I have been in several situations lately which really made me realize, wow I'm just a number.
Let me explain. I know this is not concise (not one of my strengths in life) but I have a good point, I promise.
Situation One: All Dogs Unleashed... July 2013 (Boarding Kennel)
Backstory: I normally take the pups to Barney's Ranch when I have to board them for my work trips. They cost are a few extra bucks, but they always answer my phone call by saying, "Sarah is the General coming to see us?!" (Ah yes, the customer service power of caller i.d. knows no bounds.)
But this past July when I was in Tampa for a 14 day photo shoot and the work trip was much longer, I thought I'd save a couple bucks a night and try a larger kennel that normally specializes in obedience school, but has a a slight discount for simply boarding your dog. Two dogs, 14 nights, if you have ever boarded a pet before, you will know I was spending a small fortune.
The Story: I drop the pups off before my flight and the lady says to me, "Feel free to call and check in on your dogs at any time!" As much as I love my babies, I've never been the overly worried dog mother, so I didn't call in until day 8. I just assumed no news was good news.
So I called, left a message with the lady at the front desk, and was told that someone would call me back about Vee and Gee.
A few hours later, a guy calls me and starts by saying, "Hi Ms. Webb, well I got the message you called to check about your dogs. They are learning to sit and they have even learned several new commands already."
---- whoa whoa whoa wait. I interrupt immediately, honestly somewhat panicked that they had accidentally enrolled my dogs in obedience school. As I mentally envisioned my final bill at checkout, I said, "WHAT? No no, they were just there to be boarded, not obedience school. I didn't authorize that!!"
Without skipping a beat, he responds by saying, "OH! Ok, well they're doing great. Getting along with the other dogs at daycare. Sleeping fine. Eating fine........"
Um.
This man didn't know my dog from the stray cat in the corner. He just had a generic BS spiel provided to every puppy parent that calls in, and since 99% of the people calling are putting their dog through obedience school, I was the first person to catch that my pups are just a number.
The worst part? When I picked the dogs up, they were starved and looked sickly. General had lost 10 pounds in 14 days. On a relatively small dog, 10 pounds made it clear they hadn't eaten anything. Here is a picture of them on the drive home.....
Why couldn't he have been honest? I maybe could have given some tricks I use to get them to eat?! Or even if he didn't have any idea who my dogs were, why didn't he just tell me he would watch them for a few hours and then report back. I would have been great with that.
Situation 2: Van Hyundai Dealership in Carrollton, Tx
Backstory: Remember on Tuesday how I said something was wrong with my car? Well, I was able to get it started and to the dealership, but I left it overnight for them to diagnose out why it wouldn't start in the first place.
Story:
8:15am: I called Tuesday morning to get an ETA on when I could pick my car up. I was the only person who had dropped the car off the night before so I assumed I was first on the list, or at least close to first. The man tells me that my car is being worked on right now and they are trying to diagnose the problem.
I then ask, "Well, I'm curious, were you able to get it started or did you have to push it in to the shop?"
He says, "Uhhhmmm no we had to wheel it in, it wouldn't start. They're looking at it now trying to diagnose what is wrong. We will call you when we know something."
Ah, good I thought. At least I'm not crazy and something really is wrong with the car.
11:44am: rolls around and I get a voicemail, "Ms. Webb, we just wanted to let you know that your car is next in line to be brought back and looked at by our mechanics."
Next in line? Wait, I thought they had to push it back? I thought you couldn't get it started and were already trying to diagnose the problem. Huh?
5:09pm: My rep calls and I answer.
"Ms. Webb, we were unable to recreate the no-start problem you were having. Everything checks out fine, but we recommend that you keep it here overnight and we see if it acts up in the morning. Oh and you should replace all of your filters."
Me: "I thought you had to push the car back because it wouldn't start?"
Man: "No, sorry ma'am. I got you confused with another car as I explained in my 11:44am voicemail."
What other car? There were no other overnight drop offs? Liar. You just didn't give a shit enough to really give me an update on my car and you were trying to get me off the phone.
Me: "Will these filters that need to be replaced cause the car not to start?"
Man: "No ma'am. We just recommend that you replac-----"
Me: "NO FILTERS. Just tell me when can I pick my car up."
Had he been honest, and told me that my car hadn't been looked at yet, I would have been fine with that. I expected to wait. But instead he lied and told me my car wouldn't start and was in the shop, all eventually leading to a really ticked off Sarah with a blog post up her sleeve....
From here on out, I will be going to the place that costs a couple dollars more a night, or going to the place that will take longer because they spend more time with each client. I will spend more and wait longer, and give my money to those businesses that deserve my hard earned money.
Have you been in a situation like mine before where you caught someone treating you like just a number?
