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 ?

Is this a reverse and you’re the shop assistant who was laughed at?

I think it was unreasonable to laugh in front of her. The compassionate thing to do would have been to have cleared up the misunderstanding, got the info you needed and then had a little chuckle with someone (partner, friend, mum, etc) when you got home.

No need to be nasty OP 🙄

These things happen in retail. She might have just dealt with a horrible customer, be working her 6th day in a row. The noise and bright lights and constant chatter and overhead radio turn your brain to mush.

I would have laughed in your face at you asking to go behind the counter - she probably thought you a bit of an odd one! 🤣

Interesting. So she should have explained that at the very least then.

The max strength ones are 12.8mg. that's the highest OTC I've seen

Difference will be in the milligrams of the codeine. I think you can only get the 8mg otc anyway.

You were rude.

I honestly wasn't rude. It was more of a chuckle than laughing in her face. I did go on to explain that I meant the difference between the strengths and I genuinely thought it was fairly obvious what I meant.

To be fair to op, quite a few Boots branches I’ve been in have the medicines locked up behind glass. I could see how if it was like that, the op may have been asking to step in closer and read through the glass, if the assistant wasn’t showing any signs of unlocking the cabinets.

You would hope that it would then be a case of the assistant saying ‘No, but let me take them out and let you see them,’ I guess.

Why did you ask to go behind the counter?!

Ask your question properly next time. You could have meant what she answered, you could have meant the total number of tablets in the packet, but you wanted a different question answering.

How rude that you laughed.

Could you read off how many mg is the max strength? Thank you.

There ya go for next time. Easy, huh?

Maybe she took your question very literally. Whatever.

Be nice to retail workers. They get shit on every damn day and are not well compensated.

It was really obvious what the OP was asking.

You could have meant the difference in price.

So it's gone from "laughed out loud" in the title to a mere chuckle now.. righty ho

“Please could I look at both boxes to compare them?” would’ve been fine; she was probably on her guard because you asked to go behind the counter!

I think we all know it’s wrong to laugh in anyone’s face…

Working in retail is brutal. She probably isn’t allowed to tell you, the difference she probably just has to give you the boxes and let you compare because she isn’t qualified to comment on the drug. I would’ve thought it would be quite self-explanatory to be honest. Max strength codeine won’t actually be any stronger. It probably just has caffeine in it.

Yes but also many of the staff are just sales assistants (and they are unlikely to be "girls/boys" as I doubt they employ children).
But by your theory though they shouldn't be working there. It's a bit hard to run a pharmacy without sales assistants.

I agree. The question could've been more specific. She could've been baffled by the question herself as Max strength definitely suggests that it's stronger than regular already. Maybe she thought you didn't hear her etc etc etc

Laughing in her face wasn't very kind though. You've probably made her feel very stupid for no reason.

What was the difference between the strengths? You can only buy 8mg over the counter (if you're in the UK). The 2 other strengths must be prescribed. It would be a shocker if she was so inexperienced she was trying to sell prescription only drugs over the counter (and she would have had to fetch them from the actual pharmacy area) but as it is, I suspect it might be you who got hold of the wrong end of the stick, OP.

No. 8mg of codiene is not the highest OTC. Solpadeine Max is 12.8mg. I've got some next to me.

From their website.
Solpadeine® Max Soluble Tablets, Paracetamol 500mg, Codeine Phosphate Hemihydrate 12.8mg

Not really.
Could have been she meant the strength, the price, the brand......how was the assistant to know?

@Shmee1988 do you buy medication often?
Surely you know you can't go behind the counter? That's the most ridiculous thing about this thread.

No clue why you thought you could go behind a service counter, especially at a pharmacy.
You probably threw her off with that batshit request.

You also did not phrase your question very well.
You laughed/chuckled in her face for no reason.

You must be so very proud of yourself for humiliating that lowly worker. Go you!

She's probably done in with the amount of stupid questions

Like in a pub when people ask
What's the difference between an 8oz and 16oz steak?
What's a whole chicken?
Does the fishcake contain fish?

Yanbu, I can't believe how many people think yabu, you were obviously asking what the actual strength of the medication was, not just "max" 🤦

Well she could have responded to any one of those- or clarified.