In Desperate Need Of Cooling Off

I do repair work for beverage equipment — vending machines, glass door coolers. etc. My company provides the equipment and keeps ownership of it. We do all repair and maintenance of the equipment. Customers are supposed to call us as soon as there is a problem, NOT try to fix it themselves. We do NOT charge customers to repair the equipment, since we own it.

I receive a service call for a cooler not cooling at a children’s play/party business. I arrive within two hours of the call being dispatched — company policy is to respond within twenty-four hours — and am met by the woman in charge.

Customer: “Your cooler stopped cooling. First, it started freezing drinks days ago! We turned the thermostat off to defrost it and then turned it back on. Now it won’t cool at all!”

This is a HUGE red flag for me. Customers aren’t supposed to try and fix things; that’s what we do. Also, I recognize the problem being described. If caught early, it is a quick fix — ten to fifteen minutes. At this point, I’m going to have to take the whole refrigeration system out and back to the shop.

I have to raise my voice to be heard over the loud games and louder kids.

Me: “I really wish you had called us as soon as the cooler stopped working. It can be fixed really easily if caught early, but now your cooler will be down for a few hours.”

I go out to my truck and get a handcart to wheel the refrigeration system out.

Customer: *After I come back in* “I talked to our office. We placed three work orders and you didn’t come! This is terrible service!”

Me: “I’m sorry, but I only received the work order this morning. I don’t know anything about other work—”

Customer: “It doesn’t matter! You work for the company; it’s all of your faults! Also, since you sprung this on me by surprise, you need to move this cooler into the back and bring our spare cooler up front. I can’t be running to the back every ten seconds to get a cold drink!”

The cooler in question is eight feet tall and weighs around five hundred pounds empty, over double that full (which it is). The cooler is on rollers, but it’s NEVER safe for one person to move a cooler this size. Also, the place is carpeted and full of kids running around. Even if I had help AND the cooler was empty, this is an equipment move that I would have to refuse for safety reasons.

Me: “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. It’s not—”

Customer: “I don’t care if it’s not your job. You work for [Company]. The coolers belong to [Company]. You will do this!”

Me: “I can’t.”

Customer: “I’m calling back and they will make you do it! Don’t you leave!”

She calls our service desk while I take the refrigeration system out to my truck. I come back in because, at this point, I know it will be more trouble for me if I just leave. I hear her on the phone with the service desk, explaining that she just needs a small cooler moved around. After a few minutes on the phone, she hangs up and tells me the service desk says I can move the cooler.

Me: “As I told you before, I can’t move it by myself! It’s unsafe!”

Customer: “If you don’t, I’m going to make a huge complaint!”

Me: “Go ahead.”

And I left. At that point, I had done nothing wrong, but I wanted to say a lot of things that would actually get me in trouble.

I went back to the shop and repaired the refrigeration system. I also let my manager know about the situation. He told me to take one of the shop guys with me when I went back and send him in so I won’t have to deal with the customer. Putting the refrigeration system back is an easy one-man job, so I was not putting my work off on someone else.

The return trip went without issue. The shop guy told me that the customer was very smug that she got her cooler repaired the same day — not unusual at all — and apparently felt that her complaints got me in trouble. 

Afterward, we checked to see if there had been any other work orders placed for that cooler. There were none except for the one I responded to.