Why do women man electronic/electrical stores?

I remember scouring a city years ago for a CD player. I chanced upon an audio store with 2 women at the counter. I knew it was a waste talking to them about the technical details of what I was looking for. Still, I tried my luck and asked unenthusiastically if they stocked CD changers. One of the women looked at me quizzically and asked – What’s a CD changer? Educating people was not what I did for a living. I didn’t pursue the issue any further.

The tube-light in my room has been having problems for the past few days and we suspected it was the choke to blame. I thought it better to buy one of those energy-efficient fluorescent lamps than to get the choke repaired. I had spotted an electrical shop in our locality and decided yesterday to buy the lamp from there. Yeah, I didn’t know it was manned by a woman. I asked for what I was looking and the woman showed me some. Not once did she volunteer to show me what was available, I had to specifically ask. And after I had pestered her enough to make my choice, I asked for the price. She bluntly pointed at the MRP. People shouldn’t  mistake MRP (Maximum Retail Price) for ORP (Only Retail Price). I protested saying that fluorescent lamps generally retail for a lot less then the MRP. She stood her turf, the ignorant fool that she was.

I tried another electrical store a little further away. The young boy knew what he was selling and I was a happy customer, saving a good Rs.50 on what the woman had finally settled for after a lot of haggling.

My new lamp works just fine. It’s from Crompton Greaves.