"Can I help you?" [Not]

Ever feel frustrated by inane and time-wasting offers of help from modern shop assistants who know less about their products than you do?

"To the man who tried to help me find the right computer cable at Future Shop: Thank you for taking the time to carefully read the packaging of all the cables on display right there in front of me... It was nice of you to make yourself available, but guess what? I, too, can read the information on the packages. In fact, I am an accomplished reader of the English language. And if you have no idea what cables you have in your store and what each one is for, then what exactly can you help me with?

"To everybody who works in stores, restaurants, banks -- anywhere in customer service: Clearly you have been instructed to be helpful, but please stop offering to help when you have no idea what that is."

Read Karen Hahn's beautifully expressed article at The Globe and Mail: HELPLESS