A Very Tire-ing Conversation

(I work in a contact centre for vehicle breakdowns. Customers phone in for emergency assistance.)

Me: “Good evening, [Company]. How can I help?”

Customer: “Hi. I’m on a very busy dual carriageway, but I’ve got a puncture and had to pull over.”

Me: “Sorry to hear that; which tire is punctured?”

Customer: “Erm… I don’t know.”

Me: “How do you know if you have a puncture? Have you looked at your tires yet?”

Customer: “Well, the puncture warning light came up, so I pulled over.”

Me: “Okay, well, just because that light comes up on the dash, it doesn’t mean that you have a puncture. One of your tires might be low on air, or you may have hit a bump in the road that set the sensor off. It’s always best to check the tires yourself, as there might not actually be anything wrong with the tire.”

Customer: “But I’ve got a puncture! I can’t check the tires; it’s dark! Are you expecting me to get out of my car on a busy road just to check my f****** tires?”

Me: “You can exit the car on the passenger side if you need to, ma’am, and a flat tire will be very obvious, even if it is dark. It won’t take long at all.”

Customer: “Just send someone out, for f***’s sake. I’ve got a puncture and I need to get home!”

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but we don’t even know if you have a puncture yet. You might be perfectly okay to continue your journey.”

Customer: “I’m not moving until I know there’s nothing wrong. You’re sending someone out to me right now!”

(My supervisor told me to just send a breakdown truck out to the customer to stop her complaining. She had to wait two hours for the truck, and it turned out that one of her tires had slightly lower pressure than the others and needed pumping up.)