Shared adversity

A Maru Department Store customer approaches the clock and watch counter.

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Maru Customer: Those clocks, the ones which keep time by a radio beam.

Technician: Yes?

Maru Customer: Well, I actually have one already, but it’s a got a problem, see, the radio beam function is showing an error message.

Technician: Oh? What brand?

Maru Customer: Seiko, same as those ones. Is there a battery controlling the auto adjustment?

Technician: No. How old is your clock?

Maru Customer: 4, 5, 6 years old. It was a present.

Technician: Cheaper to buy a new one than fix your one.

Maru Customer: Yeah, at 3000 yen, that’d be right. Doesn’t worry me, I just wondered if there was a separate battery for the auto-adjustment. I mean, I changed the main battery and it still showed an error.

Technician: No building going on nearby? To cause interference?

Maru Customer: Nope.

Technician: Interesting. I have the same clock. Same problem. 6 years old and the auto adjustment starts showing an error.

Maru Customer: Ah. That’s good to know. Something inside gives up the ghost then.

Technician: Must be.

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Voice-over

The technician goes through the questions before she divulges that she too has the same problem.

Once the Maru customer shows no antagonism about what is likely a common defect in the product, a shared experience settles into a comfortable conversation.

“That happened to you? Same thing happened to me. Ha.”

The comfort of shared adversity!

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