Customer service as oxymoron

Don't expect Alison to pick up anything for you at a certain Burlington Mall store that begins with a W and ends with "onoma" and has a hyphen in the middle:

... [I]nstead of just letting me say "Thanks for looking--I appreciate that you checked in the back," (which I did) she had to earnestly buttonhole me with, "Now, I just want to make sure that you understand that I provided you with good customer service. When I found out we didn't have what you want, I told you that you can get it at Chestnut Hill. But it's your choice not to go there. So just to be clear: I provided you with choices and good customer service, but you're not going to follow up. Okay? Great! Thanks for coming in!"

Epilogue: Alison found what she was looking for - at a lower price - at Crate & Barrel.