If You’re A Jerk For The Sake Of It, The Universe Will Do You No Favors

I work for a flooring company that deals with many private contractors. We have a regular contractor who is always a jerk to us, but today, he is being particularly awful and abusive.

Contractor: “I’m here for my order.”

Me: “For which client?”

Contractor: “I don’t know. Just look me up.”

Me: “I can’t do that. I need to know your client’s name, contact information, or order number.”

Contractor: “You see me here all the time. Just look me up! Jesus Christ!”

Me: “Without that information, I can’t help you.”

I happily move on to the next customer. [Contractor] stands around glaring at me for a minute before he gets the hint that I’m not going to help him and storms off.

He comes back a little later with some snide look as he pulls his cell phone out of his pocket and makes a call. He gets on the phone.

Contractor: “Hey, it’s [Contractor]. I’m at [Floor Store]. Yeah, they lost your order.”

Then, he looks at me and tells me the client wants to speak to me. Normally, I refuse to speak to someone on a phone that isn’t mine or a company phone, but this time, I’m done. I oblige and take the phone from him and bring it to my ear. Before the customer can say anything, I say:

Me: “Hello, this is [My Name] from [Floor Store Warehouse]. I’m here with your contractor. He doesn’t know what your name is and didn’t have any of your contact information when he came in earlier. If you could give that to me, I’d be happy to find your order for him and load him up once I verify he’s authorized to receive it.”

His smug smile is replaced by a blank stare of horror. The customer responds.

Customer: “I see. My name is [Customer].”

I shuffle through my files and find his order.

Me: “I’ve found the order. Is [Contractor] your contractor?”

Customer: “Not anymore. Please hand the phone back to him. I’ll arrange a pickup at a later date. Thanks for your help.”

 I never saw [Contractor] again after that.