Putting Complaining Into Overtime

(At 6:45 pm the store starts to close. We make announcements to alert customers that the store will be closing in 15, then ten, and then five minutes time. At 6:45, we close the fitting rooms to stop customers from hiding or spending too long trying on clothes when the store closes at 7:00. I am doing the closing announcements when an irate customer storms up to the customer service desk. It is currently 6:55 pm, and we only have supervisors on the floor due to the late hour and to the fact our floor is small and understaffed.)

Customer: “I want to make a complaint! One of your staff was rude!”

Coworker: “Would you like to speak to a manager?”

Customer: “NO! I don’t want to talk to someone; I want to write this down. Give me an address I can write a complaint to. An email address!”

Coworker: “I can give you the head office’s address if you want.” *starts to search for the information*

Me: *indicates where to find the information, which lacks an email*

Coworker: “If you write to this address, you can make your complaint.”

Customer: “No, I don’t want to write a complaint; I want to send an email. Give me an email.”

Me: “We don’t have an email for head office; we could give you a manager’s email for this store, if you want?”

(My coworker and I then try to contact a supervisor to find out if we’re able to provide the manager’s email. In the midst of doing, this the customer changes their mind again!)

Customer: “No, I don’t want to write anything; let me talk to a manager right now!”

Coworker: “Er, yes, I can get you a manager; wait a moment.”

(They then call over a supervisor to locate an absent manager. I call the 7:00 pm closing announcement, and the manager still has not been found. We make an announcement asking for a manager to contact our floor but are still left waiting.)

Supervisor: “There isn’t a manager available right now; is this something we can resolve ourselves?”

Customer: “Yes, I don’t know. Your staff downstairs was very rude! I wanted to try on one top but she wouldn’t let me in the fitting room. I didn’t see her name.”

Coworker: “That’s okay; we can work out who it was by the shift roster if you like. I’m sorry that this has happened. We’ll just wait for the manager to take details.”

Customer: “I’ve never been spoken to so rudely before! I want to make a complaint.”

Supervisor: *comes over to try and help* “Do you need to speak to a manager? I can probably help.”

Customer: “Yes, it was the girl on the fitting rooms! I want to make a complaint.”

(Finally the store assistant manager turns up. It’s now 7:10 pm and the security guard is waiting to escort the last customer out so he can go home.)

Manager: “Yes, how can I help?”

Customer: “I want to complain about one of your staff!”

Manager: “All right, then, what happened?”

Customer: “Oh, I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.”

(They then left without taking any offered information or resolving the fuss they had made for the last 25 minutes!)