MI gets a Retail Balls Award for helping out TLA with a ranting custy:
The Last Archimedean here again.
Today was... interesting. In the same sense that the ancient Chinese used it when they put a curse on you -- "May you live in interesting times."
A guy walks in -- fairly big, about 5'10", maybe 200 pounds -- and immediately walks over to me. Then he unleashes language I didn't even hear when I was a seaman going through basic training in Great Mistakes.
Since he wasn't physically threatening me, nor was his tirade directly aimed at me, I could do nothing but stand there and try to calm him down, or at least try to figure out, in between the never-ending stream of expletives, what his issue was so I could resolve it.
After about 20 minutes, I finally deduced from the rare non-curse word interspersed with the expletives that he wasn't happy about the customer service he had been provided the previous time he had visited our lovely establishment. I was trying to figure out in my mind what I could do about that -- I hadn't been the person he had dealt with at that time -- when one of my co-workers saved the day.
This co-worker is a HUGE guy. 6'4", probably over 300 pounds. All of it solid muscle. He works out 2 hours a day [at home, can't afford a gym membership, but his parents have bought him weights every Christmas since he was about 12.] He's built like a tank, so in homage to the wonderful person who is being KareBear's gift from the Gods, I'll call him M1.
M1: [taps ranting customer (RC) on shoulder]
RC: What? [turns around, sees M1 and goes very quiet very fast]
M1: If you have a complaint about
the way you were treated before, you're talking to the wrong person.
RC: Huh?
M1: The person you need to talk to is over here. She's the head of HR. And she's heard everything you said for the past 20 minutes, so my advice would be to apologize to her first for your foul language. She'll probably be a lot more receptive if you do so.
[M1 starts leading RC away]
RC: Um... on second thought, forget it. I've decided not to make a complaint.
[RC turns to leave]
M1: Very well, sir. Thank you for coming, and have a nice day.
[RC conjures up a smile, waves, and quietly departs.]
TLA: Thanks a bunch, M1.
M1: No prob, TLA. He needed to be cut down a peg.
What a way to spend the day before Thanksgiving...
May all your customers be nice... or at least sane.
-- TLA
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