Page 3 | To wonder what stupid questions you've been asked

backtolifebacktoreality · 2021-12-09T09:58:20+00:00

Last weekend I phoned a local florists and asked them to send some flowers to a nearby friend. The friend lives in a relatively small cul de sac. The florist obviously asked the address for them to be delivered to. I advised they lived at No 12. She then went on asking all sorts of questions about how she could find the house once in the street, ie what side of the road etc. She then asked questions about what would make the house recognisable to her, ie what colour front door. I had to bite my lip but really wanted to respond "the fact that is has the number 12 on the door"!

BigYellowHat · 09/12/2021 12:14

My surname is a word. One that you hear most days in fact. Probably 6/10 people ask how to spell it and it’s so bloody annoying 🙄

Duckerbizzle · 09/12/2021 12:15

Where we live it is a little bit confusing as there are loads of little closes etc all with strange layouts. We get so many parcels dumped here that aren't for us by drivers who got a bit confused or whatever. I think the florist was just making sure the flowers went to the right place so wanted to put a note of anything to help the delivery person if necessary who is likely to be in a hurry. She might not have known the road you were sending them to so wasn't necessary aware that the house is easy to find. So surely good customer service, rather than being stupid/asking dumb questions.

StopThisTrain22 · 09/12/2021 12:19

I work in a bank so have had a huge amount of stupid questions over the years.

Earlier this year a woman came in and asked if she was able to open a credit card for her son (who she had brought in in a pushchair). I gave her the benefit of the doubt and assumed she was confused and wanted a bank account so asked if this is what she meant. She said “no. I want a credit card for him so I can start to build his credit rating”. He couldn’t have been more than 2 years old! I honestly couldn’t believe I had to explain to someone why she couldn’t have a credit card in a toddlers name.

Negligee · 09/12/2021 12:22

@megustalacerveza

It sounds like the woman could well have had some kind of disability, such as a visual difficulty, OP. Lots of people have trouble being able to see house numbers, and the fact she asked for the colour of the door suggests this. She also doesn't actually know that your friend lives in a small cul-de-sac and that it would be fairly obvious which house it was. She delivers to dozens of houses every day and has probably wasted a lot of time trying to find houses, and having some hints about how to find somewhere more easily cuts down on the wasted time and delays.

Likewise, the person who asked if the form was complete - you must never have worked in an admin role if you don't know that it is in fact common for people to submit incomplete forms missing crucial information. There's a reason people ask questions like that.

I can't believe how many people jump to the conclusion that someone must be stupid for asking things like this, rather than the far more likely scenario that there's a good reason they're asking.

Has anyone ever suggested that you might have a problem with empathy and understanding where other people are coming from?

I agree with this — neither of the two questions deemed stupid by the OP was in fact stupid.

Negligee · 09/12/2021 12:23

@StopThisTrain22

I work in a bank so have had a huge amount of stupid questions over the years.

Earlier this year a woman came in and asked if she was able to open a credit card for her son (who she had brought in in a pushchair). I gave her the benefit of the doubt and assumed she was confused and wanted a bank account so asked if this is what she meant. She said “no. I want a credit card for him so I can start to build his credit rating”. He couldn’t have been more than 2 years old! I honestly couldn’t believe I had to explain to someone why she couldn’t have a credit card in a toddlers name.

Now that’s properly dopey! 😀

user7514254 · 09/12/2021 12:24

@CruCru

In fairness, there are lots of houses where the number isn't shown. I understand it's infuriating for delivery drivers.

Exactly I don’t think it was necessarily a stupid question.

Sausagedogsarethebest · 09/12/2021 12:26

A few months back I was taking some bits to a self storage place. Another unit user had their possessions strewn across the corridor on a flat trolley thing. As I approached and waited(couldn't get by with my own trolley) the man of the couple looked up and said "oh, do you want me to move it?" I cant remember what I said but the lightly slightly sarcastic comment I was thinking actually came out of my mouth. On the way back out the woman of the couple had a go at me "there was no need to be so fucking rude". She was right, I was a bit rude, but it annoyed me they asked the bleeding obvious, and I'd had a bad day leading up to that point, so I just gave it to her back. Not my finest moment.

user7514254 · 09/12/2021 12:26

@backtolifebacktoreality

And another stupid question this morning ...

I dropped my son's college application off at our local college this morning.

I passed the envelope to the receptionist and she asked "is the application form complete"?

As if we are going to drop off an incomplete form!

She was probably asked to check having received incomplete forms previously. Again it’s not necessarily a stupid question.

MalfunctioningRobot · 09/12/2021 12:27

I took my brother for a hospital appointment when I was early 20’s, they asked my date of birth because I think you had to be over 18, then asked his. He’s 10 years younger than me. After I’d given both the receptionist then said to me ‘oh so he’s your son then?’ No, I didn’t gave birth when I was 10.

Also gave his date of birth another time, said ‘97… got asked 97 of what? Erm 1897

godmum56 · 09/12/2021 12:28

@backtolifebacktoreality

And another stupid question this morning ...

I dropped my son's college application off at our local college this morning.

I passed the envelope to the receptionist and she asked "is the application form complete"?

As if we are going to drop off an incomplete form!

oh believe me this is soooooooo not a stupid question......actually neither is the flowers one. Not everyone has a number on their door and numbers don't always run as you expect them to. I used to work for the NHS in the community and spent many a happy hour tracking down opatients from what looked like a complete and simple address.

valnevavaxx · 09/12/2021 12:28

OP you seem to be very offended at "being spoken to like you're stupid" but have no problem calling perfectly reasonable questions stupid yourself.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 09/12/2021 12:28

@Aroundtheworldin80moves

Are they twins?

Two kids in pram. One a young baby. The other a tall toddler...

My friend, who has twins - a boy and a girl - was asked if they were identical!!

My story isn't about a question I was asked, but about one ds1 (then aged about 15) asked. We were having lunch in a coffee shop, and having read the menu, he asked the waitress "What's in the beef sandwich, please?" To which her answer was a baffled look and "Beef!" - while the rest of us dissolved into laughter.

What he actually wanted to know was does the beef sandwich have horseradish or mustard or salad in it - but that was NOT what he asked. To this day, a daft question is known as a 'beef sandwich' question in this family!

godmum56 · 09/12/2021 12:29

@BigYellowHat

My surname is a word. One that you hear most days in fact. Probably 6/10 people ask how to spell it and it’s so bloody annoying 🙄

maybe they can't believe that your name is spelt the same?

fakereview · 09/12/2021 12:30

@MsAgnesDiPesto

My maiden name was a colour. A common, everyday colour. One syllable. Can only be spelled one way. Yet endless people asked me how to spell it! For years!

My surname is the same as the area I live in. So it's the name of the local council, shopping centre, leisure centre etc. And yet people ask how you spell it.

user7514254 · 09/12/2021 12:31

I think it’s more of a patience problem than stupid @backtolifebacktoreality

Whatthechicken · 09/12/2021 12:32

I once rescued a pigeon during the floods of 2007. It was sodden and couldn’t fly. So I put it in a box and took it home. When I got home I said to my housemate: ‘I’ve just rescued a pigeon, I’m going to get him dry and warm and release him tomorrow. His name is Bob.’

Housemate replied: ‘How do you know his name is Bob?’

Pigeon was fine and lived to fight another day.

user7514254 · 09/12/2021 12:33

That’s hilarious

cherrytree63 · 09/12/2021 12:37

I was riding down the road when an old school friend pulled up in his car and said "do you still go horse riding "
Asked how to spell w.
When I was working at a lab I refused to take in a semen sample as it wasn't in a sterile pot. Really hard not to crack up when the woman trying to hand it in asked what's the difference between a jam jar and her vagina.
I applied for benefits after my husband died. I was asked if my husband could attend a meeting with the CSA. Yes that's fine, but just don't open the pot of ashes unless you've got a hoover handy.
Following my mastectomy "how are you following your vasectomy"

Whatthechicken · 09/12/2021 12:37

Had some alcohol delivered via Hermes. I answered the door and the delivery driver said: ‘Do you know your age?’
Me: ‘yes’
Driver: ‘I mean, do you know your date of birth?’
Me: ‘yes’
Eventually we decided that he needed to see some actual ID…not sure why though, I’m clearly 43 and no longer pass as 17.

Greenandcabbagelooking · 09/12/2021 12:38

"Miss I've finished the page of my exercise book. Can I write on the next one?"

No, I'd like you to write the rest of the lesson on the desk. A student asks me this question at least once a week. I teacher 11-18 year olds.

carriebradshawwithlessshoes · 09/12/2021 12:40

I have 2 colleagues both called Tom. We had a client over from the US. They were both introduced, the client seemed deep in thought then asked ‘are you related?’

PinkWednesdays · 09/12/2021 12:40

Went to the doctor complaining of a lot of rectal bleeding. Doctor asked me if I’m getting it mixed up with my period…

I wasn’t, and it turned out I had bowel cancer (all fine now).

megustalacerveza · 09/12/2021 12:40

@iklboodolphrednosedpaindear

It sounds like the woman could well have had some kind of disability, such as a visual difficulty,

Well she shouldn't be driving to deliver the flowers if she has!

What if she had someone else driving? What if she was delivering on a push bike, like my local florist?

The assumptions people make are so weird.

ItsNotNormalLove · 09/12/2021 12:40

I work in a supermarket. I wear a branded name badge and a headset. I was stood on some steps putting stock on the top shelf when a customer said "Excuse me, do you work here?"

RandomLondoner · 09/12/2021 12:41

@BigYellowHat

My surname is a word. One that you hear most days in fact. Probably 6/10 people ask how to spell it and it’s so bloody annoying 🙄

I'm guessing that until you've spelled it they don't know for sure it's that word. It's not that they can't spell the word, it's that they need confirmation that the word is what you are actually saying. (See example above of the person who refused to spell "Paul" because it's obvious how that should be spelled. And paid the price of having their name recorded as Poole, because that's what the hearer heard.)