To have laughed out loud at this retail worker

[Shmee1988]

Today I went to a highstreet branch for some painkillers. I asked the lady behind the counter if they had some cocodomol. She said 'yes, we have our normal cocodomol and our max strength'. I asked if I was allowed to come and read the box and she said no (behind the counter so fair enough) I then asked if she could please explain the difference between the 2, I obviously meant the difference in strength in the active ingredient. Her honest to God, genuine response was 'yes of course, this one is our max strength version...... and this one ....is not'😂I was so taken aback by the utter ridiculousness of her explanation that I had no idea to respond, I just laughed. Anyone had anything similar or did I just encounter a particularly unknowlegable retail worker ?

"would you of had"

Would you HAVE had

You are either incredibly slow, or are trolling us now.

One is 8/500mg codeine/paracetamol
One is 12.8/500mg codeine/paracetamol
per tablet.

Quite. Would have, should have.....

The question should have been obvious! If she's told me that one is normal, and one is max strength, then surely me asking her what's the difference between the two should have been fairly obvious? If, by some chance, she was unsure as to whether I meant price/amount, etc, her answer was still not reasonable for any interpretation of my question?

So you just laughed at her, instead of clarifying.

It’s entirely possible that there is no difference. I read a book recently on the placebo effect and the colours and wording on the box have an influence on how well the placebo effect works. Apparently it still works even when you know this.

that said, I would imagine the difference was a second active ingredient or more of it. Is it codeine and paracetamol? Max prob has a higher amount of codeine.

i look at active ingredients in medication I don’t go off brand names. I actually often will just ask for the active ingredient rather than the name of the brand. Like if I buy antihistamines I will ask for certirizine.

It was funny! I laughed because she'd said something funny. Laughing at something funny is not unkind. I laughed, she laughed. It was such a ridiculous answer and that's what made it funny. People are far too easily offended. No, the actual point of my post was not to make fun of her, the point was too see if anyone had had any other funny and similar things happen. Blimey 😀

Based on where I worked I would have explained that one probably tasted of cat wee and the other of anti freeze 😂😂

I do get your point though!

At this point I think you just need to embrace your new role as Mumsnet villain of the year 😂

No, I laughed at her response, she laughed too and I then asked her very nicely for the normal ones. Thanked her and left.

Then why has your thread got the title it has, and why did your opening post not clarify this?
It reads very differently.

Yes i think so too. I'm actually quite enjoying it. It's bought such joy to the mundane things like swimming lessons and bed time. The utter ridiculousness of it is making me laugh (in my head though because actually laughing at something you find amusing is offensive now)

So you went into a chemist.

You asked to go behind the counter to "look at" the boxes of a painkiller commonly known to cause addiction.

I presume based on that you have never been to a chemist or shop before, as asking to go behind the counter is not something people do. That area is for the staff who work there.

The lady working at the chemist was not aware you had never been in a chemist or a shop before so was probably a little worried due to you behaving oddly.

She tried to answer your question whilst possibly thinking "is this person going to push past me to get to the drugs?" and being mindful that you didn't grab the drugs she'd placed on the counter and run away.

At this point it is possible she was a little bit concerned by how you would act next. Because sometimes people go into chemists to try and get drugs because they like how they make them feel. Some of those people get angry if denied drugs (especially ones like cocodamol). So maybe she was thinking about all of that.

You then laughed at her.

I appreciate going into any shop for the first time is very confusing. Perhaps next time you could tell the staff "hello. This is my first time in a shop. I am not sure about the rules. I would like some painkillers. Where do I need to stand as I don't know"

I hope your second trip to a shop is less scary for you and staff

Hope that helps.

Because it was genuinely just trying to say that the response she gave me was funny. It's everyone else that's assuming I was unkind or laughed in her face. All I said was that I laughed. I'd bet alot of money that if any one of the people who have said I was mean had been with me, in that moment, they'd have laughed too.

Unlikely.

I'm amused at the ridiculousness too and slightly bemused 😂

I think you should read why I asked her if walking behind the counter was allowed, preferably before writing a whole condescending paragraph on why I'm an idiot to have asked 😂

Despite it being pointed out how your question may have been problematic for someone neurodivergent, how offensive and harmful it could be to laugh at them in tghis situation, how offensive it continues to be that you are referring to them as 'stupid' 'ridiculous', and how there is no such thing as an 'obvious' question when you make asumptions.....

You're not going to take that on board at all are you?

What does it say? It says...Don't be so bloody rude and entitled to me.

thats why sometimes its how you ask a question that is the devil in the details

I am, and if I'd have laughed in a rude way or I'd gotten the slightest inkling that she was upset then I absolutely would have apologised. What I'm trying to explain is that it was something silly she said, in the moment, I laughed and she laughed and we both acknowledged that it was funny. It was a ridiculous answer to a question which may or may not have been obvious. People seem to be of the impression that I laughed in her face unkindly and belittled her which was not the case at all

Well I guess some people have no sense of humour 😂

But you're STILL calling her stupid!

Yes, I have taken that on board. No such thing as common sense anymore it would seem. My mistake 😀

Yeah we can tell you are enjoying it