People vs policy

I am shellshocked. I had waited for a special occasion to introduce my son to Tom & Serg, and this was it. What was planned as a 40 minute treat turned into being told we wouldn’t be helped by the place I had wanted to take my son to for months, because of ‘policy’.

All I wanted, no needed, was a taxi. Silly me, I thought it would be so time-efficient and super to sit, enjoy a chocolate-loaded treat with my son, who had been away on a school trip for 3 days (I’d picked him up from school and headed straight to the eatery), have a taxi pick us up from the premises and take him to his much needed medical appointment. We had over an hour between pickup and appointment.

Nope. No can do. This is why:

A few minutes after getting there, I asked if I could call for a taxi from the cafe’s landline. This was for 2 reasons: my understanding is that the RTA is able to find locations from landline numbers, so that would cut out a whole load of hassle factor, plus my mobile phone had run out of juice. I was told that no, I could not use the landline to call a taxi. And no, they didn’t have a charger I could use (fair enough). I explained that this was a massive treat for my son – being there – and that I hadn’t seen him for 3 days, he had a medical appointment that he needed, that we couldn’t be late for, and that I’d spent the last few minutes looking out the window to figure out the probability of catching a cab by standing on the curb outside – and realised it wasn’t going to happen, unless I spent the entire 40 minutes standing on the curb instead of sitting and connecting.

Three people told me the same thing. ‘No’. One explained that this is ‘POLICY’. To which I said that people put policy in place. This is about people.

Still no empathy, initiative or similar, I was told to walk down the road, to a turning that would stand me the best chance of finding a taxi. I bought a yummy brownie for my little one to enjoy and asked for the rest to be packed as takeaway – and off we headed into the heat – a weather check put the high at 31, and boy did it feel like it as we walked down the road for 15 slow minutes, breathing in poisonous carbon monoxide and being assaulted by the sun.

Tom and Serg. I don’t know you. But I can tell you that there is something very deeply worryingly wrong when people who represent you don’t look at your clients as people first. I wanted a few minutes of special time with my son. Not in the harsh heat of the city with cars all around, but in a nice, chill place with yummy treats to fill our stomach and soul.

I don’t know that I’ll ever go back. Pity cos the deserts are scrumptious. What I do know is this: When it comes to people vs policy, I know which I would choose.