Yes I am the person who handles the complaints but please don’t yell at me.
My hearing is perfectly fine, just because I’m 8 months pregnant doesn’t mean I’ve developed a hearing problem.
I understand you are upset because:
There are not enough tents on display
The food stall is closed at 4.30pm
The seminar speaker cancelled at the last minute
It’s raining and your feet got wet
It’s sunny and your fudge melted
Please just tell me your problem and I will do my very best to fix it but don’t yell at me anymore because it makes me sad.
And a special note for the gentleman who’s toilet got stolen - I understand your upset, it is very distressing to not have a toilet but WHAT THE HELL CAN I DO!!!
It is almost always the little, petty things that get folk the most upset. Sorry you’re bearing the brunt of their aggro, leechbabe. Have a hug. (Yeah, yeah, this is th’ Pit. So, sue me!)
I DON’T SEE WHY YOU HAVE A FUCKING PROBLEM WITH MY TAKING ALL MY DAY’S/WEEK’S/YEAR’S WORTH OF AGGRESSION OUT ON YOU, MISS COMPLAINT LADY! IT IS YOUR JOB TO KISS MY ASS! 'BOUT TIME SOMEBODY DID, FOR GOD’S SAKE! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT, ANYWAY? YOUR JOB IS JUST TO SIT THERE AND LISTEN TO ME BITCH AND THEN SAY, ‘YES MA’AM, YOU’RE RIGHT!’ THIS IS CORPORATE AMERICA AND I AM YOUR CONSUMER AND AS SUCH, I HAVE A RIGHT TO YELL FOR HOURS WITHOUT REASON, SANITY, OR RESTRAINT! AND IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT, I’LL FIND YOUR MANAGER! SOMEBODY’S GONNA KISS MY ASS TODAY!
This from a man looking for fire hoses - at a CARAVAN show! It took me 20 minutes to work out exactly what he wanted (I’m supposed to read minds now also). Then because there was no-one at the show selling them I looked up the phone book and got some phone numbers for him but apparently this wasn’t enough.
Stand up, and yell just as loudly, “How dare you talk to me in that tone of voice! Can’t you see I’m pregnant?? Did you even stop to think what your yelling could do to my unborn child??”*
*Bursting into tears is optional, but always a good move.
That’s their ultimate goal in the first place. From years of working with the public, I’ve found that many people won’t stop screaming until someone’s crying. Then they feel better.
I very rarely yell at the people who handle complaints. Only once that I can remember. She kept interrupting me before the finish (she assumed she knew my problem) and then, the kicker that sent me over the edge was “Which part of <Insert her sentence here> didn’t you understand?” I went off in a huge way. I lost my temper in such a way that I literally can’t remember when it last happened before that. And even though I believe she gave me incredibly bad service, I felt shame afterwards. I even wrote to apologize.
But that isn’t usually me. Usually I tell the person in a very calm way that I know my problem isn’t his/her fault, that I’m not mad at him/her and that I just really want to work together to fix things. And I have found that most of them want to help me too, from department stores to the state government. (The woman I went off on was Federal Government.)
I’m sorry you meet too many of the other kind. Sending warm thoughts your way.
Reminds me of a Far Side cartoon where this man is sneaking a grand piano out of a store under his coat. He has a furtive grin on his face. A store employee is running out saying, “Sir! You dropped something!” – and it’s the bench!
Do not ask me how anyone managed to steal a toilet or why?? the mind boggles.
One loving soul even told me “don’t get your tits in a twist”. Sure I was a little stressed at the time - 4 phone lines ringing, a lost child to announce on the PA (a screaming lost child standing right next to me) and security calling for me on the two-way - but I did my best “I’ll be right with you sir” only to be yelled at by the customer.
And to the people who can’t see the huge “NO FREE PARKING” signs - ARE YOU FUCKING BLIND OR WHAT? And NO, I am not going to pay your parking fine so piss off and learn to read signs.
Caught@Work you are right on the mark about the weather complaints. Good old Melbourne sunny one minute, raining the next.
I am very proud of myself that the only time I got close to loosing it was when the really heavy rain started and all the toilet critters came flooding out - while I was in there! Even then it was more hysterical laughter than anything else.
