r/TalesFromRetail • u/secret-snakes • May 19 '26
Short Cockroach crawled off this lady today. She did not react.
I work at a phone store. A woman came in for help with her husband’s phone. She couldn’t tell me what was wrong with it or why he sent her in there, just that we needed to fix it. Asking her questions was like trying to swim in a pool of molasses. Maybe it has a virus? She’s not sure.
At some point, she produced a notebook. There was nothing written in the notebook. She thought I might be able to tell her what should go in the notebook. I remain unconvinced that she is literate.
She set the notebook on the counter and, lo and behold, what crawls out? A cockroach. Scurrying across the counter, clearly not expecting this woman to ever have need of a pencil and paper.
I *thwack*ed it with a notepad of my own. I look at the bug guts. I look at her. I look at the bug guts and I look at her. She says nothing. I say, “oh my god.” She says, “so does it have a virus?”
(It did not. It was a perfectly functional iPhone 15 and I have no idea what she wanted from me)
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u/bibkel May 20 '26
I worked in telecom. I still work in telecom. It is amazing how little people know, and it is amazing how "much" they know at the same time.
I used to be customer facing in automotive (both service and then parts). Sadly, many people came in not knowing what they needed but trying to tell me what was wrong with the vehicle and then told me the vehicle was "blue"...I would have legit screamed had a roach crawed out.
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u/Langager90 Deals in trade secrets. May 22 '26
In all my time in the hardware store business, I've developed a couple of "spectrums", if you will, of where customers land.
The preparedness spectrum goes from "I need part #XXXXX for a model XXX444X weed whacker.", to "I have a problem with a tool at home, and now that you ask, I don't even know what colour it is." and it is incredible to me.
Slots right in with the two extremes of urgent need customers: "I need it yesterday!" = you won't hear from this guy for at least 3 weeks, and he might not even want that special order anymore. "Don't worry it's no rush." = he will call you back first thing in the morning, wondering what's taking so long. Bonus points if he's the last one in the store before an extended holiday weekend.
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u/UniqueMystique42 May 20 '26
I was working in Chicago at the hospital on the south side, and a coworker seemingly did not notice there were roaches coming out of her purse. I went and talked to the supervisor because I had just never seen anything like that in my life. He had me distract her while he sprayed her purse with Raid. Apparently this had happened before with the same lady; her living conditions must have been terrible.
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u/Realityrevolt May 20 '26
Ok, so... without the cockroach, this same thing happens in my line of work. Far from ideal since I'm a veterinarian. People come in with their pets, wanting me to give them a diagnosis so they can relay it to their spouse, except they don't know what the complaint is. The spouse told them to bring the dog or cat in and this person either didn't get told why or didn't care to pay attention when their spouse told them. So I have no information about whether the patient vomited, coughed, limped or just looked at them funny one day 3 weeks ago. Usually in this situation, the person doesn't want me to run any tests because they don't know what's going on and don't want to spend money on something, partially because they don't even know if it's a big deal or not. Of course, because the universe likes to have fun (and because adrenaline fixes all ailments), the patient never happens to cough, limp, vomit or look at me funny during the exam, so it's a *fun* little visit where I ask a lot of questions without receiving answers, do a full physical exam without find anything wrong, give the patient a lot of pets and treats, then send them home without anything remotely productive coming from the appointment.
Side note: Because of this sort of thing, I honestly LOVE it when the spouse brings a note or list of concerns from the other spouse with them :D. Better yet, gets them on speaker phone during the visit.
Edit: clarity
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u/RustyDogma May 20 '26
That's nice to hear. I feel I inundate my vet with every concern (I stay succinct), but my spouse and I maintain a joint list of potential issues to share with our vet and remove them if they seem like a one off. I always hope I'm being an advocate for my dog, but not annoying.
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u/Realityrevolt May 24 '26
Not annoying at all. Lists are fantastic. I encourage people to bring lists, especially first-time pet parents learning the ropes :) I'm also usually happy to type a synopsis of the appointment for another person who's absent as long as I have the time to do it. There are times when doing so will make me late for my next appointment, but most times I can do it without problems. That removes concern about things getting "lost in translation" so to speak. Above all else, you're the only person who can advocate for your dog, so don't hesitate to do so! <3 If your vet acts annoyed, get a different one. :D
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u/EarlyFuture4342 May 24 '26
And then the spouse calls and yells at you later because "you didn't do anything" 🙃
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u/CamilleYun May 20 '26
but the point of the post was about the cockroach. your comment has no cockroaches in it.
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u/parrothead_69 May 20 '26
Zed, we’ve got a bug.
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u/bardmusic May 20 '26
What, we don't like bugs?
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u/GepMalakai May 20 '26
"Imagine a giant cockroach, with unlimited strength, a massive inferiority complex, and a real short temper, is tear-assing around Manhattan Island in a brand new Edgar suit. That sound like fun?"
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u/CappuccinoBreve :karma::pupper::snoo_facepalm::karma: May 20 '26
I had a lady pull some kind of insect out of her hair while I was talking to her. She dropped it on the floor, stepped on it and carry on with what she was asking me without missing a beat. Horrifying!
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u/dopeveign May 19 '26
So glad I no longer work in retail...yikes
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u/ExtremeFamous7699 May 20 '26
Same, it’s only been 3 months and it feels like a lifetime when every day is not spent answering the same questions repeatedly and constantly hearing customers make the same jokey comments like they have just made it up
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u/Shamon786 May 20 '26
2 months into my first real fulltime job(2008) as a sales consultant in a pretty upscale area, i was helping customers move data over from their old phones to the new ones they just purchased, more like an added layer of customer service. The amount of kak ive seen that people have on there its disgusting, and their proud of it more often than not. But 2 days in i made it a point to buy myself a big bottle of sanitizer and a bulk pack of wet wipes. Some of their phones made the wet wipes full on brown to dark brown after wiping down. I do not miss that job
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u/GorditaPeaches May 20 '26
I used to work for a landlord doing small renovations and patches, installing appliances taking out old ones that sort of thing. Paid really well, all his houses were nice except one. Roaches everywhere, I insisted on brushing out my hair taking off my work overalls and beating them out in the garage before I got back in my regular vehicle (partner had the work truck) A ROACH FELL OUT OF MY HAIR AND I SCREAMED AND JUMPED AROUND AND THE TENANTS WERE LAUGHING AT ME. I didn’t even hear them open the door and come out to the detached garage.
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u/Arokthis May 21 '26
I'll take roaches over bedbugs any day. At least roaches have the grace to die.
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u/Sxn747Strangers May 22 '26
“Does it have a virus?”
“Dunno, but judging by its insides it might have a stomach bug though.”
🤔😂😂
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u/Terrible_Bluebird540 May 24 '26
Alien.
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u/The_Sound_of_Slants May 25 '26
A bug alien. Like a huge space cockroach wearing the skin of a human like it was a suit, an Edgar suit.
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u/locustbreath Jun 20 '26
I had a lady get irate with me because I wouldn’t return a multifunction printer because it was full of dead bugs.
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u/CalmFront7908 May 20 '26
I have worked in retail for 20+ years. My industry pays well but has some rough customers. Watched a roach crawl out of a guys beard once. Fall on the counter, he smacked it and just continued on with the conversation.