New evidence shows that poor customer service has been around since 3000 years ago

We have all, at some point in life, fallen victim to bad customer service in one way or another. Be it at the post office or when we are at a restaurant, there's always the possibility of bad customer service. But how would you feel if we told you that bad customer service existed way before we probably even knew what the term meant? According to Letters of Note, this is something that dates back to 3782 years ago.

Inscribed clay tablets used to be called cuneiform earlier and one such cuneiform exists behind the glass frames at the British Museum in London. This particular cuneiform proves two things in particular. Firstly, the fact that poor customer service has existed way before we thought and is not a modern or recent concept. Secondly, this cuneiform seems to be proof of the fact that things or humans never really change—only their form does. This inscribed clay tablet is a complaint letter sent by a man called Nanni, who was angry with a Babylonian copper merchant called Ea-nasir.

According to this cuneiform or letter, Nanni was upset because he was dissatisfied with the service that his messengers experienced from Ea-nasir. This letter, which was discovered in Ur in southern Iraq, translates to tell us the entire story. Nanni begins the letter by stating that he's the one sending the following letter to Ea-nasir. He then explains how Ea-nasir has promised Nanni to give the latter's messenger Gimil-Sin quality copper ingots when he comes. However, when the messenger did go to Ea-Nasir, the latter offered ingots that were of bad quality. Not just that, he also told the messenger, "If you want to take them, take them; if you do not want to take them, go away!"

In the letter, Nanni states, "What do you take me for, that you treat somebody like me with such contempt?" He further says that while he sent gentlemen not different from them to collect the money that Ea-Nasir owes him, not only did Ea-Nasir treat the messengers with contempt, but also sent them back empty-handed. This happened multiple times, wherein Nani's messengers traveled back with no money at all, that too through enemy territories, which was quite unsafe for them. Nanni also exclaims that Ea-Nasir is the only one who treats him with such contempt.

While Nanni owes Ea-Nasir only one trifling Mina of silver, Ea-Nasir owes Nanni 1080 pounds of copper. Despite it being such a small thing that Nanni owes, Ea-Nasir dares to act with such rudeness toward the former. Nanni says, "How have you treated me for that copper? You have withheld my money bag from me in enemy territory; it is now up to you to restore my money to me in full." That said, Nanni also told Ea-nasir how from now on, he would pick and choose the copper ingots presented to him from repayment and choose only the good ones, because this is the right he can now exercise after Ea-nasir's contempt-filled behavior towards Nanni. All things said and done, this story proves that some things just don't change, no matter what year, decade or century it is.