He’s A Veteran Complainer
A couple of friends and I go to the Oceanarium and we are in line to purchase our tickets. Ahead of us in the queue is an American family with their son.
Customer: “Three tickets.”
Employee: “All right. Is your son over twelve years old?”
Customer: “No. And I am a veteran.”
Employee: “Okay, so one child and two adult tickets; that will be [price].”
Customer: “That’s too expensive. Did you apply a discount for me being a veteran?”
Employee: “There is no such discount. Children, senior, and family discounts are all we have, and a family discount requires you to have two children under the age of twelve.”
Customer: “That’s completely unacceptable. I have served in the Marines and I deserve a discount.”
Employee: “As I already told you, there is no discount for that. You might have served in the military, but that was not in Portugal, so it makes no sense for you to get a discount here. And even if you had served in Portugal, we have no discounts for people in the military.”
Customer: “I want to speak to your manager.”
The employee calls the manager.
Employee: “He is unavailable at this time; he’ll need at least thirty minutes before he can come here.”
Customer: “Is that the service you give customers in Europe? I demand to speak to a manager immediately.”
Employee: “As I have told you, he’s unavailable for the next thirty minutes. Right now, you have three options: you pay [price]; you step aside and I can give you our complaints book so you can make a written complaint; or you leave the queue.”
Customer: “I think I will just wait here for the manager.”
Employee: “That is not a possibility, I’m afraid. You are holding up other customers, and that is not okay. You’ll have to choose, now, one of the three options I have just presented to you; otherwise, I will call security and they will choose for you.”
Customer: “Fine! Back in the States, we can see better fish, anyway!”
And at that, he and his family turned around and left, but not before throwing all the Oceanarium maps and pamphlets on the ground.
Question of the Week
Have you ever served a bad customer who got what they deserved?
