Sunday, December 5, 2010

Capacity for Capability

Man in his late teens/early 20s comes into the store. He seems familiar to Fernando but can't quite be placed. Fernando scours the late list for him in preparation but nothing jumps out, so he is content to wait. The man browses the store for a few minutes before selecting a movie tag and bringing it to the counter.

Can I get your name?” Fernando asks, filling out the rental slip.

The man gives it, and realization dawns. This guy rented a couple of movies about six months back and had them out for three weeks before Fernando cut off late fees—older titles, both of them. The day Fernando was set to replace them and tack on an additional $40 to the late fee, they had appeared in his drop box, but it still added up to a hefty $88 all said and done. And this man was sequestered firmly on the do-not-rent list through this string of actions.

So Fernando informed the man of this, producing the rental slip in question, and he looked downright sheepish. He stammered out an apology and asked if he could rent if the bill was paid in full.

Now Fernando was speechless. Nobody—nobody--asks to pay the bill in full, especially not when getting loud and violent and threatening never to rent again was an option.

But that was indeed what came to pass! The bill was paid in full and the man was welcomed back to the store a reformed customer.

No comments:

Post a Comment