Putting Themselves Into A Bit Of A Pickle

(I’m the manager and my coworker comes and asks me to handle a cranky customer at the drive-thru.)

Me: “Hello, you were having some trouble, I hear. What can I do for you?”

Customer: *who is sitting beside the driver, making it really hard for me to hear her, especially since the driver is fidgeting and moving about* “Yeah, I’m fed up with getting pickles in my son’s burgers, even though I always order them without!”

(Ordering hamburgers without pickles is unfortunately very popular in my area. It slows things down in the kitchen, creates more wastage, and such customers are loathed all over town.)

Customer: *getting quite agitated now* “I demand to get some kind of compensation!”

Me: “Ma’am, I am truly sorry that we haven’t provided pickle-free burgers for you. Pickles are unfortunately part of the recipe and especially during rush hours they might slip through the kitchen staff’s fingers. However, since we’re not talking about any allergies…”

(The customer is about to cut me off, but I won’t let her.)

Me: “…all our mayos contain the same sort of pickle and you have ordered extra of that. Besides, pickles are the only item we put in our burgers that are easily removed, unlike ketchup, cheese, or salad. I hope you understand that I cannot provide you with a huge compensation due to this. I am however willing to give you the extra mayo for free.”

Customer: *who now have adopted a more docile tone* “Well, can I at least get another hot cocoa for free?”

Me: “Certainly, ma’am, that I can do for you.”

(Best part — when I told my boss, she said that the customer in question had a few days earlier asked for a refund and compensation!)