Mike rushed his girlfriend to the airport to catch a flight to see her dying mother, only to watch her miss the flight because United Airline’s ticketing agent refused to help because “it was time for her to go on her break.” Passengers waiting in line were more than willing to let Mike’s girlfriend skip to the front of the line, but her sad situation apparently wasn’t enough to earn the agent’s sympathies. When his girlfriend finally reached the gate in time to watch her flight depart, the gate agent defended his colleague’s lack of sympathy, saying “management really makes us work some unreasonable schedules.”
empathy
Customer: "I Have A Brain Tumor" Apple Rep: "Not My Problem. Okay. So You Want…"
By 9.12.08
You don’t have to believe everything customers say to you when you’re a customer service rep. You don’t even have to actually care. But if you can’t stop yourself from slipping in phrases like “not my problem” when you’re helping out a customer, maybe you need to try a different career. Like, say, parole officer.
U.S. Airways Boots 274 Stranded Passengers From Caribbean Airport, Refuses To Pay For Hotels
By 8.16.08
Armed guards ordered 274 stranded passengers out of the Punta Cana airport with no place to go after bad weather forced U.S. Airways to cancel its flight from the Dominican Republic to Philadelphia. Several passengers ended up sleeping in a bus after the airline responded to Tropical Storm Fay by asking passengers to pick up their luggage and get lost.
Burger King: Your House Burned Down?! The Red Cross Is Coming?! Get Out!
By 3.1.08
Burger King ejected 25 low-income residents who were waiting for the Red Cross to arrive after their Minneapolis apartment caught fire and burned to the ground. An assistant manager explained that the fire had slowed foot traffic to “virtually nothing,” and that the crowd had to either wait somewhere else or deal with the police.
The Waiting Is the Hardest Part
By 1.27.06
Lest you think that we get pleasure out of bad service at restaurants, let’s get one thing straight: There’s nothing that pleases us more than to be able to immediately reward someone for doing a great job. Gratuity-based jobs are not without their faults, but as a customer it’s got a lot going for it.
