Customer Entitlement

[00:00] Hey everyone, welcome back to Look, I Just Work Here. I'm Sierra, and today we're talking about a very special category of people. The customers who walk into a business and immediately act like rules, policies, closing times, just simply do not apply to them. And if you've ever worked literally anywhere, you know exactly what I'm talking about. So today, we're getting into customer entitlement and those moments where you just had to look off and stare into a non-existent camera, questioning if this is actually reality.

[00:48] I've actually got two stories for y'all today. And believe it or not, both of them come from my experience in the health and wellness industry. The first story is when I worked at the front desk, and one of our responsibilities was helping members register for group fitness classes. We always pushed for our members to register on their app, one, to save us time, and two, obviously get familiar with your app. This particular club that I worked at was one of the busiest clubs in the nation.

[01:22] And it's very well known for its group fitness classes. And when I say well known, I'm not talking like the same five or 10 moms in their yoga pants that attend the class every week. I'm talking about the same 30 people going to the exact same six classes a week with the same three instructors that teach those class. And I'm talking going to it for years. Obviously, these members that take these classes are friends with each other,

[01:55] and they expect to be in the classes every week in their exact same spot. Well, this story is about a member who unfortunately didn't make the cut and registering for the class that she wanted to do. So she comes up to me and to normal opening shift, because the majority of these very popular classes were Monday through Thursday in the mornings. And so she comes up to me and I recognize her, right? When you see these members multiple times a week,

[02:28] you start to get familiar. So I say, hi, Brenda. Yes, we're bringing Brenda back. Hi, Brenda. How can I help you? And she goes, yeah, I try to register for this class like I always do, but it says I'm on the wait list. Do you know why? I don't know, Brenda, what the fuck else is a wait list? It's not physics. It's not any different from anything else. Of course, I can't say that. So I go, oh yeah, let me take a look.

[03:00] Pull up the thing on my computer. And I say, oh, it looks like that the class is completely full and you are second on the wait list. She goes, well, what does that mean exactly? Does that mean I can't take the class? Well, technically, what it means is you're not currently registered. There's not a spot specifically for you. But if you wait by the studio that the class is being held in, maybe people won't show up. And then you're able to jump in, no problem at all.

[03:35] And God forbid I try to bring up a solution that has logic because the next thing she says to me is, well, why can't you just take someone out of the class and put me in? I'm sorry, what? Take someone out of the class just to put you in. Like the Caucacity was real in this moment. And so I think at first she's joking because no logical person who just has any sense

[04:11] would recommend that. So I kind of chuckled and I'm like, oh, ha ha, you know, if only we could do that. But unfortunately, I don't have that kind of power. And then I realized, no, this is serious. She 100% expected me to say, yes, ma'am, absolutely. I'll kick someone out just so you can attend this class. Because her response was, well, I'm just gonna go in there anyways. And I'm just gonna move someone's stuff. And I thought she was kidding, guys. Like I really thought this lady

[04:45] was just making another joke. Like, ha ha, there's no way someone would be that inconsiderate. So she walks away, pissed off at me because I told her no. And 30 minutes go by, 45. She comes down and I see that she's glistening. And so I'm thinking, okay, maybe people didn't show up. Maybe she was actually able to jump in the class. No problems were gonna occur. So I go up to her before she leaves

[05:18] and I go, hey, it looks like you got a really good workout. So I'm guessing you were able to jump in. And she goes, oh yeah, I just moved someone's stuff. Second time, what? I'm sorry, could you repeat that? You moved, you actually moved somebody's items out of a spot just so you could take the class. I didn't know what to say in that moment. I was just like, oh, okay.

[05:50] And then she walked out. Like no problems had to just happen. Like she did not just move someone else's stuff because she prioritized herself. And I understand that if you're committed to a group in this class, I love that for you. I wish I had that kind of mentality to go to the exact same class for years with the exact same structure and the exact same people. I wish, right? But there's a line. There's a reason we have rules and policies.

[06:24] And let me tell you why, because I guess Brenda has no idea. Probably two minutes later, another member comes up and she's flustered. I knew immediately, all right. This is the lady who got moved. So she comes up to the friend desk and I go, yes ma'am, how can I help you? And she goes, I need to speak to a manager. No, don't care in me, lady. I said, okay, is there something that maybe

[06:57] I could assist you with first? And she goes, I just joined the club. Like I'm not even two weeks into my membership. And I joined this class because I heard a lot of people talking about it. But when I got in, there wasn't a lot of people, which I thought, okay, that's fine. And I put my stuff down, my water bottle and my towel in the spot that my phone said I was supposed to be in. I was like, okay, everything sounds right. And she goes, I went to the restroom

[07:31] to use it before the class actually started. But when I came back, my stuff was shoved in the corner. Y'all, when I say shoved, she's saying that this lady picked up her water bottle and her towel and literally tossed it to the side against the wall. So not only has Brenda not given a fuck about this lady trying to take the class, she also didn't give a fuck about her stuff. And so I'm listening and I'm just as flabbergasted, right?

[08:05] I'm just as in awe that someone would actually do this. And I go, oh my gosh, I am so sorry. Is there any way that you got, that you spoke with the instructor about it after class? And she said, no. As soon as I saw that my stuff was pushed to the side and someone else was in my spot, I grabbed my stuff and I just did a workout on the fitness floor. Completely understandable. Do you mind trying to describe what this other person looks like, right?

[08:37] Because now I'm trying to put out this fire that Brenda made to try and keep this member happy and empathize with her and just reassure her like this doesn't happen every day, which you wouldn't expect it to happen ever. But if it didn't happen, we wouldn't have a story for this episode. Anyways, back to the story. She describes the member to a T. Obviously I know who this member is and there's no doubt who it was.

[09:11] And I go, I'm so sorry that you had experienced this. Let me go ahead and schedule you for next week's class before it fills up too fast. And luckily there were about two spots left and I was able to get her booked before it filled up. I was able to put out that fire. But then here's where it gets juicy, y'all. That next week, guess who's in the class? Brenda. And guess who goes up and calls her on her?

[09:47] We'll call her Stephanie. Yeah, Stephanie wasn't taking no shit no more. She went up to Brenda and was like, hey, you were in my spot last week. Were you the one who moved my stuff? And of course, Brenda's over here. Oh no, that wasn't me. I would never, it was dumb because Stephanie obviously knew exactly what she looked like. So Stephanie was trying to figure some shit out. She'd try and talk to her like, well, I know you moved my stuff because you're in my spot and I just wanna know like why you would do that.

[10:21] But then Brenda's playing this whole victim card of I don't know what you're talking about and why are you coming at me? I don't feel safe. And it becomes this huge ordeal to the point where the instructor has to pull both the women out of the class, get them down to the GM and the GM has to talk to both of them, right? Understand both sides of the story. And believe it or not, Brenda got her membership suspended from booking any other classes. Like she couldn't register for two weeks, any classes.

[10:55] And Brenda was furious. I'm sure y'all can guess the number one line that she threw at him and then threw at us as she was leaving. Y'all got it? All right, I'm gonna tell you for those who've had the blissful pleasure of not working with people, she goes, I have been a member since y'all opened. Which I believe at that time might've been like 10 years. No, maybe like 12 or 13. She said, I've been a member here since y'all opened. I have spent so much money at this club

[11:30] and I have been coming to this class for X amount of time with no problem. This is absurd. And now I can't even schedule classes. That's it. I wanna cancel my membership, full refund. And y'all are gonna hear from the, what the hell are they called? Like the business bureau, the BBB or whatever. You're gonna hear from me. Don't you worry. And she storms out. She storms out like she was Katrina herself. Two weeks go by.

[12:04] She comes back to the club. Membership's not canceled. And she gets to attend the class that she threw the fit over. It's crazy how people will look so foolish throwing their tantrums thinking something's gonna change. Thinking that all of a sudden we're gonna change the rules. We're gonna amend the contract to fit their needs. All because, sure, they spend money every month. But we'll get back to that.

[12:36] Second story, believe it or not, actually is still within the same health and wellness industry, but a different one. We're not doing front desks. We're doing aquatics where I was a lifeguard. And if y'all know me, I take safety extremely seriously. I started off as a lifeguard. I fell in love with the ability to help and rescue people in need to the point where I actually trained to be an LGI. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a lifeguard instructor.

[13:09] So I was able to certify people to be lifeguards and to be first aid CPR, AED certified for professional rescuers. Loved it. I will talk years about safety. Maybe not years, because I have a life. A couple minutes about safety. Very passionate about it. Anyways, as a lifeguard, we are the second line of defense. For those of you who think, well, what does a lifeguard do or they guard lives? No, no, no, no, no.

[13:42] We do not guard your lives. We prevent from happening so we don't have to guard your life, right? That's why we tell you, hey, no running before you slip and bust open your head. Hey, no diving. Before you dive in an area that's too short, now you have a neck injury and we have to pull you out of the water on a board. We are the second line of defense. Can you guess the first one? I'll give you a hint. If you're an adult, it's yourself.

[14:14] If it's a child, it's the parent. The parent is the first line of defense. And us here living in Texas, it's hot. People go to the pool. There's pools and backyards all over the state. There are so many unnecessary drownings from children to adults because either bad decisions were made, parents weren't paying attention enough to their kid, or legitimate accidents. Well, at a fitness facility, they require Coast Guard approved floaties. So not the angel wings that you blow up with your air

[14:49] because guess what, that's what pops. And what are you gonna do if both of them pop and your kid is in the middle of the water and they go sinking? They can barely hold themselves up. They're gonna hold themselves and the angel wings. I digress. So plenty of members would come in with these blow up angel wings and we'd have to tell them. Unfortunately, your child cannot wear that because it's not Coast Guard approved, but we have light vests that are for you to use. So you don't even have to go and buy your kid one. We have them right here.

[15:22] Complimentary, no extra charge. And yet parents would still fucking argue about this. Well, my kid wants to swim with the angel wings. That's cool. Your kid can't even say their name. So guess what, they don't give a voice in this. They don't have a say. Unfortunately, your kid can't wear that. It's not certified. Go take the puddle jumper. Well, I pay X amount of money a month. So I should be able to let my kid play with what they want. You know what, you do pay X amount of money, but according to the big ass board

[15:55] with all the poll rules, you cannot do this per your contract that you are paying and you sign. You cannot do this. That's one very short story of rules don't apply to them because they pay X amount of money. Too bad, they still had to switch out the floaties. Now part two, this one is the actual story. We'll call this guy, I don't wanna do Jimothy because Jimothy is an icon. We'll call him Herbert because that is a disgusting name.

[16:28] I'm sorry for anyone named Herbert. We're gonna move on. So Herbert has this three year old little girl. Now I'm not saying a three year old can't swim. Okay, competitive swim team. I've seen it. Awesome little swimmers. If they can swim. So this three year old little girl is playing in the beach entrance, right? It's shallow. It's from like zero depth to three feet, I'll say. And then you have dad, 20 feet away, tanning on a lounge chair, not paying attention to his daughter.

[17:02] All right, so any of y'all who have kids who maybe can't swim, you might've heard something called the 25-10 rule. For those of you who don't, the 25-10 rule, as you might guess, if your child cannot swim 25 yards, you must stay within 10 feet of them. That's about arms length. That's like the shortest amount of distance you have to be within your child is arms length, right? Safety makes sense. Your kid can swim. We don't want them to drown. You're responsible for them.

[17:35] They came out of your sack. You have to take care of them. So I see this little girl swimming, splashing in the shallow end, and I see where her dad is. Go to her dad and I say, hello, sir. I see that your daughter is splashing in the beach entrance zone. Unfortunately, I do need you within arm's reach of her. And he goes, why? She's just staying right there. She's not gonna drown. Fun tip, y'all. Kids can drown in like three inches of water.

[18:07] All it takes is for them to get knocked down facing the water where their mouth and their nose is covered by water. I digress. I go, I understand, sir, that she can stand in the shallow end, but we do have a 25-10 rule, and I explain it to him. And he goes, look, I'm here to tan and to let my daughter have fun. You're saying that I can't do that? No, sir, I'm not saying that. I'm saying that if you want a tan, the beach entrance is perfect because you can stay cool as the water hits you and you can keep an eye on your daughter

[18:40] within a safe distance. And he goes, I don't wanna get wet. That's not the point of me being here. The point of me being here is to let my daughter splash around and play while I have some relaxation time by myself. All right, look here, Herbert. I don't give a shit what your schedule, what your agenda had on it. Guess what? You had that kid. That kid is yours. Go take care of it. That's what I wanted to say. Instead, I said, well, you know what, sir? What we can do, we can see if she can swim.

[19:14] And if she passes, we'll give her a little band and you're good to relax here. And he goes, how far does she have to swim? I just said from that point to that point. All right, well, let's go. He gets up, he storms off, he grabs his daughter. And mind you, this girl has no idea what's happening. All she sees is her dad is picking her up, frustrated, carries her to a deeper side of the pool and says, you need to swim.

[19:47] And I'm right there on the edge. I've got my little lifeguard, what's it called? Floaty, I can't think of it. Got my little lifeguard, Floaty, and I'm watching her. This girl is gripping, gripping the side of the pool, terrified because she can't touch the bottom. And one of the rules is you have to swim from point A to point B without touching the sides or the bottom or without going under. So this dad, Herbert, is telling his daughter, you need to swim across.

[20:20] You need to swim across. Show this lady that you can swim because she's making you swim right now. Okay, now I'm the bad guy. So Sarah goes upset, but she tries, right? Just like any child, if a parent tells you to do something and they're yelling at you, they're upset, you're gonna try and do it. So this little girl pushes off the wall, gets maybe two feet away before she is crying, flailing her arms and legs, just trying to survive in this water.

[20:53] So what do I do? I jump in, not even the dad. The dad doesn't even jump in to help his three-year-old daughter. I have to jump in and pick her up and put her to the side and say, unfortunately, sir, you have to stay within 10 feet because your daughter did not pass this test. And guess what Herbert does? Herbert says, you know what? We're just gonna leave. I'm gonna have a conversation with your manager. Go ahead, go tell my manager how I'm doing my job

[21:26] by keeping your daughter safe in the water. So he storms off. Obviously I talked to my manager after the fact. My manager says, oh yeah, he yelled at me saying that he pays X amount of money a month and that he writes our checks and without him, we wouldn't have a job and blah, blah, blah. All right, so those of you who feel so entitled because you pay a monthly amount for a service or access to somewhere, please understand that's your choice.

[21:59] You do not write our checks. You are not the reason we have a job. You are making the financial decision to pay for said access. That does not mean you get whatever the fuck you want because you pay per month. There is a contract you signed and within that contract it says you have to listen and follow the rules and policies. And if you don't, guess what? You can, coming back down because people, man,

[22:33] people really do not think. They really think that they hung the moon, sprinkled the stars and created the earth themselves. Now, I know I'm not the only one who's experienced something like this. Someone who's experienced just absurdity of customers, members, just people in general, thinking that policies, rules and everything like that don't apply to them. So if you have a Brenda story or if you have a Herbert story, I wanna hear it.

[23:07] Other people wanna hear it. But you can email your story if that's easier to podcast at lijwh.com or shoot me a message. Follow us on Instagram and YouTube, we'll connect. And I wanna tell the people on this podcast, those of you who are listening. Okay, now that I finally have come down from that story, thank you all for listening. Be sure you're following on all social media platforms and we will see you next time.