Are they just getting more stupid? Twice in a day a dumbfounding encounter is not nothing… It’s amazing really. That such people can get away with it. I mean, come on. Read the following and think by yourself, are they that dumb? Or is there some hint of smartness in me after all. I think what i did today was nothing special yet none of the people helping me today, things they do all day long, did get it right…

Today i want to town to get some things, batteries for a labelwriter and some groceries.

At the first shop the girls at the register asked me what kind of batteries i wanted. So i told her “i need those thin-penlight-ones, called AAA”. Calculating that she might not know what AAA batteries are. She then turned around to the rack of batteries, discovered there were like 4 brands selling the same thing and asked me which brand. I said “whatever is cheap, i need 6 of them” i thought this to be enough information for her to get me the cheapest ones she sells. Varta which come in 6 packs, all other brand were either highly expensive or packed per 4. She then proceeded to grab Duracell batteries, which were more expensive then Varta ones and were in a 4-pack. I frowned and asked what was wrong with the Varta brand. “oh nothing” she said “but you asked for cheap ones”. I then pointed at the price. Varta ones were 4.99 for 6 +2 free (8 in total) and the Duracell ones were 5.89 for 4. She didn’t really get it.

I sighed and told her to get the Varta ones. After the checkout she still had that wondrous look on her face as if she had no clue what just happened. Her co-worker didn’t look to bright either, but atleast she smiled nicely

10 minutes later i was at the supermarket, grabbed the things i needed, went to the checkout, payed and noticed that the wrapping of the meat i bought was torn. I went to the customer service thing and told the girl what was wrong and asked for a new pack of meat. She then looked puzzled at me. I told her again, pointing at the hole in the packaging, that i wanted another pack of meat because this one was broken. “ah, ok, one moment” she replied and went on to give me my money back. While doing that i told her a replacement was fine also since i needed the product later today. I think she didn’t hear me because she was too busy figuring out how the cash register worked. It took 3 of them to figure it out and i got my money back. She handed me a few euros and looked happy with it. I asked her if i could not just get a replacement. Thinking of the mayhem caused if i were to go into the supermarket again and having to explain that everything in my bag was already paid for. She then exclaimed “Ooooh you want another one, i thought you just wanted your money back!” On which i replied; “Ofcourse i want a new one. This one is no good! Why else would i buy it and instantly return the thing.”

She set of to get me a new pack leaving me waiting with the returned money and it took her 10 whole minutes to return. She kindly explained to me she didn’t find one with the same exact price. Which i think is actually nice of her for trying, but if she knew about pricing she would know that that was not gonna work since the meat is priced per kilogram and thus none of the packs have the exact same price. She continued to explain me that the new pack required additional payment of 10 cents and billed me 10 cents. I looked at her puzzled and paid 10 cents. She went on to wrap up the transaction said goodbye and continued to help other customers. I stood there for almost a minute thinking if she really was that dumb then thought “Fuck all” and walked out. So i will be dining cheap tonight! 5 euros worth of meat for 10 cents… not a bad deal after all!

What is the world going to? We’re certainly doomed if this is not getting any better!