The 'customer' effect...

We would like to draw attention to a curious condition that seems to infect a significant number of shoppers. It seems to take hold when they crossover from a regular person to a customer and the effect is immediate.
We have noticed a definite decline of intelligence the moment they step into the shop. This varies with each individual; starting from subtle naïveté to complete ignorance.
There are a number of incidents which come to mind…
Incident 1
- “I’d like to buy this”
- “Lovely, that one is 10% off at the moment”
- “How come?”
- “We have a special promotion running this month, up to 60% off everything”
- “You should really put up some signage”
- “Ummm, we do have banners up, and also signs in each display window… and see the balloons in the corner there?”
-“Oh…”
Incident 2
- “Is it white gold?”- “No these pendants are silver.”
- “White gold?”
- “No, they're in silver.”
- “Not white gold?”
- “No, sorry, these pendants only come in silver”
- “And in white gold?”
Incident 3
- “I’m looking for a solitaire ring”
- “Which cut were you after? Round brilliant, square princess?”
- “A solitaire cut”
- “So solitaire just means a single stone, as in ‘solo’… did you want it with a round or a square cut stone?”
- “What’s the difference?”