Hate to have to say this, as I never review anyone, but Clayton is Satan. I believe he's a store manager. Kidding aside (he's not really Satan), he came at me pretty hard with the meanness and it was completely inappropriate to assume the customer did something out of malcontent. Let me explain...
NYC is faster with a Citibike. No question. So I rode up to the store on 5th Ave at Central Park. It's a store that enters street level but goes below ground. I asked the security guards (who were cordial and appropriate) if I could bring the bike down as I didn't want it stolen. They said yes.
Cut to downstairs. I roll in and ask where do I go to pick up a computer repair. Someone points me to go to sit by a table. It's relatively crowded so I set the bike off to the side and walk over. And wait. I'm a happy camper. Computer under warranty, it's a free repair. Woohoo!
An employee walks over and says I'll have to move my bike as I can't leave it there. Oh okay. So as I walk over, Clayton intercepts me in a huff and with attitude "you can't have this bike down here! You'll have to bring it upstairs." I calmly reply "oh, the security guards said it was okay to bring it down." Then, Clayton apparently wanted to take out some kind of anger or frustration on me and says extremely condescendingly "But you can't leave it here in the middle of our walkway!" I asked him, again with calm in my voice "So putting the bike over by those tree planters is the middle of the walkway?" He pushed back with the tone of saying "duh" with his firm "uhhh... Yes!"
I grab the bike and blurt out "What an a$$-hole." Now admittedly, I probably could have steered from the foul language and instead should have said "jerk" but he definitely was acting like one. Immediately he charged at me saying they don't tolerate being talked to that way here in the store and he'll have to ask me to leave. I told him I'm just waiting for my computer and I'll gladly leave. He basically plumed his feathers a bit more with threatening that security is watching me. I told him that as a customer, in no way was I in the wrong with the situation. I apologized about the language, and he says "oh, it's too late for that."
Here's the thing, Clayton needs a course in customer interaction. I mean he's got to realize that the customer who tells him that security let him down there with the bike is clearly not being a jerk. So instead of ostracizing him in front of other customers and employees like he's being made an example of, Clayton could have just as easily been nice and simply said "oh okay. Just for future reference, please keep the bike with you at all times. For safety reasons. Have a nice day"
But alas, he didn't say that. I called him a harsh word. Think about it. Why would a customer ever need to say that to a manager? Perhaps it's because he actually was being one. Clayton, yes you. You brought that out of a completely calm and collected customer. Nice job.
Clayton, I hope you read this and understand that you made an error in judgement. Learn from it. Be a better person from it. I'm sure if I met you at a bar or similar we would be all laughs. And that in life, perhaps you aren't a jerk. But at work, you gotta back off. Maybe you're awesome in other areas. I hope you are. But work on that customer interaction. Read the room. I don't know. Or else you get bad reviews on Yelp that stay on the internet forever. read more