A (Mason) Jarring Request

(I accidentally pick up a call from a customer who had asked to speak to “the manager.” Although I’m not the store manager, I am A manager, so I decide to try to power through what is clearly going to be a ridiculous call.)

Me: “So sorry for the wait. This is [My Name]; how can I help you?”

Customer: “Yes, I asked to speak to the manager because the regular people who work in the stores don’t actually know anything.”

Me: “Okay… how can I help you?”

Customer: “First of all, I would like to make a complaint about your hold music. You shouldn’t have it. It gets in your head. So I think it’s incredibly rude, and you should get rid of it immediately.”

Me: “All right, sir, I do apologize about that. I will certainly let my superiors know about your concerns.”

Customer: “Good. Next, I’m looking for two things. One, I need small mason jars, preferably in a two-pack. Second, I need a replacement antenna for my TV. I wanted a manager, because I don’t think the regular workers know the full stock of the store and will just tell me you don’t have them without looking.”

(We are not an electronics store, per se, but we do have a large website with an enormous assortment from which we place orders for customers all the time. As he’s talking, I am quickly doing an online search for a replacement antenna. Turns out, we do carry a wireless antenna that none of our stores stock, but which we can order for the customer and have sent directly to him.)

Me: “All right, sir, it looks like we do carry a wireless antenna through our website that our stores don’t have in stock, but which I could order for you and have sent straight to your house.”

Customer: “I don’t like ordering things without seeing them first! This is the fifth antenna I’ve had to buy now, and they all break! I just want to watch local channels, the local news, international news, and basic things. I don’t know what is so hard about this! This is the fifth one!”

Me: “I’m sorry about that, sir. Like I said, we carry one. We just have to order it. I’d probably recommend some kind of electronics store—”

Customer: “I already tried them!”

Me: “Ohhhhkayyyyy, well, I’m sorry I can’t help you with the antenna, then. As far as the mason jars go, I definitely have some small jars in stock, although they come as a set of four, not two.”

Customer: “But I only need two. I want it to come as a set of two.”

Me: “I’m so sorry about that, sir, but all of our mason jars come as a set of four or more. I do apologize that I couldn’t help you with either of those things today.”

(The customer continues to rant at me for a few more minutes, saying the exact same unhelpful things, before finally letting me go. I immediately went and found my store manager, and relayed the customer’s “concerns,’ including that we should do away with our hold music.)

Me: “You owe me.”