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 ?

That's not rude, it's an impulsive reaction to a funny thing that happened, the op wasn't aggressive or rude. I would also have laughed out loud as it was funny. She'll get older and wiser in time!

I do actually have a degree in English language and literature so I'm happy to discuss. Not really the point of my thread though 🙄

If it's over the counter, ie without prescription, then cocodamol will be 500mg Paracetamol and 8-10mg Codeine. More Codeine and you need a prescription.

So called 'max strength' versions usually have stuff like caffeine added. Not sure how that helps your headache!!

That's interesting . Is the PL code identical on products with the same ingredients, whatever brand / generic name ? Good to know

@Shmee1988 she probably just got caught on the hop and could have answered a more specific question.

Years ago I was looking at a washing machine in one of the warehouse style stores. The assistant was keen to make a sale and kept pointing out it was AAA rated for energy efficiency. I asked what was the difference between AA and AAA. He said in all seriousness, ‘the triple A has three As, the other only has two.’

Ive always treasured that little piece of wisdom. Can’t remember if I bought it!

As a woman in my 40s and wanting to get back to work i took a Christmas job in Boots as an online picker. Orders picked on the shop floor so lots of customers asking questions especially around the vitamins. I would often end up reading labels with them. On my second day i was asked to help around the till area of the perfume section. Zero training and knowledge of any of the stock so I probably would have answered with a silly answer as well.

I mean, if my job was to help people spell and I didn't know the answer, I'd expect to be laughed at

Are you sure it wasn’t a snigger?

Yes but why on earth would she be asking about the word "max" and not the difference in ingredients?

The idea is that apparently the caffeine ones help it get into your blood stream quicker (no idea how) but I suffer from migraines so can't have alot of it. Hence I wanted to know the difference... 😀

Yeah,well. It's so funny when people don't understand questions/don't have information that you think they ought to have but there is no reason why they should. Or is it just people in minimum wage jobs you find funny?

It's not nice to laugh at someone misunderstanding is my point. We all do it, including you.

Nope, just a laugh because it was funny! I struggle to understand how some don't see the funny side of this

Aren't you big and clever mocking someone for not being psychic and knowing the answer to the question you 'obviously' meant, instead answering the question you actually asked?

Was the difference between the two not obvious in what's stated on the box? One is Max strength short for Maximum strength so presumably more effective than the other.

Solpadiene Max is the strongest available OTC at 12.8% codeine content . 8mg is the normal one so you are paying extra for more codeine, not sure if there's more caffeine in it too .
A doctor can prescribe 30mg.
Be careful as it can cause addiction so don't take it long term.

Do you get out much?

You were rude. Your question wasn't obvious.
You should've said 'what's the difference in strength between the two?'.
You could've meant the price, the amount of pills in the box, the brand....

Was the degree from a cereal box? Because you wrote
"question I'd of fully expected to be laughed at"

Do you also say could OF, would OF and should OF, too?

Sorry, I don't believe you have a degree at all.

As for were you being unreasonable, you could have (see what I did there?) asked the worker what the amount of codeine was in each one. There. Simple. That would have given you the answer.

Not unreasonable for laughing - but very unreasonable for your derisory tone about her.
She could have been new, she could have misunderstood you due to a moment of brain fog, she could have just been having "one of those" days - would you have preferred her to make up something on the spot to appease you?
She can't possibly know every single thing about the active ingredients in every single medical product.
When I was in the pharmacy and they didn't have my prescribed Amitriptyline which I have to take daily for severe pain and I asked if I could buy some co-codamol to tide me over for the weekend, the trained pharmacy assistant who has worked there for years didn't know - I didn't take the rip out of her though or think any less of her (which you seem to do in your OP) - I simply accepted that not everyone knows everything and I was grateful that she was honest about it.

Going against the grain but I think OP's question was obvious. She was asking about the difference between the max strength and normal. Not sure why that is so difficult to answer?!

Im afraid the only laughable thing about this is how you phrased the question. What's even more ridiculous is that you made a thread about it 😄

I get it OP. I'd have had a little laugh too. The way people are talking, you insulted her intelligence just because she was on minimum wage and it made you feel good. I've done my fair share of minimum wage jobs and come out with some daft answers to questions that I kicked myself about later . Still do even now I earn a decent salary. Similar to upthread I've told a customer when asking what was in the fish fingers (i.e. what fish) that it contains fish.

She really should be able to explain the strength of each tablet, if she can't then working in a pharmacy is beyond her.

But the OP didn't actually ask about the strength.