Retail shifts can often feel routine… until a customer decides to throw all common sense out the window.

That’s exactly what happened when a customer attempted to describe his bed size by flailing his arms around in the bedding aisle.

And the retail worker could hardly believe their eyes.

Keep reading to find out how it all unfolded.

How could I know if you don’t?

A couple of years ago in a UK supermarket, I was working in the home section when a customer comes up to me and asks me where he can find bedding.

I tell him, “Sure, no problem,” and walk him to the aisle.

The conversation got weird quick.

Me: “Alright, so on this row we have singles, this row are doubles, and the king sizes are on the bottom row. Full duvet sets are over there.” (Gesturing at each one, of course.)

Customer: “Thanks, but what size should I get?”

Me: “Well, that would depend on your bed. What size of bed do you have?”

Customer: “I’m not sure… it’s a bit bigger than this.” Stretches arms out as wide as he can.

The retail associate tries to politely allude to how insane this is.

Me: “Sorry, but that doesn’t really narrow it down. If you’re able to find out which size of bed you have, then I’d be happy to help you, but there’s not much I can do without knowing.”

Customer: “Oh, okay, thanks.”

The associate couldn’t take their eyes off of this shopper for the rest of their shift.

Then it looked like he started Googling bed sizes to try to eyeball it, but I only got a small glimpse of his phone while he was doing it.

He spent around 20 minutes standing by the bedding.

To this day, I still have no idea how I managed to keep it together while he spread his arms out.

Um, sir, an arms length is not a valid unit of measurement.

What did Reddit think?

Customers really need to use their words.

Many customers just want to shut their brains off and let someone else do all the thinking.

This commenter has a similar story.

A lot of these customers would have better luck asking a psychic.

The customer’s methods may have been memorable, but they weren’t exactly helpful.

No measurements, no clues — just vibes.

If you liked that story, check out this post about a group of employees who got together and why working from home was a good financial decision.