At Least Meet Us Half-And-Half Way

(I’ve been called to our store’s cafe to deal with a customer demanding a free drink.)

Me: “Hi, what seems to be the problem?”

Customer: “I got the wrong drink yesterday, so I told the barista that they need to give me a free drink to make up for it.”

Me: “I’m sorry… you got the wrong drink yesterday?”

Customer: “Yes! I come here every day to study and get the same drink! Yesterday, they gave me some disgusting sludge. I had to drink the whole thing! What are you going to do to make it right?!”

Me: “You drank the whole thing, even though you thought it was disgusting and you were still in the store?”

Customer: “That’s not the point! They gave me the wrong drink. You need to make it up to me.”

Me: “Why didn’t you tell the barista that you were given the wrong drink yesterday? We would have happily gotten you the correct drink.”

Customer: “I didn’t realize I had the wrong drink until I sat down. What was I supposed to do, get up and walk all the way over to the counter?!”