Somebody took my stuff!!

[Pixilated]

Location: Large Department Store That Boasts of Its Canadian Connections (which, AFAIK, no longer actually exist, but what the hey ...)

Participants:
SC
Me
Slightly bewildered CS person


I was talking to the CS person at the Customer Service counter when up comes SC, pushing an empty shopping cart.

SC (cutting in): Somebody took my stuff!!

CS: Um ....

SC: I had a cartful of stuff and somebody took it!! It [the cart] was over there by [some department]!!

CS: Sir, were you standing by the cart?

SC: I was just gonna get into line!!

Me: (thinking, "Uh-huh ...")

CS: Well, sir, sometimes if staff see a lot of stuff in a cart they will assume it's returns and reshelve it.

SC: *marches off in a huff, still pushing the empty cart* I'm never coming back here again! Dammit!!!


Now, there is one spot in the store where full carts are often left and that's by the cafeteria. But I doubt if even the most rookie staff would walk off with a cart from there ... because it's right by the cafeteria.

I was going to tell the CS person about this site but forgot. No doubt there will be other occasions ...



And just to momentarily go I have now been on hold for an HOUR, by the clock, in my attempts to contact somebody at my credit card company. Funny how that "We apologize for the inconvenience; your call is important to us" is sounding reeealllly hollow about now. Think I'll go get some supper and try again at about, oh, 2 a.m. ...

[angelgirl]

What I always hear

"Your call is important to us. Please hold while we ignore it."

[Mr Hero]

Your call is important to us. That's why we keep it for as long as possible.

[Teskeria]

Welcome to Dogbert's help desk. how would you like to be disconnected today?
(That time Wally chose the Kevorkian disconnect)

[Engmfj]

We actually have a chain of stores here with the slogan "it only takes 5 minutes [to shop here], but we really do want you to stay a bit longer" - maybe that's what the CC company practices, too?

[Gizmo]

One of the consumer sites I was on had a case of this recently - a customer went and paid for £140 of shopping then put it in an open unlocked "kennel" bay* whilst she ate in the cafe and was outraged when she came back and it was gone. Even worse the receipt was in the trolley so they couldn't replace it as they had no proof of a transaction and the cashier didn't remember her.

Assuming she did actually buy the stuff... we never were quite convinced.

*quite a few stores have lockable boxes where you can stash your trolley when you go to the cafe. They normally have locks on and you take the key with you like a bus station locker. One of the local chains calls them Kennels as if the trolleys were pets.

[Pixilated]

Love those oh-so-accurate translations of "Your call is important to us ..."

That customer was either an idiot or a scammer. If she could lock the the thing, why on earth wouldn't she?

At this store there are no lockboxes, but unless you are sitting way in the back of the cafeteria, it's easy enough to keep an eye on your buggy. People generally have only unpaid-for items in the buggies -- at least that way it's just an annoyance if somebody walks off with something.

[Jay 2K Winger]

"Your call is important to us..."

Someone get Spider Jerusalem on the phone. We'll see how important they think it is after he gets through with them...

[Mr Hero]

SC (cutting in): Somebody took my stuff!!

CS: Um ....

SC: I had a cartful of stuff and somebody took it!! It [the cart] was over there by [some department]!!

Were there any sweet rolls in this cart by chance?

[Geek King]

"Your call is important to us. Please hold while we ignore it."

I had this one today. I was calling in a failed line for the alarm in one of our buildings. I got put into the queue, waited for 15-20 minutes with god-awful muzak, finally got the ringtone...only for there to be dead air on the other end.

I did this three times before someone was actually there. </stabby>

[wolfie]

And just to momentarily go I have now been on hold for an HOUR, by the clock, in my attempts to contact somebody at my credit card company. Funny how that "We apologize for the inconvenience; your call is important to us" is sounding reeealllly hollow about now. Think I'll go get some supper and try again at about, oh, 2 a.m. ...

"Your call is important to us. Please hold while we ignore it."

Is it too much to hope that some mischevious hacker will change the message to something more truthful, such as "We don't give a damn about your call. Our operators are busy ignoring other callers. Please hold and we will hang up on you as soon as possible."?

[fireheart]

*quite a few stores have lockable boxes where you can stash your trolley when you go to the cafe. They normally have locks on and you take the key with you like a bus station locker. One of the local chains calls them Kennels as if the trolleys were pets.

My local shopping centre USED to do this, except with bays rather than boxes. After that got dismantled (due to the customer service desk there turning into a banking outlet -.-) a few people kept trying to use the parcel pickup at the supermarket nearby for that purpose.

[Sparky]

And just to momentarily go I have now been on hold for an HOUR, by the clock, in my attempts to contact somebody at my credit card company. Funny how that "We apologize for the inconvenience; your call is important to us" is sounding reeealllly hollow about now. Think I'll go get some supper and try again at about, oh, 2 a.m. ...

My friends and I have decided that "your call is important to us" is actually a code for "go f___ yourself." We use it as a euphemism for poor service. As in "I'm sitting home today waiting for someone to come fix my furnace. It's been acting up for a month and my call is very important to them."

[MoonCat]

Try calling National Grid. I don't care what day of the week (or the year) or what time of day you call, you will hear: "We are currently experiencing longer than normal wait times..." Happens every time I call them. Always.

[Sarlon]

I know at least in my credit card department we are SEVERELY understaffed (due to people just not showing up or quitting.) we have callers in cue for minimum 30-45 minutes because we just cannot handle the call volume.

not justifying other companies, but that sometimes can be the reason.