There’s a great place for lunch, right near the office. I find myself going there at least three times a week because it’s affordable (under six bucks) and VERY healthy. Let’s call this restaurant “Yummy.”
So at least three times a week I call Yummy to place an order so that it’s ready for me when I get there to pick it up. I don’t have a lot of extra time these days, especially for anything that takes me out of the office during the day. So here is the routine when I call Yummy:
1. Dial–get busy signal
2. Keep hitting redial for 10-15 minutes
3. Finally get through and get told by an annoyed person “You are going to have to hold for at least 10 minutes”–get put back on hold before I can answer
4. Put phone on speaker and wait
5. Wait
6. Finally talk to a person and place my order
OK, so why do I put myself through this? I want something healthy for lunch and I don’t have time in the morning to pack a lunch. Will I continue to frequent Yummy? No. Every time this happens I get more annoyed. I even emailed their office (they are a local restaurant) and let them know this was happening — but got no response at all.
Why would they risk losing a good customer like me? I am their IDEAL customer. I frequent the place three to four times PER WEEK. Shouldn’t I get preferred treatment? Shouldn’t they want to take my order and my money? But maybe they don’t need no stinking customers!
-Sabrina Parsons
Sabrina has served as CEO of Palo Alto Software since 2007.
