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 ?

She wasn't incompetent. She was asked a question and answered it.
Why is it her fault that the OP doesn't know how to communicate clearly?

There’s a lot more to that story.. I’m an allergy parent so I followed it closely. The Costa worker was def in the wrong but.. the child was 14 and not carrying her EpiPen and then went to a pharmacy who didn’t have any either. It’s awful awful awful but I do blind test every drink my kid orders (although he’s younger) if I’m with him, and he knows (and I check) that he has to have his meds with him if he’s eating out, no meds, no drink.

I doubt you'd laugh mockingly at a professional person.
Ordinary workers are fair game. Terrible. Just because they're serving you doesn't mean you treat them with contempt.

I am an 'ordinary' worker lol. Whether you doubt what I said is of total irrelevance to me. If someone gives a stupid answer, I'm going to laugh, whether that's an 'ordinary worker' as you describe them or someone in a professional role. Do you regard one to be more deserving of a better reaction than the other?

No. I treat people with respect, not laughing at them over a simple error.
Shop workers, bar staff, cleaners, barristers, teachers, doctors - I treat with courtesy and consideration. No laughing at them as per your op. Totally unwarranted.

Okie dokie 😂 please could you highlight the part in my post which said I 'laughed mockingly'

If you laugh at a person because they're "being ridiculous" (your op), that's mocking.
No need. That's all. Obviously you feel differently.

If someone says something that makes you laugh are you not laughing 'At' what they said rather than at them mockingly? Do people ever make you laugh? Has it happened to you before?

People make me laugh because they're being funny. We laugh together. It's shared.
I don't laugh at people, certainly who have made a genuine mistake. Anyway . That's your thing, so you carry on.

Laughing with someone is clearly completely different to laughing at them. The OP seems to keep doubling down on laughing at people, which is never a good look IMO.

I very rarely ask anyone anything in shops these days as they are usually clueless. Especially when you ask if they have something in stock that isn’t out on display - 9 times out of 10 you have to stand there like a lemon for ages whilst they look round the shop floor, which you’ve already done but were foolishly hoping that a staff member might just know without having to look. Maybe I’m just getting old and grumpy but it does seem like people have less common sense since we’ve all become so reliant on the internet.

"The Costa worker was def in the wrong but ..." and then you move onto victim-blaming, which is a real surprise given you say you have a child with a serious allergy.
Unfortunately, it's the attitude of the majority of people on here which means we all get lousy service. It isn't wrong to expect that someone who is being paid to do a job, does it competently, regardless of the complexity of that job - we shouldn't be tolerating a race to the bottom.
I sincerely hope, whatever age your son is (because he will always be your son) that he never dies as the result of someone's lack of training, carelessness or negligence in the course of providing a service to him. And I'm willing to bet that should that worst scenario occur, you wouldn't say "There's a lot more to that story" and then blame your own son.

So if someone says something funny and you laugh but the other person doesn't, are you laughing at them mockingly or just laughing because it was funny?

I'm not doubling down on anything. The lady in question offered a stupid answer to what was a very clear question. It was funny in its absolute ridiculousness so I laughed. Shoot me. If some people can't see how glaringly obvious it was what I wanted from the question then honestly, I despair for them.

I would have just said
'haha no sorry I don't think i explained that correctly. I meant the difference in strength.' Then likely she would have gotten a giggle from it too. Why couldn't she hand you the box to look at over the counter though?

I've no idea. Maybe could not be bothered to unlock it. I can only work on the assumption that she did have the key as she was the person serving, but I could be wrong. I didn't even need to explain, my laugh said it all and then she laughed too. We had a pleasant exchange and I left.

If something isn't on display then it's unlikely they have it. Many shops don't have much in the way of stockrooms so there's usually no stock "out back".
So if you can see an empty space on a shelf - why do you then ask? Do you expect them to suddenly magic the item out of nowhere?

Well, I think you know the difference between laughing with friends and co-workers, and laughing at a shop assistant.
But if you can't, there's nothing more to be said.
That's all.
.

Your question was not clear, you should have asked what was the difference in the dosage in mg between the two. She would probably then have given you both packets to see. I also want the highest amount of codeine I can get in OtC meds, so always ask this question.

Wow when i was a Saturday girl in a chemist back in the 90s I’d have been able to explain the difference by picking up the box and reading the ingredients!!

Medicines are a minefield. I’ve noticed packaging seems to con people into thinking they’re getting something stronger when they aren’t. Just look at the different kids Nurofen boxes. All with the same amount of Nurofen but one says it does more than the other for colds etc!!

From experience max strength usually means they’ve added caffeine!!

My question was absolutely clear, to anyone with a decent level of comprehension and understanding of the english language.

It wouldn't have been on purpose - it would have been in shock and bafflement at the bizarre response to a reasonable question.

I probably would also say 'Sorry, I mean' because I'm a brit, but frankly, there's nothing to apologise for - repeating the titles is the potentially sarcastic/rude response, not me asking for the actual difference between the products

Sorry no, you say you obviously meant something else, but didn’t spell it out to her.

Alternatively it could be because they HAVE to do that, not because they choose to. People who work in public facing services where potentially hazardous substances are involved are going to be tramlined by a ton of regulation, and if they decide based on so-called personal intuition to break any regulation and consequences happen, it will come down on them like a ton of bricks.

Your question was not clear, you should have asked what was the difference in the dosage in mg between the two. She would probably then have given you both packets to see. I also want the highest amount of codeine I can get in OtC meds, so always ask this question.

You're lucky you get it at all in my experience then - half the time I've tried to buy co-codamol (occasionally my period pain is so bad ibuprofen doesn't touch it) they've given me the 3rd degree about why I want it.

I do find your answer a bit weird though - they don't sell OTC co-codamol in anything but one strength - anything actually stronger requires a prescription. This 'Max Strength' was almost certainly the exact same strength, but had added caffeine.

The question 'what's the difference' is entirely clear when asking about 2 medications. Responding 'one has max on it' is as useful as saying 'one's in a green box' - ie. not at all useful, and clearly irrelevant to the product in question. It's medication, not a car.