Not only is the customer always wrong, we obviously don’t understand what it is we require.
Not wishing the two-day-old bird crap to eat into my car’s paintwork (should it get through the volcanic ash layer first), I decided to fill up and get a quick car wash on my way to work this morning.
“Pump number 10 and your most basic car wash.” I said to the person at the till who, annoyingly, always calls me ‘boss’.
“Which one?” he asked.
“The most basic, the cheapest” I replied refusing to enter into Bronze, Silver, Gold as I would ordering a McCoke!
“That’s just the water one?” he confirmed.
I nodded with an affirming ‘mmhmm’.
“We have others with suds, boss” he says pointing to the display hanging over his head.
I refuse to look, I know what i’m asking for.
- uncomfortable silence -
He taps the sign again waiting for me to acknowledge my obvious error in what I’m asking for.
“I’m sorry,” (we British are terribly good at apologising) “But I’ve said three times already. I thought I was being quite clear about the car wash I wanted. Obviously not.”
As the till pings open he finally hands me the receipt, and mumbles “This is your number, take the aerial off your car roof.”
It doesn’t have one.
