So, I work in electrical retail in a European country. Before I get into this, I'm going to give a bit of background information, because I know the vast majority of people here are American. The fridge freezers (refrigerators) we have in Europe are, on average, half the size or less of the monstrosities you have over in the States. So when I say "USA fridge", just think of a standard double door fridge if you're American. Recently, these have become much more popular in Europe, even though houses and apartments that are older than about 5 years weren't really built with appliances that size in mind. You can probably see where this is going....
Anyway, this woman came in last week to get a USA fridge. She wanted it delivered last Friday. I asked her was the kitchen easy to access, were there any corners, narrow hallways, stuff like that. If there's any access problems, the drivers have to unbox the fridge, take the doors off and then reassemble it, and there's a labour charge for that.
She said it would be fine. I think it was an apartment, she said there were 15 steps to get up, but other than that it was easy access.
What she DIDN'T mention was the 90 degree turn and banister at the top of the stairs.
So on Friday she rings the shop.
Her: "Yeah, I've just had this fridge delivered and your drivers refused to even attempt to bring it up the stairs"
Me: "Okay, well I'll just check the order here and see what's happening"
The drivers all have PDAs, so they can amend orders from their vans. He had mentioned the 90 degree turn and said he didn't think it was possible. So I told the lady I'd ring her back, and rang the driver.
Me: "Yo, what's the deal with this fridge"
Driver: "There's a 90 degree turn at the top of the stairs. We'll have to take the doors off, and even then it'll be a 4 or 5 man job to lift it over the banister. There's only 2 of us in the van (which is the norm) and she hasn't paid the labour charge anyway"
So I rang her back and explained the issue
Her: "It's not a 4 or 5 man job, all it'll take is one of them at the top and bottom and my husband to help it over the banister"
Me: "Okay, I'm not even going to get into why your husband can't help them lift this 120kg (265lbs) fridge, that much should be obvious. Second, this guy does this for a living. If he says it'll take 4 or 5 men, then it will. If you had told us about the corner earlier in the week, we could have sent more guys out today. But you didn't".
Her: "I've already gotten rid of my old fridge, all my food is defrosting on the table!"
Me: "Like I said, if you had told us it would be difficult to access the kitchen, we could have planned accordingly. Now if you want, I can ring the warehouse and see if there's any way we could send out 4 or 5 guys tomorrow. There would obviously be a labour charge, as they'll have to take the doors off"
Her: "No, forget it, I'm never using you guys again. I'll get some friends to help me and my husband do it" click
So, presumably, I'll get a call from these idiots later in the week saying their backs are in spasms and can we please go out and put their fridge in. Fucking idiots.
Submitted May 15, 2017 at 05:40PM by Akephalos95 http://ift.tt/2qjODat TalesFromRetail
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