Why did they think I wouldn’t complain?

Three incidents happened within a week:

1. I went to a bank in a grocery store to close a certificate of deposit. I was told they didn’t do that there and was sent to another branch.

2. I tried to update my soon-to-be-expired credit card at my gym and the manager-on-duty told me she didn’t do that.

3. We came into a restaurant and I requested that we have a table near the front door because my husband, who walks with a cane, wanted to minimize the distance he walked. She took us to a table at the far end of the restaurant, passing many empty tables.

In all three cases, I quietly complained. The other branch of the bank and a manager-on-duty at another time in the gym both told me that the person I talked to should have done what I asked. The manager at the restaurant said that we should have been given our choice of table.

The person who seated us at the restaurant was particularly puzzling. It would not take any more effort to seat us closer to the door. When we were about two steps from the table, I complained to her and she asked if we wanted to go back to another table. I hope she misunderstood my request, because otherwise she was malicious. I presume the other two people simply wanted to pass along the work to someone else.

I hope in all three cases the person received appropriate criticism from their bosses. If this was a pattern of behavior, they should have been fired. Perhaps others don’t complain. They should.

Tags: complaints, service