Rant: tl/dr: a truck driver was rude, then called and said we were the rude ones and is threatening to pull his business. No audio so the bosses are probably taking his side.
I’m a shift lead for overnights at a truck stop. I had a bad customer last night who “jokingly” threatened to take his belt off and beat my associate with it when she asked him to repeat what he said. I wasn’t there when he made the threat but she immediately called for me to take over. I came and checked him out and he spent the entire time ranting about how he is loud and jokey, how we don’t smile enough and are rude and unfriendly and how he has a wife in corporate and she won’t mind coming and “fixing” us.
I was polite but not super smiley and jokey with him, 1) because my cashier booked it out of there in tears when I arrived so I was concerned about what I missed and 2) it’s 4 am. My shift is almost over and no one is full of energy at the end of their shift. I, again, was polite despite his rant and wished him a good morning.
All day it’s been bugging me so when I got off from my morning job I went back to talk to the big boss about what happened and ask for advice and feedback. After I gave her my and my associates side she told me he had already called, several times, to complain. Apparently we are rude, aggressive, impolite and he threatened to pull his fleet of 12 trucks from our location. We are out in the middle of no where so that is a big deal.
He conveniently forgot to mention the threat, the rant at me, and all his shortcomings. Just how we were overly rude and not smiling enough and we have 1week to fix it then he is going to corporate. My associate refuses to interact with him from now on because of his “joke” and I’m on the hot plate because since we have no audio it’s a he-said-she-said situation and he knows that. They checked the cameras and it just shows him talking to my associate, me coming up, him talking to me as she took off and then him leaving.
I am still the new kid and I may not get
out of this if he either complains to corporate now or we don’t “improve” enough for his liking this week. I don’t know what to do.