I’m ordering two burritos. I go through the first one. It doesn’t have many fillings but the worker seems pretty new, so it takes a long while. It doesn’t exactly look great, but I guess it will taste okay. The second burrito has nearly everything on it and takes even longer. Again, they are new, so I’m being super patient. 

Eventually, it gets to rolling, and after four attempts and swearing several times…

Worker #1: “I give up.”

And the worker walks off.

Me: “Err, what?”

A few minutes later, and still, no one is there.

Me: “Hello? Anyone?”

Worker #2: “Sorry about that. I didn’t realise no one was here. What can I get you?”

Me: “Well, that was my order sitting there.”

Worker #2: “D*** it, [Worker #1]. I am so sorry. This looks a bit of a mess. Do you want me to remake it?”

Me: “I’ve been here a while now. If you can save that one, I will take it.”

She rolls the burrito, packs my food, and checks me out. She applies some discount as it comes out a lot cheaper.

Worker #2: “Again, sorry for the mess.”

Me: “Oh, no worries. We got there in the end. It’s difficult being new at any job.”

Worker #2: “Oh, he’s not new, just useless. Have a good day.”

I’m shopping for a few things for my baby. I need some help but realise there is no one wearing a uniform. In fact, I can’t recall there ever being a uniform here. I search the floor and give up. I take the rest of my things to the tills.

Cashier: “Did you find everything you needed today?”

Me: “Actually, I couldn’t find anyone to help me, so I did struggle.”

Cashier: *Really defensively* “Actually, we all wear lanyards. So maybe look out for those next time!”

Me: “You mean the lanyard that you and everyone at the tills are not wearing?”

She looked down at herself and then at her friends. None of them were wearing lanyards or anything with the company name on.

I ended up looking for the rest of my items online. I found a site way cheaper so I didn’t need to go back to the store. Eventually, I guess most people did the same, as the store closed a year later.

I’m shopping for a particular part for my car. It’s a big chain with a massive store that pushes their help and advice as part of their service. I quickly get stuck with all the choices and wander around looking for a member of staff. I find no one, not even at the till. 

I find someone at the audio desk. He apologises as he can’t help, but he calls for someone on the tannoy. When that doesn’t work, he calls an internal number.

Worker: “I’m sorry, no one is answering.”

Me: “Where is everyone? Is there some sort of emergency?”

Worker: “No, I really don’t know. Sorry. There should be at least three people at all times.”

Me: “Thanks. I’m going to wait by the till. If they get back to you, can you send them over?”

I wait and wait. I need the part and have a long drive ahead that I don’t want to do without it. I go back to the audio desk and he tries again. He starts to get visibly annoyed at his coworkers and cannot apologise enough.

Fed up, I make a call to the first regional number I find.

Me: “I’ve been at [Store] for… thirty-five minutes, and I haven’t seen any member of staff outside of the audio guy. No one is on the tills or watching the exits. Can you help?”

Whatever they did worked, as three members of staff were suddenly available, even if they looked like they were half-asleep. The kicker was they knew less about cars than I did, so they were no help!

I guessed and bought what turned out to be the wrong thing, but I managed to make my journey anyway.

I am a very forgiving and flexible person who lets go of a lot, so to have to ask for a supervisor is a big deal for me. In this call, the customer support was so bad that I ended up asking for one.

The customer service representative had me on hold for about five minutes before he came back.

Representative: “Unfortunately, all of my supervisors are busy and I don’t know when they will get around to helping you. And seeing as I did resolve your issue today…”

Me: “I used to work in a call center and I understand a bit about how they work. Do they track your metrics?”

Representative: “Excuse me?”

Me: “Your metrics. Do they track how long you are on calls with customers and how long you have them on hold?”

Representative: “Yes, ma’am.”

Me: “Okay, so go ahead and put me on hold until you can get me a supervisor.”

Representative: “All of my supervisors are busy at the moment, and I don’t know when one will be available, and since I did resolve your concern…”

Me: “Don’t worry about how long the wait will be. It won’t inconvenience me; I have all night.”

I was put on hold for maybe a minute before I had a supervisor.

I was in a job for five years when a new director came in that I did not get along with, so I started to seek out a new job.

I got a call from an office asking to come in for an interview when I was out of town for my wedding. I let them know I was out of town and could schedule something for when I got back. The woman on the phone was a little rude after that but I brushed it off.

When I went in for my interview:

Interviewer: “So, you were out of town when we originally planned this interview. We are not looking to hire ‘transient’ people.”

Me: “I had a destination wedding which, naturally, had been planned for a while. And since I was in my last job for five years after graduating from school, I’m not sure how I come across as ‘transient’.”

The woman did not say much in return and instead gave me some paperwork regarding their company policies. There was nothing about time off, PTO, or sick leave, so I asked for clarification.

Interviewer: “See! I knew you were transient! You go off for trips instead of working. We want people for the long haul!”

I walked out.

They called me a few weeks later stating that the woman who interviewed me was no longer there and asked me to come back in. I politely declined. I looked up their employee reviews online a while later and saw that the turnover is horrible as they rarely approve time off and give one half-hour of sick leave per pay period.