Customer service is an incredibly difficult job. You must maintain a sense of polite decorum at all times and try your best to keep up the “the customer is always right” motto, even when they’re very clearly wrong!
But what happens when a customer takes it too far? How can someone in a customer service job handle that situation?
At a check-in counter at Southwest Airlines, an agent was working to get everyone checked in as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, a particularly crowded flight had been canceled due to bad weather, and she had to work quickly to rebook everyone on new flights as soon as possible.
Then, one particularly angry customer stepped forward and slammed his documents on the counter, cutting in line.
He demanded to be on that exact flight right then and there and insisted that he be put in first class.
Calmly, the agent replied that she would be with him shortly and try to help him as soon as she was done helping to rebook those in line.
Enraged, the man yelled at her, asking her if she had any idea who she was.
His shouting was so loud, all those behind him could hear it. That’s when the agent did something hilarious and shocking!
The agent reached for her public address microphone and made a public announcement that was heard throughout the terminal.
She said that a passenger at her gate did not know who he was, and requested that anyone who knew him could come and help him out.
Naturally, this infuriated the man, but all the passengers behind him were laughing their heads off! Serves him right for being such a jerk!
When he insulted her with expletives, saying “Screw you!”, she smiled and replied very simply that he’d also have to get in line to do that. Hilarious!
Unfortunately, we can’t verify the truth of this story, but even if it’s fictional, it shows that we don’t have any tolerance for rude and impossible customers and recognize that staff are human beings, too.
Besides, things like this are never the fault of the staff, so keep that in mind the next time you’re inconvenienced and are thinking of taking it out on an innocent member of staff.
