PLEASED

Today's lesson is on customer service.

Example One: Bad Customer Service.

I went "antiquing" for about ten minutes on Saturday. I knew I had to go while I was still (barely) awake/alert, because once I hit the couch after those long runs, I pretty much go comatose. So I was walking very slowly through the store, partially because actually walking = small miracle at that point in time, and also because there was so much to take in and see. I rounded a corner and found a stack of windows. I was bent over going through them when the owner came by. "Let me know if you have any questions," he said, as he walked by me carrying a door. I was admiring an old white churchy-looking window when a piece of paint, approximately the size of my pinky fingernail, flaked off in my fingers (revealing more white paint - it was barely noticeable). The owner walked back past me. I set the piece of paint on top of the window frame. Just as I did, he yelled "Oh you can keep that piece of paint you just chipped off, ha HA HA! Go ahead and put it in your pocket!" I looked up at him as he turned and walked off. I placed all the windows back against the wall, flicked the tiny paint chip onto the ground, and walked out of the store. It wasn't until I driving away in my car when I noticed all the dirty plain old windows and doors outside, wet and rotting from sitting in the rain. Now I ask you - is he aware the sign on his door does not say Tiffany & Co.? Does he know he's running an ANTIQUE SHOP and that chipped paint, on the outer corner of something that's already chipped, only adds character? It's not like I broke all the glass in the window pane. I was fuming. Jerk. You'd think with such superpower vision, he would be putting those bionic eyes to use someplace besides an antique store.

Example Two: Good Customer Service.

Last night I went to Pei Wei, one of my favorite places to eat. I changed up my order a bit (teriyaki chicken on fried rice) but was still a little surprised by what I was served (teriyaki chicken on fried rice, with a salad in between). I mean, there was a garden in my bowl. Enormous steamed onions and foot-long strands of lettuce and giant carrots... I like vegetables just fine but never covered in teriyaki glaze, steamed, slimy, and most importantly - when I haven't requested them. So I was removing the layer of extraneous, unwelcome vegetables out of my bowl when I unearthed something else I didn't order - a piece of raw meat. Juicy, oozing beef, about the size of three of my fingers. That can't be good, I thought, as I showed my dinner companion. We decided I should send it back. I got one of the waiter's attention and showed him the raw meat in my dish. He offered to make me another one, which was ready minutes later - but still had all the veggies. Oh well. I was picking them out - again - when the store manager came up to the table and handed us each a $10 gift card. Why thank you, Mr. Pei Wei. I would have come back, gift card or not, but now I will probably be back sooner. Hide the fortune cookies!