Some Fine Examples For the Ages

Several stories reported to me by a friend who was an international reservations agent at a major car rental company used to have me rolling on the floor with tales of people who could afford to travel abroad, yet simply had no common sense whatsoever. The following are just a couple of samples of the ignorance in which she was forced to endure all while earning a mere fraction of the pay the people with whom she spoke were earning and were traveling all over the world. I hope you find as much humor in them as I did.

1. 
   
   Recalling a conversation she had with a Canadian traveler going to Mexico, the call went something like this. Although the caller had only two people traveling, she was insistent upon renting a mini van of some sort. After being quoted a price, the caller was aghast as to the rental fees charged there as opposed to Canada. My friend did her best to advise the caller that rental charges can vary drastically between countries based on the ability to obtain the vehicles, the laws of that country and more. When my friend remembered the caller only had two people traveling, she suggested that perhaps a smaller vehicle would be sufficient for her needs. The caller responded by stating that she needed the extra space, not because of excess luggage mind you, but because she and her husband were taking their television with them on the plane and into Mexico. Of course, my friend could not resist asking why someone would want to haul a very large (caller's quote, not an embellishment) television all the way to Mexico on vacation, the caller replied that she was French-Canadian and did not speak any Spanish. By taking her own TV from Canada, she would be able to watch her French channels from Quebec at night while she and her husband went to bed.


2. 
   
   One of my all time favorite calls as told about to me by my friend started with her answering the phone and speaking with another reservations agent from a major airline. The airline agent was reserving a vehicle for himself and while waiting for answers to his questions brought up the fact that he bet my friend had taken a lot of strange calls in her days on the job. She immediately confirmed this, and he then challenged her to a "dumbest customer ever" story. His story went something like this. A lady traveling to Paris, France for the first time was reserving a seat on his airline. After every single question he asked of the lady, she would immediately answer it followed by the line, "and don't give me a window seat." After asking several questions and hearing "don't give me a window seat", he assured the lady that he could guarantee her a seat on the aisle. While that seemed to calm her down, the agent couldn't help but wonder why she refused to fly next to the window but presumed it was from a fear of flying and not wanting to look out. When she finally realized she could be guaranteed a seat away from the window, the lady proclaimed, "Oh, good. I'm getting my hair done right before my flight, and I didn't want to sit by the window where the air coming in would blow my hair out of place."

I hope I have done two things for the all of two people who may read this--let them see the intelligence of some people, or lack thereof, and allowed them a few minutes to laugh aloud at the supreme idiocy of J. Q. Public.

Come back soon as I have plenty more items full of comical amusement to add to my blog.