The Paths Towards Entitlement
My husband is the estate manager for a large private business park. He continually gets the strangest requests.
Request #1: “On leaving the park and driving down the [public highway], I don’t like the way the next junction is laid out. Please change it to give me the right of way.”
Husband: “That is a public highway. I have no authority over public roads outside of [Park]. I am not [Local Authority] borough council.”
Request #2: *Same person* “I live in [Village one mile from the park] and there is no footpath from my house to the park. When will you be building one?”
Husband’s Reply: “I’m still not [Local Authority] borough council and still have no authority over the public roads outside of the park.”
He has had recent issues with cyclists not dismounting to go through the security gates. As the site is secure, they are expected to do so in order for security to check their bicycles. The gates are narrow and my husband had complaints that cyclists had to remove their saddlebags, so he had new security gates installed that were wider. A few days after they are installed and working, he has a new complaint:
Security: “We’ve had a complaint that the new gates aren’t big enough.”
Husband: “We carefully measured them to make sure they were wide enough.”
Security: “No, that’s not the problem. One of the staff says they aren’t tall enough.”
Husband: “They still have to dismount for the check. Tell them to dismount.”
Security: “No, that’s not the problem.”
Husband: “What is?“
Security: “Apparently, the new gates aren’t tall enough for him to get his penny-farthing through.“
Husband: “For f***’s sake.”
The guy with the penny-farthing had a visit from my husband, who thought the guy was just having a laugh. Nope, he was totally serious. He had decided that he was now going to ride his penny-farthing to work, and Hubby could just replace those terribly expensive and new gates to accommodate him. It was explained that this would NOT be happening. The guy has gone back to his normal bike.
Question of the Week
Have you ever served a bad customer who got what they deserved?
