Me: “Thank you for calling [Car Rental]. This is [My Name]. Where would you like to pick up?”
Customer: “Do you need a driver’s license in order to rent a car?”
Me: “Yes, you need to have a current valid driver’s license.”
Customer: “Are you sure?”
Me: *facepalm*
Me: “Thank you for calling [Rental Car Agency] Roadside. This is [My Name] speaking. How may I assist?”
Customer: “I have four flat tires and need a tow.”
Me: “Oh, my. Everyone okay?”
Customer: “Yes.”
(We verify the customer is who he says he is, and go over his coverage. I then contact the location where the car was rented from. After that…)
Customer: *very angry* “What do you mean, I’ll have to pay for the service and tires?”
Me: “I’ve contacted the manager at the location, and they stated you drove out of the location out of the entrance and ran over the spikes.”
Customer: “That’s not my fault!”
(Another cashier has just come to my register to relieve me. The next customer, who is an attractive, older woman, looks up and notices the switch. She is confused.)
Me: *talking to the customer while walking away* “Oh, I’m so sorry, ma’am. You were so close to having the cute cashier.”
(She laughs and rolls her eyes.)
Other Cashier: “Don’t worry; he doesn’t have a personality. You can thank me later.”
(The customer laughed out loud. I blushed and quickly went to clock out. My ego still hurts.)
(I work the overnight shift at a hotel. At the very beginning of my shift, I get a call from a room:)
Guest: “I ordered my food at, like, 10:30, and they told me a thirty- to forty-five-minute wait. It’s still not here.”
(It is now 11:30, and I’m a little concerned because the kitchen is supposed to close at eleven.)
Me: “Well, I’m not sure what’s going on, sir, as I just got on shift, but I’ll speak to our suite service and call you right back.”
(As it turned out, the man’s order was taken by the bar, and the bartender got busy and forgot to take his order to the kitchen. The kitchen is now closed, but this is all entirely the hotel’s fault, so we bring the situation to the manager on duty.)
Manager: “Okay, I’ll call him. [Suite Service Worker], would you be willing to make his food?”
Suite Service Worker: “Sure. It might be a bit because I have to turn everything back on, but I’ll do it.”
Manager: “All right.”
(She calls the guest, and after explaining the situation and offering profuse apologies…)
Manager: “Now, this was completely our fault, so I wanted to offer to have your food made now completely on the house. We’ll even take some money off your rate—”
(She pauses, yelling can be heard on the other end of the line, and then she jerks her head back from the phone.)
Manager: “He hung up.”
Suite Service Worker: “Did he say what he wanted us to do?”
Manager: “No… Hang on.”
(She tries twice to call the guy back, but each time, he picks up the phone and immediately slams it back down on the receiver.)
Manager: “Well, I guess we just won’t do anything for him, then! He cussed at me, anyway.”
(So, instead of getting free food and a discounted room, this gentleman decided to throw a hissy fit and get absolutely nothing. Oh, and if he tries to complain, there are notes on his reservation detailing the whole interaction. He’ll still get nothing.)
Related:
It Pays To Be Polite
(I work for a large, well-known retail store. Our policy for returns states that you either have to have the receipt or a valid ID. This is an exchange I have with someone trying to return an item.)
Me: “Hi, how can I help you?”
Customer: “I need to return this laundry soap. I got the wrong kind.”
Me: “No problem. Do you have the receipt?”
Customer: “No, I just want to switch it out.”
Me: “Okay, do you have an ID? I can use that, instead.”
Customer: “Not a valid one.”
(At this point, I lean over to my manager and explain to her that he doesn’t have either, but ask if it’s okay because it’s just a small purchase and a straight-across exchange. She says it’s okay. I start ringing it up, until I get to the part where it asks for an ID.)
Me: “Okay, what do I do now?”
Manager: “Just put in his ID number.”
Me: “Um… he doesn’t have one.”
Manager: “Oh! Then we can’t do it.”
Customer: “I have an invalid ID; can I use that? The d*** state took and suspended it!”
Me: “I’m sorry, sir, but no.”
Customer: “Seriously?! I drove all the way here, and you can’t just f****** exchange it?! It’s the same d*** thing!” *walking away now* “I can’t believe this f****** place!”
Me: *to manager* “If the state suspended his license, why is he risking going to jail to exchange some laundry soap?”
