Time Zoning Droning  

(At my workplace, if it’s before open or after close, I don’t answer the phone. However, this same number keeps calling every few minutes but won’t leave a voicemail, so I decide to answer to figure out what is up. It is now twenty minutes past close.)

Me: “Hello, bonjour, [Establishment].”

Caller: “I’m looking for [Admin Staff who has gone home by now] and I’ve been calling for an hour without anyone picking up!”

(Unless they have the number for the direct line, this is impossible, because I have been at the desk for the past four hours leading up to close and haven’t yet left. He doesn’t sound angry at this point, just exasperated.)

Me: “I’m sorry, sir, [Admin Staff] has gone home for the day.”

(I am about to offer him their direct number in case he doesn’t have it, but then he gets angry.)

Caller: “Why would they go home early on a Wednesday?!”

Me: “Actually, sir, we’ve been closed for the past twenty minutes.”

Caller: “WHAT?!”

(I hear some fast typing, a bit of silence, and then:)

Caller: “Your website says you close at five! It’s not five, yet!”

(Glancing at the phone, I see that his area code is not the same as ours. Some people move here but keep their old numbers if it’s a cell phone, but, just to verify:)

Me: “Sir, are you calling from [My Province]?”

Caller: “No, I’m calling from [Other Province]!” 

Me: “Sir, [Other Province] is an hour behind us. While it’s 4:22 your time, it’s 5:22 our time. That’s why we’re closed and [Admin Staff] has gone home. The only reason I’m still here is that there’s an error with the cash register which I am trying to correct.”

(He was silent for a moment, so I took the opportunity to offer him [Admin Staff]’s direct line number so that he could leave a voicemail for them with the promise that they would get back to him first thing tomorrow. He apologised and thanked me — sounding appropriately ashamed of his behavior — and I sent an email with his name and number to the staff member in question, saying that the guy wanted to get a hold of them. I haven’t heard back, so I’m assuming it all went well.)