They’re Just One Massage Away From A Meltdown

(I work at a massage clinic and spa where we employ several massage therapists who all set their own schedules. Some work plenty of hours, and others work much more limited time slots, which is why we encourage their clients to book out as far out in advance as possible so they can stay with their preferred therapist. A married couple has just been in, both of them very loyal to one particular therapist who only works weekends and is incredibly popular. Most people, when hearing that [Therapist] is booked out solid for two months, are understandably disappointed but are willing to try a different therapist in the meantime. This customer is not one of those people.)

Me: “It looks like [Therapist] isn’t available until [date two months from now].”

Customer: “What? Are you kidding me? That’s unacceptable!”

Me: “I’m sorry sir. If you’d like, I can put you and your husband on our cancellation list in case anything opens up. In the meantime, we could schedule you with someone else—”

Customer: “No! I refuse to let anyone except [Therapist] touch me! It’s ridiculous that I have to book out that far and have your membership take money from me when I can’t get appointments!”

Husband: *trying to calm his spouse* “We usually book out a couple months out because he’s busy. We let it slip the last few times.”

Customer: “That doesn’t matter! It’s bad customer service! If I ran my business like this, I wouldn’t be in business right now!”

Me: “If you’d like, sir, we could waive your next few payments so you don’t have to worry about your membership fees—”

Customer: *interrupting* “Stop trying to make me happy! You won’t! This is terrible customer service!”

Me: “I do apologize for the inconvenience—”

Customer: *interrupting me YET AGAIN* “It isn’t your fault! But this awful service!”

Me: *internally wondering why he’s yelling at me if this isn’t my fault*

(The customer finally leaves to go smoke. His husband approaches the counter looking embarrassed by the whole incident — as I try not to burst into tears — and books a few appointments out before leaving promptly. My coworker has witnessed the whole thing.)

Coworker: “What does he mean by ‘bad customer service’?! If [Therapist] is booked up that far in advance, it means he’s really good!”

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