There is nothing wrong with having to explain why a person has specific preferences or describing how things work. The first time.
But when another person has the same inquiry, it can really test one's patience.
This is a challenge many people who work in retail face. These hard-working employees are constantly asked questions about the store's business hours or what aisle the toiletries are in as the customer stands directly in front of said merchandise.
Curious to hear about other people's experiences of having to constantly repeat themselves, Reddit Zero-Pathways000 asked:
"What's something you're sick of having to explain?"
Every customer service industry worker must have that one thing they find themselves having to always explain.
Two Cards, Different Functions
"The difference between a debit card vs. a credit card. Yea I have to explain this to adults on a daily basis."
– Ihavenogoodusername
They Are Not The Same
"Silicone and latex are two completely different materials."
– MajorHotLips
Pet Bios
"That the animals in my care are rescues, and that I did not inflict the injuries/illnesses they have on them."
– LizardPossum
Sounds About Right
"Surrounds and rears are 2 different speaker locations and neither of them go in the ceiling."
– Anbucleric
Why are some people fascinated with the things others do?
Itinerant Applicant
"Before I got my current job a month ago, I only had about 6 other interviews over the course of 5 months. At most of them, the recruiter would always be so confused about why I've lived in so many places and it was so annoying and weird. I was a military kid, my parents moved when I was in college and now I live in a completely different state from them because that's where my fiance ended up. I don't really understand why that's confusing. People move more often now than they ever have."
– cihojuda
Necessary Accessory
"My eyes are insanely sensitive to light."
"Sunlight & fluorescent. LED, CFL, & incandescent above maybe 40 watts. Phones, computer screens, TVs."
"So I’m not wearing the sunglasses inside because I’m hungover or on drugs or trying to look super cool. I’m wearing them inside so I don’t think about gouging my eyes out every 3 minutes."
– ghosts-go-boo
Walking Companion
"Why I intermittently need a cane and that no- I’m not too young to need a cane."
– dj_microwave
Limited Vision
"Red Green color blindness. Now when it comes up instead of playing the 'what color is this?' game I have a picture on my phones that illustrates how different color visions see things."
– firenamedgabe
It can all be too much to bear. These Redditors found themselves at the end of their rope.
Lonely Is Not A Bad Thing
"That just because I don't talk to people, doesn't mean I'm lonely. I'm perfectly fine being alone with myself. Alone does not equal lonely."
– Eh_Its_Ok_I_Guess
Alone Time
"That i need time for my self. Like, it's not that I need time away from you. I just need time with me."
– R0ttenHeimer
Boiling Point
"That I can produce quick work, or quality work. You can’t have both. Got sick of explaining this to the same people over and over… so I quit my job and got a better one."
– AutoCAD_Bane
Explaining the same situation to different people is definitely exhausting.
However, it's more annoying when you have to explain something to the same person over and over again–whether it's because they weren't paying attention the first time or they didn't hear you.
Would you be more aggravated by the former or the latter?
I'll only ask once.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
@sama/X
