Do you want fries with that?

I am frustrated with the service industry as of late. Thursday I went to Sinic and ordered one of their half price cheeseburgers. The voice over the mic asked me if I wanted cheese on it. I said, "what?!"

She replied, "do you want cheese with that?"

"Doesn't it come with cheese?"

"No. Cheese is extra."

"Wait. I'm ordering a cheeseburger. Shouldn't cheese come with it?"

"No. You have to get the cheese... Oh wait. Yes, it comes with cheese."

My 10 year old was dying from laughter. "It's a CHEESEBURGER!" He says, "it's SUPPOSED TO come with CHEESE!"

My friends were sure our food was going to get spit in. I, in the other hand, was dumbfounded that I had to even clarify cheeseburgers should come with cheese.

 

Today I wanted to take my kids to see Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. We got to the ticket booth. "Yes, I'd like 3 tickets to Sea of Monsters".

"We don't have that movie anymore. No more Monsters" I am told..

I point to the marquee above my head. "It says right there you have it in 2D and 3-D."

"No, we don't have monsters anymore."

"But I checked Fandango this morning and it listed times. It says you're showing Sea of Monsters."

This other kids steps in and they discuss Monsters. He turns to me and tells me that they no longer have Monsters. That they got two new movies in and that they aren't showing Monsters.

I again, point to the marquee and then behind the booth to the movie poster with Sea of Monsters. He again, insists they don't have it anymore. I tell him that they need to update their sh*t because I checked the Internet this morning AND the marquee clearly shows they are showing.Sea of Monsters and I raced my butt down there to make the 12:15 showing, They look at me like I'm an idiot and I tell them they suck and I walk away, I was in utter shock that they would market a movie they weren't showing and so soon after it had been released. We got back to the car and I called the theater. The message listed the times for PERCY JACKSON: Sea of Monsters. I tuned to my son, "do you think those idiots thought I meant Monsters University, when I CLEARLY said SEA OF Monsters?" He nodded in affirmation. "Those dumbasses," I mumble to myself.

We drove back for the next showing and I marched up to the ticket kiosk (like hell I was going to deal with the ticket booth people again) and there it was, Sea of Monsters. Heaven forbid I not say Percy Jackson before it. As we went to turn in our tickets for the theater, there was the kid who treated me like a dummy. "Percy Jackons?" he asked.

"Yeah," I reply, "Sea of Monsters."

His eyes got big as he realized who I was and then he glanced away quickly.

I don't ask much, but I do expect managers in the service industry to make sure the people they employ are competent and don't treat the customers like they are dumb. If the girl had been smart enough to try to clarify my request, we could have avoided the whole scene. As it is, I will forever be happy to use the impersonal kiosk to purchase tickets as it prevents me from dealing with an incompetent service worker.

If you are going to be in customer service, learn your product and don't act like a turd when you mishear the customer. Just politely clarify the request and provide a helpful response. It's not that hard. It'll help your company retain customers and help you stay employed.

Posted with Blogsy