"Cancel his appointment so I can have one!"

[iviles]

Sadly you know its worked before for him. What a jerk!

[RetailWorkhorse]

That's NOT how it works, but apparently it does in his pecan sized mind and planet numb nuts.

Shouldn't that be a peanut? Or are you allowing room for the basics like sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch sensitivity?

[MrSunshineState]

Curiosity strikes me. What kind of car did this guy drive?

[mattm04]

Once one of our cars started billowing smoke and steam from under the hood while sitting at a light. Thankfully a cop and another motorist in the next lane helped push it into a nearby parking lot where we called our mechanic for a tow. At first he though it might be serious, but it turned out to be two smaller issues (a belt broke and somehow caused a hose for the coolng system to rupture) We ended up getting a rental for a few days. Even though he was very busy, we have been going to him for over 10 years so he spent some extra time (after close) working on the car, never even charged for the tow and got it fixed in two days.

[zigcat]

SC: This is ludicrous, this is unfair, I'm going to report you to the BBB!

No! Not the BBB! Anything but the BBB! Quick get on the phone and tell Mrs. Reynolds we'll have to reschedule her appointment...I don't know! Tell her we'll get to it Thursday after next. NO! Don't you realize this gentleman could ruin us if he reports this? Sir, please accept our humble apologies and 75% off all repair work, including diagnostics, parts and labor.

Seriously, what has ever been accomplished by this seemingly empty threat?

[Soetkin]

I got in an accident two days before leaving on a roadtrip. Thankfully, my garage had a spot for me, so they taped my car together and replaced my side mirror and I managed my 4000km holiday.
Now, if they hadn't been able to accomodate me, I would've phoned around until I found someone who could. I wouldn't have been happy, but I would've understood.
Why waste time making a scene when you can use it to look around for something else?

[hotelnpa]

There's got to be more than one place in your town to get your car worked on. And it's not unreasonable that a mechanic would be booked. I wonder how he would feel if HIS appointment was cancelled so someone else could get in. Not happy I bet.

This kind of thing happens at the hotel every once in a while. This one guy was giving me such a hard time about it. He even tried to bribe me and told me to cancel a guaranteed room. I told him that "Competitor" hotel still had some rooms and that he needed to get down there before they sell out. (Yeah I could have booked the room for him but he was being a total SC. If you're nice to me, I'll help you out.) I called the competitor hotel to let them know that he was coming. Apparently there were several people in front of him (as told by the desk clerk) and when it got to his turn, they were sold out.

[Eireann]

"Actually, sir, you're not a customer. You have never been here before, we don't know you, and there is no indication that you've ever spent any money here. You are a potential customer, so we are informing you of the rules by which we operate. One rule is, we don't cancel appointments unless it's an emergency. Another rule is, a potential customer charging in here, demanding that we cancel an appointment to suit his schedule, is not an emergency. A third rule is, we don't take bribes."

[thehippie777]

I get the same thing with hotels all the time "well, it's after six just count someone as a no-show and give me the room"
umm... no, that's not how it works... if it's after 6 the person is paying for the room whether or not they show so we will hold it for them... and if they don't show, well that's said, but they still paid for it and if they wanted to pay for an empty room that's their problem not mine.

Yeah that is priceless, and I don't know about other hotels but I have had guests show up for their rooms at 4am before...and if their room isn't there...well frankly they are not happy even if it is 4am the day after their reseravation was for. They don't tend to understand that...

[Snowbird]

No! Not the BBB! Anything but the BBB! Quick get on the phone and tell Mrs. Reynolds we'll have to reschedule her appointment...I don't know! Tell her we'll get to it Thursday after next. NO! Don't you realize this gentleman could ruin us if he reports this? Sir, please accept our humble apologies and 75% off all repair work, including diagnostics, parts and labor.

Seriously, what has ever been accomplished by this seemingly empty threat?

The infamous Mr. S did that to me once, I think it was the second time I'd dealt with him. The best part was that he did it as he was leaving (well past closing time, to the point that we had to unlock the gate to let him out) and shaking his fist back at me as he said it. One of those 'you'll rue the day!!!' gestures. I waved back and told him to have a nice night.

As to the original moron, what a pain. I haven't quite grasped why people cannot be swayed from the solution that they've fixed in their minds. What ever happened to thinking on their feet instead of making impossible demands? oh wait, we're talking about SC's here.

[Becks]

Why waste time making a scene when you can use it to look around for something else?

Oooh, can I say it?

If it makes sense, it's not allowed™.

[gunsage]

I had something similar to that happen in my position, if you can believe it. Here goes...

Customer describes that the problem is "her son" accidentally cancelled her subaccount that SHE'S BEEN USING FOR YEARS ZOMG and it's our responsibility to get it back up for her. No problem under normal circumstances, however I notice something VERY worrisome in the system as I try to look for the status on said subaccount...

Me: (Uh oh) "Erm, ma'am...when did this accident occur?"
SC: "Oh, about a week ago. Why?"
Me: (Oh boy) "Eh, well, ah...how do I put this...after about 48 hours, a subaccount will clear out of our systems if it's cancelled, even if erroneously."
SC: "What's your point?"
Me: *grimace a mile wide* "Well...since you have a very common last name...it appears that someone else grabbed that subaccount while it was officially erased in our systems."
SC: "...Well I hardly think THAT'S fair!"
Me: "I do apologize ma'am. If it's any consolation, you can create another subaccount similar to it...maybe add a digit or two-"
SC: "No, that's unacceptable. I want my old account!"
Me: "I agree that that's very annoying, but like I said, someone else has it now."
SC: "Well, that was MY account first, so I want it BACK!"
Me: "Ma'am, that's not possible unfortunately."
SC: "Well, take it off their account and give it back to me!"
Me: "...Excuse me?"
SC: "The customer is always right! You heard me!"
Me: "That customer did absolutely nothing wrong and by following what you've said, I'd be inconveniencing THAT customer who LEGITIMATELY took a CANCELLED subaccount."
SC: "It was an-"
Me: "Accident. Yes, so you said. Again, I apologize, but what you're suggesting isn't possible. I have attempted to show you a way we can create a SIMILAR account, because that's the only option you have now."

She eventually erupted, demanded a manager, threatened this that and the other when I told her no one was available but I could transfer her to a voicemail...yeah, the whole nine yards. Granted, I felt for her, but come on.

[IvorTangrean]

Oooh, can I say it?

If it makes sense, it's not allowed™.

I love that Becky, I don't know if you said it first but that is going in my sig.

[Peppergirl]

SC: "The customer is always right! You heard me!"

I would have been mildly annoyed up until that card was thrown. Then the gloves would have been off. From your response, it looks like you feel the same.

Well handled!

[redmountaingoldfish]

Something just like this happened to my coworker today, but from the other side!

So Coworker (CW) is graduating after this fall semester. One of the classes she is taking this fall is required for all Eudcation Majors. It is offered both this fall and this summer, but she cannot take this summer because she'll be out of town, so she signs up for it for fall.

CW gets an email from her adviser today basically stating that:
CW needs to drop required class this fall and take it this summer. Why? Because a secondary level education major needs to take it this fall, and CW is a middle level education major. So despite it being a class CW needs to graduate, and she can only take it at this one time, she needs to drop it because someone didn't sign up in time.

Note - this wasn't a general email asking if anybody would be willing to open up a spot, it was aimed exclusively at CW.

She emailed back basically saying "Lack of planning on their part does not constitute an emergency on my part."