Shopping Online Won’t Save You From Bad Customers

(The grocery store I work at offers online shopping. Many people seem to think it’s like Walmart or Amazon, because they guarantee that they have the items in stock. We do not offer that guarantee, but if we are out of an item, we will sub it to the best of our ability. Occasionally, we will have a perishable item that we were out of come in on a truck later in the day, but it’s rare we get to the item before the customer comes. Some items, like coffee or alcohol, we never sub until we talk to the customer about it. For this particular order, the only thing out of stock is a pack of beer. This customer used to be really easy to shop for, but lately, she’s been a pain to deal with and so has her husband. As per company policy, I call the customer as soon as I’m done shopping the order. My store is one of the best in the district regarding late orders, averaging one late order every three or four weeks. Also, about 90% of customers do not come during the pickup time they selected. We shop orders in the order that they come in, and we try to keep a two- to three-hour cushion between when we finish shopping an order and when it’s due.)

Me: “The only thing we didn’t have today was [beer].”

Customer: “When will that be in?”

Me: “I honestly don’t know.”

Customer: “Okay, here’s the thing. You guys always call me hours and hours before my time slot. Why do you always call so early?”

Me: “We have a lot of customers who like to come early.”

Customer: “But you always call me three or four hours ahead of time, and it’s never ready because you’re always out of stuff. So, instead of calling me three and a half hours before my window, when you’re out of stuff, why don’t you call me thirty minutes before my window when you’ll have what’s out and my order is f****** ready?!” *click*

Me: “Did I just get yelled at for being too efficient?”