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Categories: Humor and sarcasm; Commerce and business; Experiences and daily life

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Continuing with the recent theme of unusual situations, yet another presented itself that left me scratching my head and hoarse from talking on the phone. See The Quest for Tools entry a few posts back.

I have an expensive rectifier/power supply bought secondhand and so far, seems to be working. I wanted to have someone bench test it to ensure it was working properly. Obviously, the internet is the place to look. So I looked and looked and looked.

According to one gentleman, all of the electrical repair guys for this type of work have gone away thanks to the disposable society we live in. I stopped at about 25 phone calls because this was turning into another fruitless search. One thing did catch me off-guard. It was the name of a business.

Calling themselves XYZ Electrical (XYZ not the real name, but 'Electrical' was in their name), the search engine snippet said "We specialize in testing..." before the rest of the text was cut off. I thought, "Yes! Finally some local place that can test this." A quick phone call proved me wrong.

The receptionist said they do nothing with electrical stuff or electronics. Pardon me but your business name has the word "electrical" in it and the website says testing. They thought this name was perfect for a company that tests cardboard boxes and other containers that electronics are shipped in.

This reminded me of another incident many years ago. In a small town with about ten restaurants or food places in the village center, I saw a pizzeria. Their name eludes me but it was something simple like Jim's Pizzeria.

Menus in a basket near the register greeted customers along with large menus behind the counter. Looking...looking...looking. There were neither pizzas on the paper menus nor the huge signs. I asked one of the employees. His response was, "We don't sell pizzas here." I turned around and made a deliberate effort to look at their business sign in such a way that he understood what I was intimating.

I know businesses have to do all they can to compete in today's tight market but isn't this taking specialization or uniqueness to an unprecedented level? In my 40+ years of conscious awareness I have never been in a pizzeria that doesn't sell pizza.

Beware: Just because a business has a name associated with a product or service, it means nothing. Perhaps I should rename my shop to "Joe's Buttplugs and BDSM Supplies" as it would unmistakably confer that I sell religious artifacts, children's toys, and family-friendly games.

Posted by M: November 22, 2015

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