It happens....

I went to talk to my storage people today. I realized that if the things had been stolen, there was no way I was ever going to get them back, so really I was just looking for a little sympathy. Maybe they would have security cameras and I could look at tapes to see whether or not someone had stolen something from me. Who knows?

When I got to the storage place the trendy boy was there. I didn't like him. At this particular storage place they usually hired people who were a bit low on the employment ladder. Not the types you would find in an office or a cafe or a trendy bar. So trendy boy really stuck out. And he had a bit of an attitude. Because I had told them I was moving out, my account had been flagged. I had paid up through the 19th of this month, but for some reason two different times when I had gone to the locker my security code didn't work. The first time this happened, I went to the office to find out what was going on. Trendy boy was there. He looked my account up and sighed one of those oh-so-exasperated sighs. "See," he said to his co-worker, "this is why we need to make sure those forms get filled out!" Another sigh and then he told me the account was cleared and I could get to my locker.

Now, maybe proper paperwork hadn't been done on my account, but what a passive-aggressive way for him to act around me, the customer, when this came to light. I didn't need to know that someone else in his company hadn't followed proceedure. I couldn't care less. I just wanted to get into my locker. But he had to make it obvious to me and everyone else around that his day was being put out of joint because someone else hadn't done their job. Poor guy. I feel so sorry for him, having to correct someone else's mistake.... NOT!!!! Pull your head out of your ass, I wanted to say, it's just a simple mistake.

Needless to say when I saw him behind the counter today I wasn't thrilled. Some other guy walked up to me and asked if he could help me. "I need to close out my locker and I wanted to let you know that I had something stolen from my truck when I was moving this past weekend."

"Yeah, that happens," he replied.

Sympathy was not forthcoming. But I also thought his response showed a great lack of customer service. Really, he should have said something like, "I'm terribly sorry that happened to you here at my place of business. We do our best to minimize thievery, but sometimes it happens and we have no control over it." Instead he followed up his first comment with, "I can't do anything to help you there."

I realized he probably thought I was looking for them to replace my lost items. "I know you aren't responsible, I just wanted you to know it had happened."

"Yeah, well, we can't do anything about it."

At which point I decided he was an idiot and had never had the concept of customer service explained to him. I asked, rather testily, for the moving out paperwork, signed it and left.

Now, the fact that I found the "lost" items later that day stashed away in my laundry room is of no consequence. He still should've treated me better.