Up-Yelling

The sandwich shop is running a special on specific sandwiches sold at $4 for footlongs and $2 for six-inches. My coworker is on break when I get this call from a customer.

Me: “Thank you for calling. This is [My Name]. How can I help you?”

Customer: “Yes, you have a special right now, correct?”

Me: “Yes, ma’am, six-inch for $2 and footlong for $4 on cold cut and meatball.”

Customer: “All right, well, during lunch, my coworker was there and he ordered a cold cut for me and I only got the six-inch. Why wasn’t I given the footlong if it was on special?”

I think we made a mistake and her coworker was given the wrong order.

Me: “I’m very sorry, ma’am. Lunchtime is busy so it’s possible there was a mixup. Were you charged for the footlong?”

Customer: “No, just for the six-inch. But if there’s a special, you should have pushed the footlong.”

Now, I’m confused.

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, just to clarify, did you want the footlong or the six-inch?”

Customer: *With attitude* “I ordered the six-inch, but you should have pushed the footlong. Why didn’t you sell him the footlong?”

Me: “Seeing as he only ordered the footlong because that’s what you ordered, I don’t know.”

Customer: “Well, that’s terrible salesmanship. I work in retail, and you always upsell, upsell, upsell. So, what are you going to do for me?”

Me: “I’m sorry?”

Customer: “Can I come in and get the other half of my sandwich?”

Me: “Ma’am, you only ordered the six-inch, so I’m sorry, but there is no other half.”

Customer: “But the footlong is only four dollars! You should have made him take the footlong! Did you tell him about the sale? Why didn’t you make a footlong?!”

I am over it at this point and another customer has just walked in. I motion that I will be right there, and they smile and look up at the menu. I address the customer on the phone who is making no sense and just ranting about upselling and poor customer service.

Me: “Ma’am, I’m very sorry, but I’m not sure what you’d like me to do. You ordered a six-inch and that’s what was given to you. If we had given you the wrong sandwich or messed up in any way, we’d be more than happy to correct it. But as it stands, there’s nothing else I can offer you.”

The customer is quiet for a moment before saying, in a snooty tone:

Customer: “Can I speak to someone else? Maybe they will know what to do?”

In the end, I passed the phone to my coworker and took care of the waiting customer who was very nice and understanding after I apologized for the wait.

My coworker later told me she’d repeated the exact same thing to the woman on the phone who got even more upset because we weren’t more aggressive with our upselling. Basically, she wanted us to force her coworker to buy something and she demanded the corporate number. I never heard anything else about it.