Sometimes I am the horrible customer. Obviously I don’t mean to be, but here’s an example:
I dropped my car off at the oil change place at 4:30pm. I told the guy that I would “be back in a coupla hours” rather than hang around watching Fox News in the waiting area. What he didn’t tell me that “in a coupla hours” they would be closed – they close at 6. Honestly, I didn’t think to ask. I just thought I was letting them take their time rather than do a rush job.
So I’m out to eat with a friend, and this place keeps calling me. I can’t hear the messages they leave because their phone keeps breaking up. When I finally answer the phone, the lady on the other end is very upset. Apparently they closed at 6, and it is now almost 7. They need me to come get my car so they can go home (and so I can transport myself around). I apologize and tell her I’m on the way back right now. I pay my bill and walk out the door. Over the course of the 6-mile drive, the lady calls me three more times. I explain to her that I am in fact on my way, and there’s no way I can be there any faster. I apologize again.
When I get there, the lady is understandably upset. I apologize again and explain that I didn’t know what time they closed and nobody told me. It was an honest mistake. She yells at me about how I’m making her family wait for her and blah blah blah and THE HOURS ARE POSTED ON THE DOOR. She says it’s not her responsibility to tell me when they close. I can see her logic, but if someone tells me they’ll be back in a coupla hours and I’ll be closing soon, I make it a point to let them know. But that’s just me.
Anyway, I didn’t remember seeing the hours posted on the door, so I went over to look. Nope. Not a word (or number). Because the lady was being ever so pleasant, I took the trouble to show her that no, her argument against me was invalid. Yes, I should have asked when they closed, but there also needs to be some way of me getting that information without having to ask. I apologized yet again but I took a secret satisfaction in her being wrong.
Tales from Retail 