Give me some dialogue from your day

[ColinJ]

If it affects car drivers then it'll be dealt with pretty quickly I expect.

You have lived in Germany for too long... UK roads these days are almost more pothole than tarmac!!

I have been given a few lifts on Devon A-roads since my other post and those road surfaces are still really bad. Drivers were swerving left and right to try to avoid the potholes.

Some of the worst bits of the smaller roads that I cycle on down there have been repaired, but the council had little choice - even in the UK, a hole 4m x 3m in size is not acceptable! There is a lot of lesser damage still apparent though. I spent a couple of slow rides learning where the holes are so I could avoid them when riding more quickly.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Had a series of telephone conversations today with a rather angry customer. For context, I work in a workshop for people with difficulties finding work, which usually means some long term illness or another: this isn't a normal bike shop.

One of my team asked me to assist because the customer was "escalating" on the phone.

Customer was frustrated because his bike had been in for repair for six weeks, which is fair enough.

Shouting at my team member on the phone and trying to bully them was not, however. I am fairly protective of my team. If a customer shouts at my team without a bl**dy good reason, I am, to say the least, not disposed to he helpful*.

I tried to talk to the client and he got more aggressive. so I hung up.

He called back and got aggressive again and I told him if he didn't calm down, I'd hang up again.

He didn't calm down.

I hung up again.

Ten minutes later the phone rings, a nice lady asking about her bike. I take details and go and look for bike.

It's the same bike; Angry Man had got his wife to call.

In the meantime we'd found and resolved the issue and they could pick up the bike.

As I left, a largish middle aged bloke with a grumpy face walked into the workshop; I suspect that's the same customer; I'll find out next week.

*And If there is a good reason: I'll do the shouting, thank you very much.