When Customer Service Not Only Fails You, But Insults Your Character.
What if you can't just "get over it and move on"?
Okay, I'll be perfectly honest. I hold grudges. Don't get me wrong- it's not all the time and any time someone has made me upset, insulted me, lied to me or done something I haven't approved of- but there is one thing that I simply cannot stand for.
Being called a liar.
I fully admit it- this is my ultimate kryptonite and nothing personally infuriates me more than this. Calling me a liar when I am, without a single doubt in my mind, have told nothing but the truth creates this deep-seeded fury inside of me that I have never been able to shake easily.
The first time that I recollect this happening was in 2008, I believe. So, 9 years ago. Fresh from college and looking for my first job out of school. Unsure of my ultimate path, I accepted a receptionist position at a trendy Toronto hair salon. Immediately, I could tell that they worked differently than a traditional "team" -- everyone was out for themselves and they all spoke horrendously about the others behind their back. Right away I was not a fan, but I needed the job. I kept out of the drama, did my job and went home. Now, the way this salon did things was they kept a wooden "treasure chest" on top of the receptionist desk where clients could leave small envelopes with tips in them for the stylists. Not once was I instructed to monitor this box -- we were all adults, the stylists were responsible enough to go into the box after their shift, sift through the envelopes and pull out the ones with their names written on it and leave the rest behind. Was this a faulty system? Possibly. But it's the way they had always done things, so I wasn't going to come in and tell them that their system was flawed. It seemed to be working for them, so I kept my mouth shut.
Cut to Thanksgiving. My roommate and I head to my hometown since hers is soooo far away. We come back from the weekend and she was looking on Craigslist for a job (as she was unemployed) when she came across a posting for the salon I was working at.... looking for a receptionist! This both shocked and confused me as I had been doing really well at the salon and was starting to get comfortable with the team and working in that part of town, etc.
Heading into work for my next shift had my stomach filled with knots. I knew I wanted to confront my boss, but wasn't sure when. I got in there and he asked me not to check the company e-mail because of some lie that he was able to make up on the spot. When he reapproached me a little bit later (why did they even let me sit down in the first place?) I finally told him that I wanted to speak to him outside, which he agreed to. I told him that my roommate had seen a posting for my job and I asked him why. He told me that *Patty has a regular client who had come in the Friday before. She noticed that he didn't leave her a tip and he usually does, so- because of this reason alone- it was determined that I must have taken out the tip from the treasure chest and kept it for myself.
I. WAS. MORTIFIED. I immediately felt sick and started to cry. I told him that all of the stylists are able to go into the box at anytime and it doesn't even have a lock on it and how unfair it was to have a finger pointed at me- and he blatantly said, "Well, you're the newest employee, soooo...." -- and that was it. He said he'd allow me to "resign" so I wouldn't have to say that I was fired. So, just so you all know, I didn't take that tip. I have known this the entire time and have had to live with this the entire time. Being called a liar and a thief has tainted my soul in a way that I cannot explain, but I have never fully gotten over it. I still dream about this even now. I've since built a fantastic career, married the love of my life and am successful in so many ways-- yet, I find myself, time and time again, dreaming about that boss, those words that he said and the impression I left on those people as the ungrateful thief I never was.
And here I am again.
My husband and I sold our condo and moved into a new house in Toronto. We decided to upgrade our double bed to a king-sized bed for the very first time. We were so excited to find a bedroom set that was going to look amazing in our new bedroom. We found one that we loved at Lastman's Bad Boy Furniture, one of the most famous aspects of the beloved Annex (which has since been torn down). They called and set up the deliveries with my husband. They said that the rest of the bedroom would be available in October, but the bed wouldn't be available until November. Not ideal, but that's fine. It was such a great set that we figured it'd be worth the wait. We confirmed the delivery details and were informed that the bed would come disassembled. He also confirmed that the drivers would place the boxes in their intended location.
Cut to delivery #1 - Bedroom furniture minus the bed. Did not bring it upstairs when asked. Okay fine- not the end of the world. My husband and friend brought everything up themselves as I wasn't at home at the time. We then waited patiently for our bed to arrive, which did a few weeks later.
Cut to delivery #2 - Bed. Well, it was disassembled, but not very much. It was split into four boxes. By 'disassembled' it only meant that the headboard were not attached and the base of the bed was split into two HUGE boxes. There was storage under the bed, so you can imagine how big these were. They took the two smaller boxes upstairs (after I asked them to) and one of them nicked our wall and damaged our stairs. No biggie. We just wanted to get it up there. They then grabbed one of the two big boxes and tried to get it up the stairs- but it just wouldn't make it. They tried and tried and pushed and pushed and it just wouldn't budge. They then dropped it off in the living room. My husband asked if he should try to take it out of the box and get it up and they said he could try it if he wanted to- but they had to go. We were all frustrated from not getting the bed up that I didn't stop to recheck the damage they created, nor did they ask me to do so or to sign anything acknowledge it. We were standing in the living room and our house wasn't brightly lit, so I didn't see it until after they left. We called the company and they told us they have a strict no refund or exchange policy (which my husband didn't notice when he ordered it -- our fault). BUT, they did say that we MAY be able to exchange it, but there'd likely be a restocking fee. We said of course- our bad. We didn't know how big the boxes were going to be. We also mentioned the damage that was done, but said that if they bent this rule for us, of course we wouldn't worry about it because we'd be so appreciative. Cut to a few days later and we were hit with a hard NO on the refund/exchange (we weren't asking for a refund, but an exchange and paying for delivery/restocking would have been ideal). At that point, I said fine- we're stuck with a bed we can't use, but would they at least consider reimbursing for the damage that was caused? I provided photos and gave them a play by play for what happened that day. I told them we weren't standing by the stairs when they left and didn't notice how bad it was until then. Because we were flustered that the box didn't go up, I wasn't thinking about the damage at the time. I said they tried their best and it's not the end of the world, but some consideration would be appreciated.
Cut to the customer service manager calling my husband and confronting him even though it was me that had reached out to them in the first place. I wrote them back and told them that it was unprofessional to call and confront my husband when he wasn't the one making the inquiry. The customer service manager then spoke with me in a similar manner, telling me that "most people" do this and "most people" do that-- that's not how it works, pal. Please don't tell me what "most people do" in any situation. He wasn't there, he doesn't know how it went down. He said he'd speak to the drivers and get back to me, which he did just now.
The drivers deny even attempting to move one of those boxes up the stairs. They say the first two boxes went up without a hitch and they never touched the two big boxes- a blatant lie. He then suggested that we did it ourselves and there was nothing else he could do. He offered to put the drivers on the phone, but I asked what the point was? Clearly he doesn't believe me and was keen to insult me.
But how would they have known that the boxes wouldn't fit unless they tried?
Why didn't they have us assess the damage on the spot or sign something stating that the delivery was made and that we absorb all responsibility? Literally anything other than this.
I'm gutted. Not only are we stuck with a bed that we have no use for, but now I've been called a liar. This never sits right with me. And now that he's heated me up to the point where I've called him a complete imbecile and hung up on him (I sent him a text apology afterwards) I worry that they know where I live and will seek recourse for my attitude even though they are the ones that have called me a liar and insulted me. Like, should I be worried? How do you get over something like this and just move on? I really feel offended. Yes, there are bigger problems in this world and I try time and time again not to sweat the small stuff (which I'm actually really great at), but as I said- being called a liar is my kryptonite.
Help!
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