Pet Peevish

Working at a scuba shop we get a lot of incorrect conceptions; no you don't have to hold your breath for over a minute, no sharks aren't dangerous, yes it's dark during night dives. Some still really get under my skin though. My biggest pet-peeve is when a customer wants to look at "goggles, flippers and tubes". Flippers and tubes I can live with, they're simply an old term for fins and snorkels. Goggles, on the other hand are a completely different thing than a mask. Goggles cover your eyes, a mask covers your eyes and nose. They're two completely different pieces of equipment, and people look at me strangley when I try and correct them. I know it's a small thing, really nothing in the grand scheme of things, but gorramit it irritates the crap out of me!

How many people would go into a ski shop and ask for slippers, and wonder why they weren't shown ski boots? What about asking for 4 new wheels, when you really want new tires? How about asking the people at Best Buy for new memory, when your hard drive is broken? If you're looking for gloves would you ask for mittens? It's like ordering a beer and getting Coors. It's all pretty damned ironic.

I swear, the next person that asks me to show them goggles, I'm going to show them goggles. Then I'll beat them to death with a snorkel when they look at me with a pitying look and say, "No I need goggles I can dive with." Maybe I've just been here too long, or maybe I just need a tall, cold, frosty beer. It's my own private valium, mmmm....beer....