Of All The Things To Complain About…
Yesterday I was at the fitness desk of the gym I currently work at. What I was doing, I don’t recall, but I’m sure it was work of some sort. Meanwhile, down at the front desk, there was a man complaining that he couldn’t get closed captioning to work on his ski machine, a piece of cardio equipment like an elliptical. Yes, we have television sets mounted onto our cardio equipment. Americans aren’t materialistic at all!
Naturally, the guy working the front desk calls up to the fitness desk.
“Hey Joe, I’ve got a guy down here who can’t turn the closed captioning on. He’s on his way up. Show him how.”
“Wait, wait. I don’t know how. Do you?”
“No, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out.
“Hah… thanks.”
Sure enough, the man came speeding on by the fitness desk, passing it even. Without breaking his gait, he turned, “Are you the guy?” and kept walking toward his ski machine, indicating I was to follow without question.
“I can’t get the closed captioning to work. I followed the instructions you guys have posted, but it won’t work.”
“I’ve actually never used it, so your guess is as good as mine,” I admitted.
So I stood there, watching as he repeatedly pressed the volume and channel buttons, following the posted instructions, lamenting, “What’s the point in posting instructions if it doesn’t even work?” Unfortunately, I was hardly able to sympathize with a member of a nice gym, unable to get his closed captioning to work on the television mounted on his expensive piece of cardio equipment. Oh, and he wasn’t deaf, so why he needed closed captioning was beyond me. Perhaps he needed to listen to music whilst watching television, but come on! How much does one really need to be pampered during a work out?
After continuously struggling with the machine, he admitted “Normally it just works, so I’ve never had to mess with it.”
“Have you tried using any of the other ski machines?” I asked, pointing to the row of at least six, perfectly fine, un-used ski machines in front of us.
“No, but I don’t like those.”
I wanted to smack the guy across the face, but that’s not good customer service. The machines were identical, differing only in that they were about four feet apart.
I then did what any good servant does when they don’t know what to do or say. I slowly began side-stepping my way the hell out of there.
What I don’t get, looking back, is why, of all the things in the world to complain about, that guy chose to complain THAT. War, poverty, world hunger, personal finances, NO! No, no! Let’s complain that the closed captioning on our expensive cardio machine’s TV isn’t working. Good call, buddy.