*I was in the lobby of a [Chain Auto Glass Store] waiting to get my windshield replaced when this customer walked in. I had my headphones in and was far enough away that I couldn’t hear everything but I got the gist of it. So I’m sitting in my chair and get to watch this unfold.
The woman opens the door and comes shuffling into the lobby, beelines for the front desk and I’m honestly surprised she didn’t hip-check the customer that was already there out of the way. She seems to stop herself right before doing so and shuffles back a step. The employee behind the counter moves the first customer to the side and another employee starts working with this Karen.*
Employee: Hi, how can I help you today?
Customer: This used to be [some random glass place].
Employee: Yes, they went out of business, so now it’s [Chain Glass Store]
Customer: Well why isn’t it [random other place]?
Employee: Because they went out of business.
Customer: Ugh, fine. So I need to get my windshield replaced on *starts mumbling so all I get is that it’s like a 25 year old car at least*
Employee: Okay, let me look that up and see if we can get the parts.
Customer: It’s just we went to [Other Chain location] down in [city] and they said they had to order the glass and it’s been 6 weeks.
Employee: Unfortunately, we do sometimes have to order parts and we don’t always have an exact ETA.
Customer: Well it’s been six weeks and–*she cuts off as her phone starts ringing. She then proceeds to answer it and stands there in the lobby making an appointment for something else. She finally finishes the call and goes back to complain about timing.* It’s been six weeks and they haven’t called us back. *More mumbling as she gets a little louder but less intelligible to me*
*At this point she’s half way to lunging over the counter and the first employee, who was actually the manager, jumps in.*
Manager: Ma’am, unfortunately there are delays sometimes if they have to order parts.
*Customer mumbles some more; based on what I hear from the manager it’s something about phones*
Manager: Unfortunately, we have a few locations that are short staffed and we’ve been busy the last little bit. They may not have been able to get to the phones.
Customer: You have a phone tree that hangs up on people! This is bad customer service! You need to tell them to fix my windshield. I never had this horrible service when you were [random other shop]
Manager: Ma’am, you’re free to find somewhere else to get your windshield replaced. I’m not going to have you yelling at employees.
Customer: You need to do something about my windshield! Fix your phones. You should answer when I call.
Manager: Please feel free to find somewhere else to have your windshield replaced. I’m not going to argue with you about this.
Customer *sneering*: What are you, are you a manager?
Manager: Yes I am. That’s why I’m not going to argue and I’d like you to leave.
Customer: Oh, so you’re the manager. That’s why you just jumped in like that. Well fine! *She pivoted and shuffled towards the door. She then opened it and turned back to yell:* This is horrible customer service! I *will* be calling the BBB!
*I have no idea if the Karen is actually going to go through with it. She seemed like the type who complains just because she can, so I could see it but something tells me she’s got no leg to stand on with this complaint. Part of me wonders if the other shop actually had a parts issue or if she managed to gloss over the part where it actually needed to be requested/ordered and now she’s pissed because she screwed up and wants to blame someone else.*
