When Sugary Doesn’t Mean Sweet
(I work for a global mega-corporation coffee shop. One of the summer promotional items is an insanely sugary blended drink, and it is the highest-selling promotional drink the company has ever had. As the summer is nearly over, however, we have run out of some of the ingredients to make it.)
Customer: “Hi, gimme a large [Summer Promo Beverage]! With extra dark caramel sauce and topping!”
Me: “Oh, I’m so sorry, we’ve run out of that for the summer! Would you—”
Customer: “WHAT?!”
Me: “Yeah, unfortunately we just used the last of the product within the past couple of days.”
(She turns to my coworker.)
Customer: “YOU! It’s all YOUR FAULT!”
Coworker: “Me?! I didn’t do it!”
Customer: *to me* “Can I smack him? Is that allowed?”
Me: “It’s not his fault! Other customers drank it all. And no, you may not smack him.”
Customer: “No, it’s definitely his fault!”
Me: *sarcastically* “Yeah, I’m sure he sat there and drank all the dark caramel through a straw, just to make you mad.”
Customer: “HE PROBABLY DID!”
Coworker: “Hey, how about I make you a regular caramel [Blended Drink] and put a bunch of extra caramel in it? That’s pretty much all the [Promo Drink] is.”
Customer: “It’s not the same! But I guess it’ll have to do…”
(I ring her up for the drink and she continues to make comments, gradually getting louder and louder as she goes…)
Customer: “It’s not right! You guys shouldn’t be out of that drink. It’s all YOUR fault.”
Coworker: “It’s still not my fault!”
Customer: “Well, I’m blaming YOU for it. You guys should sell that all the time. Why would [Coffee Chain] stop selling such a popular drink? WHY WOULD [Coffee Chain] STOP SELLING SUCH A POPULAR DRINK? It shouldn’t just be a SUMMER drink; it should be available ALL the time! WHY WOULD [Coffee Chain] NOT WANT TO SELL IT ALL THE TIME? You know what? I’m going to file a complaint with the company! I’ll write to [Company CEO]! I’LL GO TO OBAMA HIMSELF!” *leaves with drink*
Me: “What the f*** is Obama going to do about her stupid [Promo Drink]?”
Question of the Week
Tell us your story about a customer who couldn't understand the most simple concept.
