Sunday, November 13, 2005

WE WANT SERVICE NOW

Working the Customer Service Desk is a like manning the information booth during a war - while you're on the battlefield with bullets flying around you, bombs dropping, you name it.

People think nothing of cutting line when your head is down or back is turned, or taking my pens, scissors, etc. If it in view, and some of what isn't, it is fair game.

Today was a bad day. The desk is supposed to have two people by 9 a.m. and three by 11 a.m. on weekends, because it is so busy. Well, the 9 a.m. girl and the other 11 a.m. girl didn't show. When I got there at 11 a.m., the opener had been running the desk by herself for four hours. So I waded in and she went to lunch.

My god. Someone tried to return bullets. Someone else brought back nine bags of sunflower seeds. Two desk lamps. A obviously used car battery. $120 worth of clothes. Shrimp. A water fountain. I could go on ...

And the crowning glory was the battle-axe who couldn't get her prescription because the computer in the pharmacy went down for 20 minutes and had to be reset. From the way she was screaming, and yes, it was screaming, the only thing she needed was some tranquilizers. She slapped the counter, she yelled at me when I paged a manager, she berated everyone in sight.

Now, it is a some sort of law that a licensed pharmacist must be present to dispense medication. Our management CANNOT just "go in" and help her. And the prescriptions have to be done the right way through the computer system. You can't just count out some Xanax, slap it in a bottle and charge $25. But this woman didn't understand that. And so she keeps screaming. Finally, one of the people I work with told her "Ma'am, you're just going to have to wait."

Jesus. You'd have thought fifteen hookers walked into a Baptist church from the look on her face. She turned a sort of purple color, opened her mouth a few times, and then finally just walked off. Lord.

I now have e-mail at Wal-Mart. I'm going to try to do some e-mail blogging and do real, live, "Behind the Counter" updates that are actually from "behind the counter." Peace out.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Be careful about blogging from work...I'd hate to lose your perspective...thanks!

Myself said...

A great Blog! I love the behind the counter view of it all. It absolutely tru that no matter where you work, there's always a funny story to be had.

Anonymous said...

Yes, working customer service is EXACTLY like being on a battlefield. Great comparison. Christ, what an ignorant statement.

Anonymous said...

Hey Cartwright, you should have paid attention more in 9th grade English. Perhaps then you wouldn't make an ass out of yourself.

sim·i·le
n.
A figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by like or as