Nobody spoke for a moment.
Then Bryan added, “I thought if I told you they were wrong, you’d think I was arguing.”
That was when I understood.
Bryan wasn’t simply afraid of angry customers.
He’d been trying to keep his job by accepting responsibility for every unhappy person who approached him.
And his manager hadn’t realized it.
Alaric sighed and ran a hand over his face.
“I should have asked more questions,” he said.
Bryan looked startled.
“You’re not mad?”
“No. I’m upset that I didn’t understand what was happening.”
He explained that earlier complaints were recorded partly based on Bryan’s own apologies, without enough attention to his explanation of events.
The complaints weren’t all identical, and Alaric couldn’t immediately tell whether each one had been fair. But the pattern was troubling.
“I need to review them properly,” he said.
Bryan swallowed.
“Does that mean I still have my job?”
