(I’ve gone to the counter to find an irate customer close to yelling at the teenage staff.)
Me: “Is there a problem?”
Customer: “Yes, I order item in November.” *it’s now February* “I have not been called. I was told two weeks, where is?”
Me: “Please give me a few moments to look for your order. Can I have your name please?”
(The customer gives me an unusual name so I go into ou r office to check orders and can find nothing regarding the order. I try calling our manager to see if she knows but can’t get through. I let the customer know and ask if I can have his phone number so I can call him when I find out, promising to call him right away. About fifteen minutes after he leaves the manager calls me back and I let her know what was going on.)
Manager: “Is this for [Unusual Name]?”
Me: “Yes.”
(My manager tells me where his order form is and says that she had called the number he gave several times and had no response. The order had been put out for sale. I immediately call him back on the number he gave me and also get no response; it just rings out. Another month passes, I again find him yelling at the teenage staff because no one has called him.)
Me: “I did try to call you and the manager also called but there was no answer.”
Customer: *shakes his head furiously* “I have not been called; why didn’t you leave a message because I don’t answer my phone when I am driving!”
Me: “There was no way to leave a message. The phone just rang out. We placed another order but it’s not come in yet.”
(The customer clearly doesn’t believe me and is still violently shaking his head at me.)
Me: “Let me take your number again so I know it’s right; your name is—“ *I start spelling it out*
Customer: *stops head shaking* “You remember me?”
Me: “Yes I do, you are after [stock item] right?”
Customer: *now smiling* “Yes, this is my number; you can send me a text.”
Me: “No, we only ever call.”
Customer: “You have a cellphone, so you send me a text.”
Me: “I am sorry, we do not use our personal cellphones, only the company landline. We will call you.”
(The next day I give the manager his name and number.)
Manager: *pulls out his order form* “Wait a minute, that number is different to the one here.”
(She places the order again and again only part of it comes in, we give him a call on the new number and he comes in a few days later. He’s still upset and blaming us for not getting the other calls and only part of the order. I grab his order and also the order form which has notes written on it, stating dates we tried ordering and dates we tried calling him. I also point out the different phone numbers he gave. He looks at the number on the form which matched the one he gave me on his second visit.)
Customer: “How did you get that number? “
Me: “That’s the one you gave us”
Customer: “No, I wouldn’t have given you that one, that’s my work phone, I keep that locked in a drawer at work. I never use it.”
Me: “It’s what you gave us, twice.”
Customer: “Oh, sorry.”
(We finally did get the rest of the order in a couple of weeks later, now when he comes in he always gives us a big smile.)
