As many of you know, I recently ran the NYC marathon. So it goes
without saying that I’ve been at the gym 5 days out of 7 for the past
few months. At my gym there is a sandwich shop—it’s run by a separate
company—that makes lovely sandwiches and has really great electrolyte
drinks, hard boiled eggs and fresh market apples. I spend
approximately $25 per week there, at least.

About 2 weeks ago, I went to the gym and, without purchasing anything,
asked one of the workers if I could please have a fork. She was at the
counter, and I’d never seen her before. She told me it would cost
.25¢.

With those words, I felt utterly betrayed by the universe. I am a loyal
customer. I have a relationship with this place and high-five them all
the time. My heart dropped to my already swollen feet.

“What about loyalty?” I said. “What about customer service? I come
here everyday, just ask these guys behind you.”

She apologized, then repeated her demand for .25¢. It was then that I
realized she was the boss of my regulars, who stood there resigned and
powerless to help me.

So I got the name of her boss and called their corporate office from
my cell phone. At this point, you’re probably saying, “Ok, Alona got
the runaround and was jockeyed from one department to the next, and oh
what a waste of time.” Well, you are wrong. I pressed #2 and then #3
and voila. Her boss came right to the phone.

I told him about the situation and explained that I am a regular and
was asked to pay .25¢ for a fork.

“That’s not the right protocol,” he said. Then I asked if he minded
explaining that to his subordinate, and can I put her on the phone.

She was quiet and stiff as he told her what he’d said to me.

When their conversation was done, I reached across the counter to
where the forks were hidden and said, “I’m not just taking one fork.
I’ll take twenty.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 7:57 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.