Somebody Who Cares

We found ourselves in a situation.

Rented an apartment in Philly. Showed up to move in. It was the wrong apartment.

So let me clarify that. We signed the lease on the apartment that they gave us, but that was NOT the apartment we had been shown nor the one we wanted.

It was bait and switch, but (probably) an honest mistake, not malicious.

Why did this happen?

Because the rental agent dropped the ball. Didn’t do her job. Provided the paperwork for the wrong apartment. Didn’t check. Didn’t ensure. We trusted, and had no choice but to trust given the situation. Because how would we know?

So here we are. Full truck parked at the loading dock on Ludlow St with the flashers on.

First call was to the rental agent.

“No, that’s the apartment you wanted.” Then, “But you said…” Then, “I have in my notes…”

All wrong. All BS. All verifiably incorrect via the text message string. All her trying to push the blame onto us.

Then finally, “Well, that’s the lease you signed.” Unfortunately, the only truth of the conversation.

All we needed — all we wanted — was somebody who cared and would try to help. We weren’t moving into this apartment. So help us figure this out.

She had an opportunity here. She had an opportunity to help. She had an opportunity to advocate. She had an opportunity for true customer service.

She had an opportunity to care.

But she didn’t.

If you’re in the business of customer service, it’s gonna pay to be the person who cares about your customers.