Wherein I get Lazboy cooperate called on me...

[RedNailPolish]

...and bossman doesn't give a shit.

Preface: I work in a small, locally-owned furniture store, and we happen to have a large Lazboy Comfort Studio. We service the recliners ourselves, and are licensed to do so. Unfortunately, the guy who fixes things occasionally takes a week off. I'm not sure, but I think they call this 'vacation'. Anyway...

I get a call one morning, and it's a gentlemen who bought a lift recliner (powered so the footrest and back recline you, and it lifts up the seat so old people can get out) and it's not working. Fine, that's easy. I get the form I need to fill out, get his info, and am nearly done, when I tell him 'Ok, our service manager will get back to you some time next week' 'Next week? My recliner is broken! My wife is disabled! This is her chair!' 'I'm sorry it's inconvenient sir, but our service manager is on vacation this week and there are several people who requested service before you.' 'This is ridiculous! What are you guys doing, having no service manager? Why don't you hire somebody to cover for his vacations? My wife is disabled!

This goes on for about 15 minutes, with him getting increasingly mad at me about the manager being out of town, how the chair has already broken once before, and can't I tell him how to fix it over the phone (the only thing they could tell me to do he'd already done) and how unhelpful I was and all sorts of that stuff. Eventually, he was calling me names, and threatening to call the Lazboy cooperate office and whatnot. FINE. I transfer him to the manager.

Manager hates talking to customers. HATES. If I ask, he will refuse. I think he missed that part of the job description. Anyway, he talks to the guy and finally gets him to go away. I get yelled at.

Guy gets taken care of first thing Monday morning when the service manager gets back, since I sent an email to him to let him know that he really needs to touch base with this guy.

The kicker? His wife had broken the chair because she was impatient waiting for the footrest to go down, and jammed the motor. This is also how it broke the last time. Angry customer gets to wait a few weeks for the part to come in.

We never did hear from LZB. We suspect they told him that it was an issue with us and that we were well within our rights to give the guy a vacation.

[Dips]

Oh, man. I understand this issue. One of our products was manufactured by another company with whom we merged in 1999. The only two people from that company who still work here and know the inner workings about that product happen to be married to each other. So they take vacations together. And sometimes someone with a weird problem only one of them can solve calls. It's very rare, but it happens.

But boy do we get some suck when that happens.

No. We are not going to tell a married couple they can't take a vacation together. Why? Because they would both quit. Considering that they are the only ones who can solve your problem, that wouldn't be a good outcome for you.

No. We are not going to do that either. Why? Because hiring and/or training people costs money. Are you interested in going to a paid tech support system instead of the free one we have now? Yeah. I thought so. You'll get a call on Monday when they get back from vacation.

Your boss sounds like a jerk. It's not your fault and he shouldn't have yelled at you about it.