A very similar situation as our tire store story above except you've got a new salesman working at a furniture store.
The first day on his own running the store the eager salesman meets customer in the store who is looking at a couch on display. "Can I help you?" asks the salesman. "That's an interesting couch" says the customer. The salesman then goes on to talk about the couch and its fine materials and workmanship, where it's made and how happy all the other people are that already own it and he goes on and on trying to impress his prospective client with all his knowledge of the fine piece of furniture. Meanwhile another customer strolls into the store and he explains that he'll be with them shortly. The the prospect asks him "Do you have this couch in purple?" "I don't know" says the salesman "let me look around for it." The salesman proceeds to walk around the extremely large store while a few more customers walk in the door. After about ten minutes of looking and frustrated he calls his boss on the phone and asks if they have that couch in purple. The boss tells him to go back into the warehouse and check in there. So back in the warehouse he goes as a few more customers walk into the store and the some of the others are filtering out the door because they aren't being helped. Meanwhile back in the warehouse he's going up and down the isles climbing ladders and after an exhaustive search he comes up with nothing. So he gets back on the phone with his boss (who's been trying to enjoy his first day off in weeks) as a few more customers come and go and the boss tells him to call the distributor. So the worn out salesman gets on the phone to the distributor who asks him for the model number which he has to run back on the showroom floor to grab from the tag as a few more prospective clients walk out the door. He speaks with the distributor, gives him the model number and codes, who says "hang on let me check that for you" as a few more customers come and go out the door and his prospect is now looking impatient. Finally after what seems like an eternity the distributor comes back on the phone and gives him the good news he's been waiting for. "We have that couch in purple and we can get it to you in about a week" "Great says the salesman get it here as soon as possible" so the distributor then says "hang on the trucks just leaving I'll have them quickly put it on the truck or it'll be another week before you get it". So the salesman hangs on and the distributor comes back on the line to confirm that it's been shipped and fills out the paperwork on his end. Meanwhile a few more clients come and go out of the store. The salesman is now off the phone and has a big smile on his face because the couch is being shipped and he is going to make a very nice commission off this high end piece of furniture. He then walks out of the office and meets his customer with a smile and says "GOOD NEWS! we've got that couch in purple and it's being shipped here as we speak and you'll have it in about a weeks time for you family, friends and neighbors to enjoy and admire!" His customer looks at him exasperated and says to him. "I have no intention of buying that ugly couch. I just wanted to know if they made it in purple!" Now in the time that has passed a whole store of customers has come and gone and an expensive ugly purple couch that no one wants is on it's way to the store, his boss is upset because his day off has been interrupted, and the commission only, once eager salesman has earned no money, but has learned a very important lesson. If someone asks if you have that couch in purple, you ask them "Do you want that couch purple?"
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