Catalogs vs. Store

Right before I left work tonight, an elderly lady came in (we'll call her Jane for the sake of the post). I don't know how old Jane is, but she used a walker. She wanted to see one of our catalogs because she wanted to know if we had something that was in it. She got frustrated with me because I told her we didn't have any extra catalogs but I would check the back. I told her we had the current ones in folders. She said she just wanted to see a catalog and would give it back. I was going to the back and get her one, but my AManager found some behind the cashwrap. Neither of them were what Jane was looking for. So, AManager went to get the ones we had in folders, which somehow frustated Jane. I explained to Jane that AManager was going to get the catalog so she could see.

Here's where it gets fun. Jane says she was looking for a scarf that we had on display. It was blue. I pointed to the only blue scarf we had on display, and she said that wasn't the scarf she was looking for. She finds it in the catalog, and tell her we didn't carry it in our store. It may be catalog only. She gets upset at the word "catalog". She believes firmly that if it's in the "catalog" then it should be in the store. Which, as AManager said, it is physically impossible for our store to carry everything that is in the catalog. Yet, Jane was adamant about this. If it's in the catalog, it must be in the store. Well, I found a nearby store that carries the scarf she wanted. She didn't want to pick it up over there. No, she wanted them to send it to her. And of course, she found it infuriating that they would charge her to send it to her. Why should they charge her for something that our store did not carry? She said that they wouldn't charge her. They couldn't charge her.

Repeat that a few times with each item she selects out of the catalog. Naturally, we didn't carry any of it in our store. It was "catalog" only, which is "ridiculous" (her words!) . She was very adamant about "they won't charge me to send it. They can't charge me. It's ridiculous". She was quite adamant and irritated over it all. Mind you, we can't physically carry the stuff they send us anyway. How are we supposed to carry everything in the catalog? And not everything in the catalog will sell! Seriously now. It's not that big of a deal. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if she didn't act like such a ... snob the whole time. I can't think of the right word to describe how she was behaving ... but that'll have to be it for now.