Customer Stories 9

So I have another one for you! This one is kinda fun, but aren't all my stories? Anyway I digress, my story.
So the customer wasn't mine but I had to deal with the fun part. A woman had bought from us, but we didn't have it in stock so she had to wait for it to come in on the truck, it happens she understood. We gave her the estimated date for the trucks arrival. Key word people, estimated! I pointed out the word cause it is the key word here. Things happen beyond our control, truck drive gets sick or steals the truck (true story on both), the company we ordered from messed up the order... we messed up the order. Things happen.
Anyway the estimated date for the truck came, and the truck had been delayed by a day. So it wasn't coming. So The customer was called. She seemed to understand and we told her we would call her as soon as the truck did arrive and we would give her a couple of free pillows, she agreed. Yay! A customer that is understandable!
Well the customer was understandable, her mother not so much. Her mother called us a half hour later and I had the misfortune of answering the phone. I answered as I should for a business line, polite and willing to offer help. She started her side of the conversion with, "What the Hell? Why can't my daughter get her stuff?"
"Excuse me?" Baffled, not sarcastic that is important to clarify with me.
"My daughter ordered with you, told her she could get her stuff today and then called and said she couldn't. What kind of business are you running there?"
"Ma'am, as we already explained, the truck has been delayed."
"Well why can't she get her stuff?"
"Her stuff is on the truck, which has been delayed." Already my boss is shocked I still have my cool.
"Well then why would you tell her she could get her stuff today?"
"We didn't, we told her the truck is supposed to be here today. However it has been delayed and there is nothing we can do about that."
"Well no where is she going to sleep?"
"Where has she been sleeping this whole time?"Again no sarcasm.
"We threw that out!"
"Why she doesn't have the new one yet?"
"Cause you told her she was getting her stuff today so I had her throw out the old stuff!"
"So because you jumped the gun and tossed the old stuff, its my fault? Who tosses old stuff before replacing it? Could you explain that one to me?" Sarcasm in that one, big time. 
"This is some sort of scam! I am coming to get her money back."
"What? Why?"
"Cause we will take her business to a place that does what they say they will."
"Ma'am, we do. We apologized for the delay and your daughter seemed fine when we talked to her. In fact can I talk to her?"
"No, I'm coming for the money."
"No your not." The cool has left.
"Yes I am!" She yelled.
I didn't yell back, but I wanted to, "No your not. You can come but I am not giving you any money."
"So you're going to just plain steal from my baby?"
"No, if she wants her money back she can call us and we can work something out."
"Well then I'm coming for it."
"No your not, your name is not on the receipt so I refuse to give you the money."
She then proceeded to use many very vulgar words and my finger seemed to slip to the button where I hung up on her. I was after all in my right. She called back, yelling that I hung up on her and I said I wasn't going to be yelled at. She start swearing and screaming again and I hung up again. Phones are fun.
Half an hour later she called again. I politely answered the phone as I am supposed to. And she asked for me by name. I told her I was the one on the phone. She apologized for what she had screamed at me, and explained to me why. It seems she has that disorder where brain cells are missing and she only listened to every other word out of her daughter's mouth. She didn't hear the part where we had offered her free pillows for the inconvenience, or that fact that her daughter had agreed to it. She had heard, we are an evil business that is preventing her daughter from getting her stuff and holding her money hostage. My take on her words, not a quote.
Any way she apologized and I accepted it. As stupid as she is, she is a potential future customer. And she was, she had come in as a customer a few weeks later and I, being the professional and understanding business man made the other guy deal with her. Thanks for not reading!   

Monsters we have become....

Life is hard!
That needs to be said before I continue. I want it understood. Now!
Okay with that taken care of I will continue. I had a friend the other day, one who I would have never expected this from, scold me the other day for a post I shared on another friends Facebook page. Now for those of you that know me, I tease and poke at my friends all in good fun. Even the guy I posted on knew I was kidding. But I was scolded to make sure I wasn't becoming a bully.
So it is rant time again. This will take from other posts a bit because I feel it needs it. And to clarify I am not ranting at being called out, I am glad he did and explained to him it was in fun and all parties knew and thanked him for caring about people like he did.
First and foremost, bullying will not go away. The Nelsons and Biffs of the world won't go away because I ranted on my unread blog. But I hope it helps a little. And every little bit helps.
Now to the ranting. One thing that has to be said, it ends. There comes a time when it stops. You shouldn't have to wait, but it does.
Second, for those of you that are older and say its a way of life and it isn't as bad because when you were younger there was bullying, shut up! Understand, no one should ever be tortured for the the pleasure of another. That and it is different from the even when I was in school. Internet, cell phones, and touch pads make information flow faster and freer than ever. Bullying isn't just limited to the cool kids picking on the nerds anymore, its global! It needs to stop!
For those of you thinking that maybe this is because I have gay friends and I feel bad because of the higher suicide rates in teen LBGT kids, it is about more than that. Yes I do feel bad about all those needless deaths. An earlier post already talked on how pointless I feel taking ones own life is. I will repeat it now, You matter! Understand you are special no matter what.
But as I said its more than just that. Fat kids, mentally disabled, bookish, and all the other stereotypes. I hate stereotypes.... well okay I like them because it makes certain jokes that are needed in this world, mostly Blonde Jokes. But the singling out of someone because of something that is beyond their control, or hard for them to control is wrong.
I was recently told that the new thing is to use the anti bully campaign to bully. How does that happen? Using Anti Bullying to bully people? I'm told they use it to bully "bullies", "bullies" being people that disagree with them. Honestly? Really? Are we that dumb as a species? Thanks to the Steve who passed this along as I was writing this, you know which one you are. And I know like a hundred Steve's so he remains covert yet mentioned. 
I was bullied. Most of my life, by an older cousin, and a friend that changed my life, God rest his soul. It wasn't fun, still isn't. But this isn't about me cause I have the strength to carry on. This is about that fact that not everyone does. And before survival of the fittest gets thrown out their, how do you know that someone you bullied couldn't have invented a cure to some life ending virus or something, but now can't because they are to busy getting psychological help or on mind altering pills or have killed themselves? You don't! So shame on you! You screwed us asshole!
But the down side is it is easy to just find someone to bully. I have come close to becoming a bully on more than few occasions. And if you ever felt like I was a bully to you, I am sorry. I mean it I am so so sorry. I hope you can forgive what I have done to you but if you can't I accept and understand that too.
I am human, I have my faults, we all do. But to bully because of them? Come on, be better. You have the power to save a life instead of end one. I... I...
I just don't get it. I understand that sometimes it is easier to take your anger out on someone else, but easier isn't always right. If you are a bully and are because your own life sucks why? Nelson from the Simpsons is one of those and I don't get it? If your life is so bad and you are so full of anger, why would you want some one else to suffer like you do? Get help! Get out! Make the world a better place by making sure what happened to or is happening to you never happens again, don't keep the cycle going. As I started with Life is hard, but it is worth it if you let it. Don't make it worse by being part of the problem.
To end for those that are bullies, be better, be people, not the assholes you are. For those that are being bullied, get help and know it gets better. For those that were bullied and survived, help those that are still stuck. Remember people, we all matter. This planet is to small for every person on it not to impact it, be a good impact and stop the hate.