Hang 'em Up!

I had a rather intriguing service experience with our college carpenter. What makes this experience all-the-more intriguing was the fact that I did not pay for the service. This was not because I was dissatisfied with the service or anything but simply because this service was already paid for. The carpenter is employed by the college to tend to the carpenting needs of the students. But inspite of the fact that there was no "tangible" cost of the service, I still had certain minimum expectations from it.

Ever since I came back to college, I wanted to put up a set of 9 pictures on my wall. Being an avid photographer, I thought of this as the perfect opportunity to not only showcase my talent but also to liven up my room. So as I said, I wanted the carpenter to come down to my room and hammer in 9 nails in the form of a grid. I made a total of 4 visits to the carpenter's room near Dadu's but sadly I could never find him there. I was beginning to get very restless and impatient and even contemplated buying the nails and a hammer to finish the work myself. In a bout of restlessness, I went to the extent of marking 9 dots on my wall to represent the points where the carpenter was expected to hammer in the nails. Everything was in place. All I needed was the carpenter.

Finally, on my 5th visit to the carpenter's room, I was finally able to find him there.

Me: Bhaiya 232 mein keelay lagani hain. (I need some nails to be put up in 232)

Carpenter: Senior hostel mein? (In the senior hostel?)

Me: Haan (Yes)

Carpenter: Aaj nahi hoga (Not today)

Me: Arrey kyun bhaiya? Main ek hafte se yahaan ke chakkar laga raha hoon! (Why not? I have been trying to look for you for a week now!)

Carpenter: Aaj nahi hoga. Time nahin hain! (Not today. I don't have the time!)

Me: Theek hain. Mujhe aap phir 9 keel aur hathoda de dijiye. Main khud hi kaam kar loonga. (Fine. Give me 9 nails and a hammer and I won't bother you)

Carpenter: 10 minute se zyaada nahi de sakta. (I can't give more than 10 minutes)

Me: Arrey theek hain. Aap chalo to sahi! (Fine! Just come along with me now!)

I then escorted the carpenter back to my room. He seemed visibly fidgety as if he had some other work on his mind. I explained to him what I was looking for. I showed him the 9 dots and asked him to hammer the nails right where the holes were. The first few nails he put in properly but after about the 4th nail he started bickering about how this was going to take more than 10 minutes. I reasoned with him that now that he was here, he was better off finishing off the work at hand. I don't know whether it was to prove a point or to show that he was getting tired or something, but he completely messed up the job after that. The last 4 nails he hammered in were pitifully out of place and messed up the entire arrangement. I was livid by the time he was done and didn't know how to react. I felt the carpenter was accountable for the terrible service experience I had to endure. Or was he?

SERVICE RATING

Reliability: 1

Assurance: 1

Tangibles: 2

Responsiveness: 1

Empathy: 1

[ 1 = Poor, 2 = Fair, 3 = Good, 4 = Very Good, 5 = Excellent ]