Give your LIFE for me, retail wretch!

[VComps]

Hiya! Have mercy on me, it's my first new thread on this board, and every board's a little bit different.

This actually isn't my story, it's from a co-worker, but I was also working that day.


OK, so of course, like any reputable über-drugstore, we have a photofinishing department. But ours is a touch different... ours is a full-on professional grade photo lab. (ie, professional photographers bring their work in to us as well as the regular guys with their weekend snapshots.)

What that means is that when you bring in photos to us, we don't just throw them in a machine and leave them, we actually have a 1-Hour Technical Specialist personally check and color-correct each print. [/background]

Anyway, one day the lab is chugging along, when the tech working broke out in a cold sweat and started to feel pains in his chest.



So we called the first aid attendants in, and they determined the situation serious enough to warrant calling an ambulance.

While the ambulance attendants were in the back, tending to our valiant tech, enter an EW, stage front, to the photo counter.

EW:
Awesome co-worker:

: I'm here to pick up my order.
: (gets her name and order particulars) Actually I'm afraid it isn't complete yet, the lab is a bit behind right now.
: WHAT? I was told these photos would be done by now!
: I know, I'm sorry - to be honest, the lab tech who was working on them is having a health issue, so it's put the orders behind.
: Well, don't you have a replacement in there to give me my pictures?

(note: we DID call in our photo team leader on her day off to come into the lab and help with the orders, but since she is a very close friend of lab tech #1, she was trying to do prints through tears, so it wasn't exactly going fast.)

: (as the line starts getting longer behind our antagonist) Well, yes, but she's going into a chaotic situation back there, and it's just going to take some time to do it.
: Well that doesn't get me my pictures, now does it?
: (losing his patience a bit) Well, the man is having a heart attack (it turned out not to be one, but we didn't know that at the time) so it's just going to take a bit more time!
: I came ALL THE WAY ACROSS TOWN (note: we have her address, it's a 10 minute drive)

This went back and forth for some time... ( anyone?) until she finally left with a mighty suck of air through her teeth, muttering about the inconvenience.

I told it's a good thing I wasn't there... I'd have told her flat out:

All right, then, ma'am. I want you to call his wife and children and tell them exactly what was so important that daddy couldn't get medical help in time to save his life.

Honestly! I'm glad I don't have her nerve in my tooth!

[PepperElf]

.... to which i'd suggest....
"He's having a heart attack, STFU. Come back in X time and take your negatives and get the F out. No prints for you."

.... is Tech guy ok?

[VComps]

He's fine, PepperElf - it actually turned out to be acute acid reflux. It simulated the signs of heart trouble disturbingly well, but he was actually back at work the next day with a brand new prescription.

I told him never to scare me like that again.

(Thanks for asking though!)

[Meegz]

While it is awesome he is okay! it will never leave your mind that your coworker was having health problems and some customer doesn't give a crap, as long as they are well and served! Tis the seasons, dorkbutt customers. No one should ever feel pressured for helping a fellow coworker

*emails some spiked eggnog*

[AirHostess]

While it is awesome he is okay! it will never leave your mind that your coworker was having health problems and some customer doesn't give a crap, as long as they are well and served! Tis the seasons, dorkbutt customers. No one should ever feel pressured for helping a fellow coworker

*emails some spiked eggnog*

That's why if God forbid, my plane crashed I would be the first out of that door. No-one gives a damn about anyone else anymore!

[Crazeyal]

Trust me...

Replying to snotty people like that is DEVASTATINGLY fun... until they make it not worth the effort. You can't win, you can't change their world view, and you lose every time you interact with them. Best thing is to know you are right and stay on the high road. The people who would complain/overreact will ALWAYS find a way to make it your fault.. LOUDLY...

[Nurian]

I'm glad the tech is alright. Your coworker was certainly more professional and courteous than I (or many people on this board, I imagine ) would have been.

Oh, and bienvenido a nuestra sala de denuncias sobre los clientes!

[InSearchOfSunset]

some people these days... if i had been there I most likely would've told that lady to go fornicate herself ... or at least wish she could suffer something like your poor cw did

[VComps]

I'm glad the tech is alright. Your coworker was certainly more professional and courteous than I (or many people on this board, I imagine ) would have been.

You know, Nurian, it's funny you should say that. After she left, he remarked to his supervisor that if there hadn't been people in line behind her, he would have told her off.

She said "I'd have backed you up on that."

(She is 16.7 million shades of awesome.)

Oh, and merci. Je suis très heureux d'être ici.

[Gerrinson]

The old grocery store (after I left) had a guy die of a heart attack at the register. Similar to the lovely SC in your post, there were a number of complaints from people who had to move to a different register because the paramedics were trying to treat him on the scene. Glad your CW was okay.

Also, not that I don't love smilies, because I do, but you might want to reconsider using them to represent the people in your stories. It looks a wee bit overwhelming to some of us.

On the other hand, I love your avatar. I'm 1/2 Canuck. Ooooo! Does that mean I get to be Spock?

/Canuck.
//Trekkie.
///Weeeeee!

[trinnyg]

Pardon us while we have a fire alarm.

Most often in call centre environments you get the same type of call. Excuse me while I put you on hold as we are expieriencing a fire alarm at the moment. is rather entertaining in large centres. Dropping 100 customers at once as soon as the alarm goes.

I have been with three different companies and that has happened poor customers.


NOTTTTTTTTT

[Mike Taylor]

He's fine, PepperElf - it actually turned out to be acute acid reflux. It simulated the signs of heart trouble disturbingly well, but he was actually back at work the next day with a brand new prescription.

I told him never to scare me like that again.

(Thanks for asking though!)

It does indeed. One of the first things my doctors did for me was an ECG, as I was also having high blood pressure at the time. Thankfully, it was just GERD (gastro esophageal reflux disease) like your friend.

I hope el-sucko (la-sucka?) gets a scare like that. Sounds to me like she was one step away from a peptic ulcer herself already.

[Nurian]

Oh, and merci. Je suis très heureux d'être ici.

Okay, I had to Google translate that, too

Similar story:
I work at a call center in the middle of the US in what is known as "Tornado Alley". We're under strict guidelines that should our sirens go off, We get off of the phone.

One night in the middle of summer, the sirens were going off. I just dumped my call and was just about to leave when I heard:

CSR: I'm sorry, Sir. There's an emergency. (wait) No, sir, I can't stay. (wait) Sir, please, I need to- (interrupted), well, I guess I can-

At that point, I took the headphones off of her, said into the mic "She has to go NOW!" and pulled the jack out of the phone releasing him and taking her out of the queue.

I don't mess around with tornadoes. Not after Greensburg.

[otakuneko]

I work at a call center in the middle of the US in what is known as "Tornado Alley".

You know, that made me stop and think about the place I used to work. The old site was a big, mostly window-less (in fact, the only windows were on the second floor) building. Not much for interior walls, but the bathrooms were big. We probably could've all hid there, had there been a twister.

The new site, OTOH, had an entire wall of windows spanning the length of the call floor. Directly opposite that wall was the server room, which was all window on the side facing the floor. It was a smaller building and had even less in the way of interior walls. The bathrooms were small. There were windowed offices around the perimeter. I don't know where we would've hid in the event of severe weather. The few training rooms likely would not have been sufficient for the number of people there.

(I hated the new site. The only things that were better were the location (shorter commute) and the chairs. Grr.)

[Primer]

For future reference: head for the first floor, any internal room is better than a room with a window. If you cannot get away from a window, get as far from it as you can, say under a desk or something.


(...put your head between your knees, and kiss your ass goodbye...j/k on this last part!)