The sign on our counter reads "Ring Bell for Service," and there is a bell right in front of it. Simple concept, right? Apparently not. People will stand there, bell directly in front of them, and squeak out "Excuse me? Excuse me?" in a barely audible whisper. Excuse you for being thick, I guess. Ring the damn bell!
Then there are those people who will stand behind the other half of the counter (where there is a solid wall between the inner office and the outer counter) and clear their throat...I can't see you, genius, and if we're busy, I sure can't hear your "ahem ahems." Ring the damn bell!
But by far the worst offenders are the ones who stand there, read the sign, and proceed to make bell sounds with their voices. Uh...ring the bell, don't become the bell!!
And by the way, for those of you who can follow instructions, one ring is sufficient. Multiple rings just renders you a jackass in my book. PING! One ring! It's the genius of the bell!
P.S. Image is from www.nataliedee.com Enjoy her humor and read her panels!!
2 comments:
Certainly I can understand the need for some notification that a person is at the window. But...maybe ringing a bell seems too...well...like you're "summoning the help," you know?
"Jeeves!" *ding ding* "Oh, Jeeves, won't you come here a moment and freshen up my drink? And would you fluff the poodle while you're at it?"
I guess even people who know that you want them to use the bell can't bring themselves to do it sometimes. So it's dumb of them...but also sweet in a way.
Have you considered answering the bell with a very low-pitched "you raaang?"
Humward, all you said is true. But yet, many patrons do treat us like "the help," as in, too dumb to do anything else much less the task at hand. And I have answered in my best Lurch impersonation, but usually only if I know the dinger. ;-)
However, I don't fluff poodles. Seems like an invasion of their personal space...
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