"If this one is broken, why can't you just send me another one?"
Blaine closed his eyes taking a deep breath. Customer service was kind. Customer service was calm. Customer service was collected. Customer service was not supposed to have a melt down while on the phone with a woman who had been yelling at him for the past fifteen minutes about the speaker she dropped in the bathtub.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am," Blaine said as calmly as he could, "but that particular model was discontinued last month and we're out of all of our leftover stocks. We have many other models-"
"I don't want another model! I want that one! Can't you just make another one?"
Yeah, sure, if I were a wizard, or speakers made themselves, Blaine thought, pressure building at the back of his eyes as he glanced around nervously, hoping no one else could hear his conversation. His first day without his trainer sitting next to him and now he gets the problematic customer.
"No, Ma'am, we can't do that," Blaine said, voice trembling slightly, "There are some similar speakers on our website that have even better sound quality. I can email you a discount code for your troubles."
"I don't want a discount code!" She demanded shrilly, making Blaine flinch. "I want a new speaker, I want the same speaker, and I want it for free, especially to make up for your incompetence."
"I-I can't do tha-"
Blaine jumped as the headset was pulled off of his head suddenly but gently. He looked up, shrinking down in his chair when he saw his supervisor, Mr. Hummel, gracefully putting the headset on and starting to speak calmly to the woman on the other end.
"Sir, I-"
Mr. Hummel held up a finger to silence him, brow furrowed in concentration. Blaine swallowed thickly, tears welling in his eyes. Mr Hummel looked angry, eyes flashing even as his voice remained even. He was going to get fired. He just knew it. Blaine pressed a fist to his mouth to suppress the hysterical sob that was trying to worm it's way out.
"Have a good day," Mr. Hummel finished, lips pressed into a tight smile. He sighed, taking the headset off and handed it back to Blaine who took it with a shaking hand.
Blaine fidgeted with the headset, staring at his feet, shoulders curling in around himself. He could feel Mr. Hummel watching him but he couldn't understand why he wasn't getting chewed out yet for not handling that better.
Finally when the silence got too awkward Blaine mutter a quiet, "I'm sorry, Sir."
Mr. Hummel let out a humorless laugh, "She really got to you, didn't she?" he asked, not unkindly.
Blaine looked up to see Mr. Hummel giving him a gentle smile and Blaine didn't know what to do. He hadn't expected this outcome. "I- she was asking the impossible, Sir," he rushed out, still feeling like had to explain, "I didn't know how to fix-"
"It's okay," Mr. Hummel cut him off, "most of the people working here still haven't learned how to handle a customer like that, and you've only been here four days. That's why I stepped in, I don't like hearing my employees spoken to like that."
Blaine sagged in relief, whispering, "Thank you, Sir."
"It's Kurt," Mr. Hummel said, "and I think you deserve a coffee break."