Going To Town On That Mistake

I work in the online grocery department. We are in a major tourist destination along the Gulf Coast, and there are two towns along the beach here. The town in the east has only been popular with tourists for the last ten years or so while the town in the west has been popular since the 1950s.

First-time tourists don’t always realize the towns are separate and tend to call the whole area by the western town’s name. Both towns have a [Store], and sometimes customers aren’t sure which one they placed their order with. In the summer, my coworkers and I will have this conversation at least once per day. We are at the less popular eastern store.

Customer: “Hello, I’m here to pick up my order.”

Me: “Sure! What’s the name on the order?”

Customer: “It’s [Customer].”

Me: “I’m not seeing that. Could you spell it for me, please?”

Customer: “Okay.” *Spells their name*

Me: “I’m still not seeing it. Could it be under an alternate name? Your maiden name, your spouse’s name, or something else?”

Customer: “No, just my name.”

Me: “Okay, are you certain your order is for this store?”

Customer: “Yes! I placed the order for [Western Town Store].”

Me: “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but this is [Eastern Town Store].”

Customer: “No, this is [Western Town]!”

Me: “It’s actually not. We are in [Eastern Town]. We don’t have your order. I bet [Western Town] does. Would you like me to give you directions to their location?”

Customer: “Well, I guess, but if they don’t have it, I’ll call and complain!”

So far, no one has called back to say that the other store didn’t have their order, either. For the most part, these customers are actually staying in the eastern town. One would think if the address of their condo or hotel has the eastern town’s name they’d realize which town they are in.