Got a question.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

So yesterday my Mother took my brother's sleds and hauled them down to the place where they do oil changes for them. She lives in Rural Montana, so this was a bit of a drive, in the snow and ice, while hauling a trailer. She's taken it to the same place for years. The guy has his hours posted---and its posted that he's closed for lunch from 1 to 2. So she decided to take the sled in about 2 o'clock, as he'd be getting in at that time and she could leave the sleds there for the afternoon. When she gets there, she goes to the office, and they tell her that the guy had so many people come in this morning that he was an hour late to his lunch. In other words, he had just left, so she sat in her truck for an hour waiting for him to come back. She was kind of aggravated that he did that, since she made a point go in after his lunch break when he was supposed to be there.

Of course my Mother's really sweet and quiet and would never say anything to an employee, but she was peeved and complained to me about it. She was upset because she makes a big point to follow rules---if a store says these are its hours, that's when she goes. period.

So my question is: Do you think her gripe was fair?

[cheese]

I can understand why she's annoyed but I think its just one of those things that happens - its not really anyones fault. I definitely don't think its the guys fault - he can't just not take a lunch to keep everyone happy, and its not his fault the customers overran either - how would your mother have liked it if he had been working on her sleds in the morning and either rushed it or did a shoddy job just so he could go on lunch on time?

If your mother rang and made an appointment I'm sure arrangements could've been made (or she'd have known to bring them in a bit later) but it doesn't look as though she did, from your letter. Also, its not as though he closed an hour early and she had to go all the way back - that would have been something to moan about. I know an hours wait is quite a long time but it did get sorted in the end - did the other staff not let her sit in the warm office? Perhaps go for a walk or get some lunch?

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Well, um, it's about 20 degrees there so it's not really right for taking a walk, and its out in the country so it's not like there was a place to get lunch down the street. We're talking rural Montana here.

I guess she was aggravated because she figured he would be busy in the morning, so she waited until the afternoon when it wouldnt be so busy. Instead, he had so many people in the morning that he stayed to take care of them all instead of telling people who arrived just before his lunchtime or whatever that he was closing for an hour. And no, nobody invited her in.

And also, in that culture, calling up first just isn't something that they do. It would have never occurred to her to make an appointment just to drop off her sleds overnight, and businesses like that don't really take appointments up there.

[iradney]

in my humble opinion, you can and can't blame the repair guy. you can blame him for not putting his foot down and taking his scheduled lunch - but then that would've resulted in a bit of a queue for your Mom, so she may have ended up waiting anyway.
you can't blame him for delaying his lunch as he may have experienced a SC or two that were probably the reason for him having to start later.
Nevertheless, they could have invited her in and offered her a hot cup of something and a magazine...

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Thank you, Iradney. that's exactly what I was trying to get at. My Mother wasn't mad at the guy, she was frustrated with the situation because she doesnt understand why so many people think the rules don't apply to them. She would never knowingly show up 5 minutes before lunch and demand that somebody help her during their lunchtime. That's why she specifically planned it that way, and then had to wait anyway. And she doesn't mind waiting a little bit, even if there was a queue, she was just dropping the sleds off to pick them up the next day. She was quite aware that some SC probably demanded the guy work on their stuff RIGHT AWAY, which caused him to put off lunch. That's what she gets pissy about. She loathes people who cut in line, get in express lines with too much stuff, people who send food back in restaurants for something trivial, people who demand special treatment, and people who yell and scream in public places because they don't get what they want.

[McSlave]

Please excuse my ignorance but I live in the Southeast USA. What kind of sled requires an oil change? I mean the only ones we have down here are either plastic or wooden with metal runners.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Sorry, McSlave, up there snowmobiles are commonly referred to as sleds.

[AFpheonix]

I guess I'm also confused on a point: if she intended to leave them there for awhile, couldn't the people there in the office check them in so your mom could go on her merry way and get them later?