They just don’t mix. Where would we be if the world of British comedy adhered to the real world high expectations of good customer service? Think about it. No Fawlty Towers, no Black Books and no League of Gentlemen. According to customer service gurus, Michel Roux and Mary Portas, the aforementioned British comedy series come closer to mirroring the less than stellar customer service that runs rampant in the UK. Both find themselves on the telly this week with an eye towards changing the UK customer service culture with programs on BBC2 and Channel 4.

The Guardian examines how art, thankfully, has imitated life when the worlds of British comedy and bad customer service collided over the years. They put together a great list that points out the some of the British comedy ‘national treasures’ would have never been made had they not bucked the proud tradition of surly customer service prevalent in the UK today. To prove the point….

Dylan Moran in Black Books

Tubbs and Edward in League of Gentlemen

Rowan Atkinson in Not the 9 O’Clock News

Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers

So, next time you’re faced with bad customer service, turn it into the next ‘national treasure’ and write a comedy series about it. Or, just tell the manager.