13 hockey skates? i have pretty big feet

you're like 16, and skate sizes are made smaller than shoe sizes. i wear a 9.5 shoe and a 7.5 skate. here, try a few of these 11's on and you'll see what im talkin about

yeeeeeaaahh they're just too tight......

or

here, let me run my hands up and down the base of my skis like i can detect whether or not you did a good job tuning them....

Dec 2 2010 1:43PM
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deleted5
Posts: 14507 - Karma: 13,507
i read that as oatmeal and i actually don't know what oatmeal is made out of
Dec 2 2010 1:47PM
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Peach.
Posts: 3879 - Karma: 933

Be right back going to google...

Oatmeal is ground oat groats (i.e. oat-meal, cf. cornmeal, peasemeal, etc.), or a porridge made from oats (also called oatmeal cereal or stirabout, in Ireland). Oatmeal can also be ground oat, steel-cut oats, crushed oats, or rolled oats.

Dec 2 2010 2:31PM
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Slinger1x1
Posts: 8853 - Karma: 66
i love boot fitting, i hate renting out shit though

with a boot fit, its like a puzzle. you gotta find out all the info and put it together to pick the perfect boot. then you have them try the boot on and get a feel for the fit. they need to trust you. then you have to sell them on footbeds because they will fix anything that they are complaining about.

then, in the end, you have someone in a perfectly fitted boot, excited to ski and probably a better skier now just because they have properly fitting boots
Dec 2 2010 2:41PM
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hoodratz47
Posts: 12020 - Karma: 9,475
the one day i worked in this ski shop.. i was going to be a lifty but i worked one day.. heres what happend... this one guy. was fitting a boot. and this chicks ankles were so fucking fat that no boot would fit... and she was getting mad. and yelling at him. and he goes.. im sorry. your ankles are to big and i dont have a boot for you.... SHE FLIPS OUT SCREAMING CRYING YELLING> ASSHOLE>.. im at the counter and im thinking .. fuck... she storms off.. cris the guy who was fitting. is a red head. as am i. hes like. im going outside for a cig...    all of a sudden crazy lady comes in with the mtn manager. the head honcho on the hill. and she is leading him with his arm storms up to me. points and goes.. THIS IS THE GUY WHO SAID MY ANKLES WERE TOO FAT!!!!!!!. im stunned. i have not said a word in about and hour. she is fucking histerical. im trying to gather what in the fuck is going to happen to me.. shes wants me fired,,, i se chris walk in,, assess the situation. and bail, steve(mtn manager) some how calms her down.. explains that i am a new employe and i do not fit boots.. and he offers to give her a refund and some ticket vouchers.. that fixed everthing..   but i had have never seen some one spaz like that. but it wasnt the last time.
Dec 2 2010 2:49PM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
this thread is hilarious.
Dec 2 2010 3:07PM
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vandersteeze
Posts: 2650 - Karma: 1,511
Threads. great thread
Dec 2 2010 4:02PM
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BrewskiJr
Posts: 5738 - Karma: 1,478
i love this thread. MOAR!
Dec 2 2010 4:35PM
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ImNotARacist
Posts: 5136 - Karma: -1,030
like they only check the base and not the edges?
Dec 2 2010 4:48PM
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Gameboy
Posts: 2657 - Karma: 127
A customer wanted to buy some kleenex and came back with a box of tampons...
Dec 2 2010 6:33PM
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JayDope
Posts: 6842 - Karma: 408
this lady came in today and wanted the cheapest setup she could buy, and i show her some atomic cloud 7's priced at 399 with bindings, and she keeps goign over to our twin tip section and picking up the ovlkl alley, or the atomic deviant for 299, and i keep explaining to her that those do not come with bindings, and that they were twintips which she would not need, and kept on asking why they dont come with bindings, an di explained to her that it is not a system ski it is a flat mount ski mainly for park use, and there is no binding system with it becuase u want to be as close to the ski as possible, and she kept on insisting they should come with bindings and still be priced at 299, she was driving me nuts...or when the customer asks us questions about the mountains nearby about lift ticket prices, and i answer them "i am not totally sure, u should call and find out" there response back is "well u guys should know this stuff" me"well i dont work for them i could answer any questions u have about our store" ppl r soo dumb
Dec 2 2010 10:19PM
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beermuscles
Posts: 1821 - Karma: 100
my favorite is when i'm fitting someone for boots, the boots are a too snug. i tell them i will go in the back and expand them for her/him. go in the back, play a game on the ipod, come back out and amazingly the boots feel miraculous.

Dec 2 2010 10:47PM
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beermuscles
Posts: 1821 - Karma: 100
let me rephrase this.

My favorite is when I am fitting someone for boots (lets say they measure at a 27.5 but kinda snug. They put the boot on and immediately want to take it off but i explain to them that once i buckle up the boot and they flex they feel great.

So said customers complies and it feels a little better. Then says noooo they are still too tight, can I have the next size? So I tell them no, they measure out to a 27.5 nicely and that I will go in the back and expand the boot slightly to make it feel perfect.

Go in back, play ipod game (do nothing to boots), come back out and amazingly the boot feels perfect ..
Dec 2 2010 10:54PM
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Davy.Crockett
Posts: 5373 - Karma: 324
so much funny shit in this thread. i wish i worked at a ski shop
Dec 2 2010 11:54PM
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JayDope
Posts: 6842 - Karma: 408
this kid that works in rentals at my shop just fucks with the rental customers all the time, we do seasonal rentals at our shop, so this one lady comes in, and he sets her up with rentals, she says the skis seem a little big, and my friend said u will go a little faster on a bigger ski, and they will be more stable at higher speeds, she said "ohh i dont wanna go fast" (we have no more adult rentals in the size down) so my friend goes to the lady, "not a problem lemme go have the shop detune ur skis for u, and u will go slower" so he goes in the shop, comes out in 2 mins, and hes like "perfect, they detuned them for u, u will go slower" she was siked.
Dec 14 2010 10:17PM
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Sh0w-Full
Posts: 89 - Karma: 9
Work at Wegman's Grocery Store....
scummy guy walks through with a heavy bakery bag.
Me: What's in the bag?
Him: 1 Bagel
Me: Are you serious? (Begin to look into bag)
Him(screaming): Don't look through that bag!
Me: (just let him through)
Dec 14 2010 11:10PM
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Backyard.Skier
Posts: 5397 - Karma: 1,497
i work at a ski shop and one lady asked me if you needed boots to ski right in front of the boot wall...
Dec 15 2010 12:02AM
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soulskier
Posts: 17806 - Karma: 3,841
i've dealt with a lot of paranoid parents ski instructing, but bothing that tops the stuff in here! keep 'em coming guys
Dec 15 2010 12:04AM
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Sklar
Posts: 8864 - Karma: 31,612
i've had guys do this to me, i fucking hate that shit
Dec 15 2010 12:05AM
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JayDope
Posts: 6842 - Karma: 408
you're probably a BP, and dont know how a boot should fit, i cant tell u how many times i get customers telling me their shit is crunched up in the toe box, when i know for a fact they r fucking lying because 1. they dont like the look of the boot, 2. the price might be a little expensive, 3. they are a BP
Dec 15 2010 1:12AM
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Sklar
Posts: 8864 - Karma: 31,612
no the guy was just a dick
Dec 15 2010 4:54PM
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Aaaron.
Posts: 11817 - Karma: 903
what's a bp?

am i a bp?

Dec 16 2010 2:27PM
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jibnut
Posts: 3038 - Karma: 304
I run a shuttle service for my local mountain from a base town to the summit and I get the dumbest calls ever all the time.
The best one was recently where an older gentleman called and asked if "we could pick him up at his house" and then after I talked to him for about 5 minutes, he finally said "alright. see you tomorrow" and the bus didn't start for another week, so I told him "Sir, the bus doesn't start till next weekend" and he replied "oh yeah, thats right." and then talked to me about the shuttle for another 10 minutes. Then before we hung up he said "yup alright see you tomorrow".

Who knows..?
Dec 16 2010 2:36PM
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chardi
Posts: 5040 - Karma: 59
well the good news is he definitely didn't remember the next day so you are off the hook
Dec 16 2010 2:45PM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24725 - Karma: 29,944
I currently work part time tech-ing in a nordic/tele shop... so I get the fun of dealing with weird Telemarkers and nordic people alllll the time...

Some guy last week wanted me to mount his NNN cross country bindings on a pair of atomics. (For those of you that dont know NNN, it means 'new nordic norm' - the boot has a bar across the toe, and it sticks into a locking notch in the binding, so you can release it easier - they are usually always made of plastic and almost NEVER for telemark anything...)

I explained it to him that it wouldnt really work for telemark, and he might break the binding/die... but the guy didnt give a shit, or didnt understand for some reason how idiotic he was... I mounted them up for him though... haha. Pretty goofy.


The best stories I heard from working in my old shop down in California have all been posted somewhere on this site in older threads... but here's a memorable one...

Dude comes in, asks me if we carry snowlerblades. I tell him we dont. So, he starts talking all this crap about 'long' skis... telling me that snowblades are better and getting lairy with me for us not carrying them. I just play dumb and ask him why he thinks they are so much better than normal skis...

him - "well... you see, I worked in val-de-isere the last few years as a ski instructor for world cup racers, and I used to beat them down the hill on my snowblades all the time, they are way way faster than normal skis, and so much easier to turn - I used to race world cup skiers and beat them all the time on them (note - this guy's like 60 years old, huge beer belly, and looks as redneck as ever...)

Me-"so, they dont slide out and lose edge when your making hard turns on bulletproof race course ice, ever?"

him- "no way man... they are the best ever... I dont even know why they make these long skis anymore - and what are these huge fat snowboard ones for?"

Me- "those are for powder..."

Him- "why would anyone want to go in powder?"



At that point, I lost it, facepalmed, and walked away to go take a 10 minute break... I couldnt take it anymore it was such a load of bullshit...

When I came back, my coworker had been talking to him, and was as stunned as I was as to the downright ignorance that dude had... it was insane haha.



Dec 16 2010 2:55PM
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FerrisBueller
Posts: 8280 - Karma: 5,173
"what isle is isle 12?"
"the one ur standing in idiot."
Dec 16 2010 3:11PM
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soulskier
Posts: 17806 - Karma: 3,841
"is the for sale" *pointing to for sale sticker "yup" "how much does it cost?" again *pointing to $12.95 for sale sticker "12 dollars, 95 cents. *sny grin
Dec 16 2010 3:21PM
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InFlamesWeTrust
Posts: 163 - Karma: 16
I do iPod troubleshooting for Apple over the phone, and we often ask which operating system customers are using so we can troubleshoot itunes more effectively. This happens a lot, but I ask, "So are you running Windows or Mac?" and they say, "I'm not sure, how would I know? I think its a Mac. Its an hp so that's mac right?" I shit you not
Dec 16 2010 3:28PM
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JayDope
Posts: 6842 - Karma: 408
BP= boot pussy, we use BP as code while at the store
Dec 16 2010 10:33PM
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skithesprings
Posts: 9086 - Karma: 1,349
dude, thats so cool.
Dec 16 2010 10:47PM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24725 - Karma: 29,944
Lol. Ours was "code: Bitch"


"yeah... I have a code: bitch going on right now..."


Dec 16 2010 11:01PM
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Pee_and_Ski
Posts: 1869 - Karma: 57

iv worked in the retail shop and iv taught for 6 years here are some ive heard

parrent and kid: our feet hurt,

me: your boots are on the wrong feet

i dont reamber all the details but it involved getting this fat guy about 50 pairs of boots to try on at a ski swap, he couldnt figure out why the boot wouldnt buckel shut. it had somthing to do with his lower leg being about as large as a fuckin ham.  he ended up buying a pair of boots that didnt fit, a pair of shit foam core skis, and a giant helmet.  he showed up a couple months later on the tail end of my 12 hour non-stop lesson fest and guess who got to teach this fat bastard? yap great lesson lasted 15 minutes cause the guys chest hurt after that much activity. 

Dec 16 2010 11:22PM
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immasnowboarder
Posts: 50 - Karma: 10

not a retail shop story but i work at dairy queen and we get a lot of stupid questions. i was talking to a customer over the microphone while i was working drive-thru and he goes "now the georgia mud fudge blizzard... does that have chocolate in it at all?"

i realize that since i know the ingredients to all the blizzards that most questions about them seem a lot more stupid to me than they do to other people, but really? the "mud" or "fudge" part of the name couldn't've hinted towards it beeing chocolate?

i didn't answer i just facepalmed and told him to pull up to the window. ridiculous.

Dec 17 2010 1:15AM
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uosdwiSrjewoH
Posts: 4220 - Karma: 122
i wasn't helping him, but a kid came in the other week (probably an nser) who researched tirelessly online and knew everything about ski boots, except what boot would be best for him. 13 year old kid, grandparents buying everything for him, insisting that he goes out west and does nothing but drop huge cliffs so he needs the ace of spades boot and rossi s7s. took a couple hours to get this kid off of it, and in the end leaves then comes back and gets the boots anyway.

and i was helping a 13-14 year old girl all done up in uggs and tna the other day, and the second i put her in a boot (that was actually a little big) cries, verbatim: mommy, mommy, it hurts, mommy, my toes are squished, its too tight, i don't like it. 13-14 year old girl...
Dec 17 2010 1:24AM
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