I know what a teabag is in America. However, I found Australians use different words than we do for some things. We hosted a foreign exchange student for a year from Australia. On her first day staying with us, we told her we were having "sloppy joes" for dinner. She looked at us with wide eyes and said "No way, mate!" It turns out that you Aussies call a sweat shirt a sloppy joe while we call fried, loose hamburger meat cooked in tomato sauce and served on a bun a sloppy joe. Cotton candy is called "ferry floss". Also, she would ask us, "What's for tea?" Interpretation: "What's for dinner?"
So we call a tea bag the item that you stick in boiling water to make tea. Is that what it is in Australia?
Regards,
Mark
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
I have a certain way of dealing with educationally challenged folks. My daughter
is awesome at buttering up these customer types. I Have challenged her to win the war by seperating the customer from their money. She almost always succeeds. Its more like a game to identify the "customer from hell." She comes up to me and tells she how big the order is. She turns these customers into buying a wider variety of products. We have a lot of fun with it all. We also have kept a written list of stupid questions. It helps make the time go by during the slow times.
Remember, You WIN by seperating them from their money. Just make a game of of it! It really helps make it more fun and time fly by.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Also, she would ask us, "What's for tea?" Interpretation: "What's for dinner?"
So we call a tea bag the item that you stick in boiling water to make tea. Is that what it is in Australia?
Regards,
Mark
Haha. Yes, a teabag is a teabag.
tea and dinner are somewhat interchangeable over here, although it's use does vary by region. Some country folk near where I am refer to morning tea (tea and biscuits at around 10:30 am) as "Morning Lunch" Maybe the farmers get hungry by mid morning...
Ferry floss will make more sense to you when you realise it's "Fairy Floss" Sounds like you had a real ocker, but I wouldn't have gone for your sloppy joes either
Mike
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Most of our work is for repeat clients and our system is to invoice every job as it is done and at the end of the month send out the invoices and a statement. The statement has a place for a message and a lot of companies in South Africa use it to announce specials and so on. I decided to use it for a joke of the month and put in a funny quote. Well I thought it was funny. It was "Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity" One cllient called us up very angry at how we had insulted her calling her stupid. We tried to explain that it was a joke, it was not directed at her and we had sent it to all our clients. She never got it and we lost her work. I am just thankful she is not my wife.
Martin
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
That and other examples, are I why I despise any kind of sarcasm in dealing with people.
Using sarcasm is relatively easy against your favorite 'stupid' customer types, but it never 'wins friends and influences people'. It certainly has no place in the workplace, and should have no place in any business dealings.
Customers (potential or otherwise) are not 'straight men'. For folks that think it's hilarious to treat them that way, their only just desserts will be an eventual lack of folks to practice on.
It's quite one thing to reminisce about 'dumb' customers, but I'm appalled at folks that brag that they've had 'snappy' answers for them. I know being in retail is tough, but I've never found an excuse to be outright rude to customers, no matter how dumb the questions they ask.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
That and other examples, are I why I despise any kind of sarcasm in dealing with people.
Using sarcasm is relatively easy against your favorite 'stupid' customer types, but it never 'wins friends and influences people'. It certainly has no place in the workplace, and should have no place in any business dealings.
Customers (potential or otherwise) are not 'straight men'. For folks that think it's hilarious to treat them that way, their only just desserts will be an eventual lack of folks to practice on.
It's quite one thing to reminisce about 'dumb' customers, but I'm appalled at folks that brag that they've had 'snappy' answers for them. I know being in retail is tough, but I've never found an excuse to be outright rude to customers, no matter how dumb the questions they ask.
Dave, I totally agree with you. After 50+ years in professional photography I have heard it all and seen it all as well. Whether or not we like it, we are in the people business and smart aleck replies just lessen our so called professionalism. Our business is undergoing an attack from the prosumner many of them owning the exact same camera as many of you make your living with. So, unless you, and I act as the consumate professional why should these customers (the people that put food on our table) spend money with us?
Remember, this is the 3d easiest profession to get into. First, the worlds, oldest, 2nd tire repair 3d professional photography - All one needs is a camera.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
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