Often that was all people wanted once we’d taken them to the toilet or made them a cup of tea: a bit of company. I would see the disappointment etched on their faces as we dashed out of their front door: the realisation that even a brief chat was too much to ask. We were racing against the clock and it was the customer who lost out. That, after all, was what they were – a customer, engaged in a frigid transaction with you, a representative of the business.
