Time For A Time-Out

Customer: “Can you tell me the name of the shopping complex that has the bus stop near you?”

Me: “Yes, just a moment while I look it up.”

Customer: “Can you ask someone near you?”

Me: “It’ll just take me a couple seconds to look it up. Just a moment, please.”

(I find it.)

Me: “It’s the [Name] shopping center.”

Customer: “I know you have someone there next to you. Can you please ask them?”

Me: “There is only me at the desk. There is no one else near me.”

Customer: “Please ask someone who lives there. I want to be sure.”

Me: “Let me put you on hold a moment.”

Customer: “Thank you.”

(The customer is then placed in time-out, also known as ‘hold,’ while I do a ‎face-palm and practice some deep-breathing techniques. After about a minute, I return to the phone call.)

Me: “It’s [Name] shopping center.”

Customer: “Thank you so much for checking with someone; I appreciate it.”

Me: “Sure, no problem.”