I arrive at a Land Rover dealership, at about 10 minutes to 6.

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I arrive at a Land Rover dealership, at about 10 minutes to 6. Instead of being pleased to see me on a Friday at rush hour, my passenger subjects me to a diatribe about how he had placed the call for 5:45, so I was therefore late, which is just a terrible level of customer service.

But this perfidy is nothing compared with that apparently committed by the dealership. He shouldn't have even had to call me at all, because the dealer's shuttle service should have been available to take him home to Forest Heights, except it would seem that since it's so close to closing time they didn't want to send the shuttle out only to have to wait around another hour to be able to close. "And in the world I come from, that is just wrong, I mean to promise that...."

"I think the world you come from is a little too fucking privileged for your own good," I snap, finally.

"Excuse me?!"

"You're complaining about the lack of a complimentary service, a complete luxury, and treating this privilege like it's a god-given right that's been taken away from you. Don't you hear yourself? Jesus." I wasn't too concerned about my tip. I'd clearly already blown that by having the temerity to arrive four minutes after the scheduled pickup time. I was expecting a snotty retort from anyone this entitled. However, dead silence in the back seat. "Still alive back there?" "Yes. I'm just thinking about what you said." Good.

05.09.2006 at 09:00 Reply

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Customer Service: Feel freel to abuse the employees.Working in the over-the-phone service industy, this column struck a chord with me.There are too many people who take far too much advantage of the complimentary services and offers that many businesses provide. And as such it has burdened these thoughtless individuals with a false sense of entitlement. Unfortunately, the service-oriented work environment is built around the "never lose a customer" attitude, even if said customer is not only exploiting the loopholes in the store's policies, but also making the shopping environment difficult for fellow shoppers. There are too many times when I encounter a soccer mom in the grocery store trying to coax a discount or force a refund on a poor customer service agent who really doesn't have the authority to deviate from company policy and would get dismissed if he or she did.More than likely Mr. Land Rover is writing a scathing invective to the management of the dealership and the cab company for refusing to bend time and space to suit his whim. This is the sort of person who shows up at a restaurant 5 minutes before closing time and wants to know why they can't get the canard a l'orange. From what I've garnered from previous columns, the environment that Miss Cabbie works in is pretty laid back and the mangement is more sympathetic to the type of bullshit that a driver has to put up with than any imagined slights that a customer may allege. Unfortunately, workplaces are like this. Having worked customer service at multiple levels over the last decade, the majority of people who require assistance are really the ones who need it the least and are more likely to try and get a worker in trouble with his/her superiors if they don't get their own way. If I had laid into a customer at my workplace in the same way that Miss Cabbie had (and believe me, I deal with people who think that because they earn over $75K a year it means they should be revered like a demigod) I would probably be served my walking papers.And people wonder why customer service workers are so misanthropic.—Been There

I arrive at a Land Rover dealership, at about 10 minutes to 6.I'm glad you told that bastard off. Just because you own x car does not give you right to be a prick about things. I swear when i read this i thought it was something that occured out here in southern california.—Duan

I arrive at a Land Rover dealership, at about 10 minutes to 6.Way to go. Some people like that guy are way too self-absorbed for their own good. I wish more people (myself included) had the courage to simply put them in their place - even though I guess courage really isn't necessary most of the time.And I have to credit the guy for shutting up and actually realizing what an asshole he was being.—Rian Mueller

05.10.2006 at 09:00 Reply

I arrive at a Land Rover dealership, at about 10 minutes to 6.Your language usage is almost as much fun as your content....and that's a good thing. LOL" Yes. I'm just thinking about what you said" shows we all have our bad days and you brought him back to the reality of life. Yup, we all have been there and had made the same mistakes...you rejuvenated his little Grey Cells.—KISS

05.11.2006 at 09:00 Reply

Don't you know yuppies aren't allowed to have emotions?Yeah man, FUCK this guy for having a bad day. People with jobs who pay Oregon's rape-me property tax rates to finance housing subsidies should GROVEL in the presence of higher beings.I don't care what your income level and choice of lifestyle is, sooner or later you're going to have a bad day and be a total prick (or cunt). Sometimes you get old and smart enough to show a little style in the face of adversity, but we all blow it from time to time.Giving the guy a hard time for being graceless is understandable. Additional bashing for his choice of ride and apparent income is as shameful and dumb as being racist, sexist or assuming IQ based on regional accent. How is this different from:I arrived at a bling jewelry store, and the barely literate watermelon muncher dared to complain.I arrived at a swishy disco, and the whiny faggot dared to complain.I arrived at a state services office, and the parasitic gimp in the chair dared to complain.? I could go on, but if there's any conciousness raising to be done, it's on your part. People are people, no matter what they do or who they are, and giving them trouble solely on the basis of appearance is bad form. Thinking you're cool to bash any group is just faulty thinking.—Steve Blanchet

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