This Complaint Is Going Back In Time

I work at a large electronics retailer with a very well-known computer repair and technical service department. I work in the computer department. I am approached by a very irate-looking customer.

Me: “Can I help you with anything today, sir?”

Customer: “You sure as h*** can! I been waitin’ up there fer yer [Technical Service] fer forty-five minutes! I got things to do!”

Me: “Well, that is an oddly long time to wait; usually, they are much quicker than that. What is it that they are doing for you?”

Customer: “I BEEN WAITIN’ ON THEM FER FORTY-FIVE MINUTES! THEY BEEN ALL KISSY-KISSY IN LINE!”

The customer holds up his minutely folded receipt.

Customer: “When I signed this, I considered that a contract for service! I HAVE [Electronics Retailer] IN A CONTRACT!”

Me: “Well, sir, again, they usually don’t take that long. Let me go up and talk to them and see what the issue is.”

I accompany the man, who continues to yell about people in line and such, up to the support counter. I try the entire way to figure out what kind of service he’s waiting for to be done.

Customer: “I was guaranteed twenty minutes by the gal! I been waitin’ for over forty-five!”

As I approach the counter, I see that they are well backed-up due to call-outs, and I get immediately waved over behind the counter by one of my tech coworkers.

Coworker: “He hasn’t been waiting that long. He’s been up here ten minutes; I’ve been counting.”

Me: “Okay… what all is he waiting to have done?”

Coworker: “Just to get his new computer set up. There are at least three customers waiting ahead of him.”

Me: “Okay, I’ll talk to him.”

I go back to the customer, who’s not far away.

Me: “Sir, how long did you say you’ve been waiting?”

Customer: “For f***’s sake! Far too long! I WAS GUARANTEED TWENTY MINUTES BY THE GAL!”

Me: “Well, as you can see, they are quite backed up—”

Customer: “THEY BEEN LETTIN’ PEOPLE GO AHEAD OF ME!”

Me: “Well, sometimes they have scheduled appointments they have to make. May I just see your receipt to verify who guaranteed you twenty minutes?”

The customer hands me his uber-folded receipt.

Customer: “Sure, but they broke their guarantee!”

I take a look at the receipt, first at the employee number and then the time stamp on the transactions. It reads 17:06. I have been working with him for nearly five minutes already.

Me: “How long did you say you’ve been waiting, sir?”

Customer: I was guaranteed twenty minutes by the gal; it’s been over twenty minutes!”

He has noticeably changed from “over forty-five minutes.”

Me: “Well, sir, if they did guarantee you a twenty-minute wait, then they are still within that time period. The receipt says the transaction ended at 5:06 pm. I have, on my watch, 5:21 pm. So, they still have five minutes left.”

Customer: “Really? Is that the stance you’re going to take?”

Me: “Well, I’m afraid that time doesn’t lie, sir. You are still within that time frame.”

Customer: “If that’s the way you’re going to be, then you’re gonna lose a lot of business!”

The customer then took his receipt in a huff and went to sit on the bench, just like that. He probably extended his wait by acting so childish, since no tech really wanted to work with him.