A bit back I was doing some plumbing. I bought some 15mm copper and some other bits and pieces and I asked for a valve. 'A valve', said the guy, me, 'yes a 15mm valve'. I was having a bit of a brain fart and couldn't remember exactly what I needed to ask for, he was staring at me blankly so I said 'for shutting the water off'. He stared at me blankly, I added, 'a valve, for stopping the flow of water'. 'Your terminology is blowing me away' he said. Me, 'two bits of pipe, valve between them for turning the water off', him, 'oh, an isolator. (note the omission of the word valve).
More recently I bought some wall units from a local timber place. I was using them as base units so the worktop I was buying needed cutting in half lengthways, I asked if they could do it for me and the fella said, almost gleefully I thought, that they couldn't. I thought I was being my usual cynical self but I detected another hint of cheerfulness when I was putting them in the car and he asked where I was going to take them to get them cut. I told him not to worry, i'd manage.
This week I am in the electrical suppliers. I need a type C breaker, he asks what sort of breakers I currently have, I tell him, he says he has type B breakers but can't get C types the same as the ones I have. I come away empty handed and do a bit of research and find that most breakers are the same size and shape and will sit happily with each other. So I go back and buy a couple of breakers and ask if he has any busbar. Not for that CU he says. So I leave with no busbar but then i'm thinking that if the breakers are the same dimensions then surely the busbar is the same. So I go back and he admits he has none and doesn't keep it.
Do people get a buzz out of being unhelpful?