This is the text of the first surviving customer complaint in human history, wrote by Nanni to Ea-Nasir:

"Tell Ea-nasir: Nanni sends the following message:

When you came, you said to me as follows: 'I will give Gimil-Sin (when he comes) fine quality copper ingots'. You left then but you did not do what you promised me. You put ingots which were not good before my messenger (Sit-Sin) and said: 'If you want to take them, take them; if you do not want to take them, go away!'

What do you take me for, that you treat somebody like me with such contempt? I have sent as messengers gentlemen like ourselves to collect the bag with my money (deposited with you) but you have treated me with contempt by sending them back to me empty-handed several times, and that through enemy territory. Is there anyone among the merchants who trade with Telmun who has treated me in this way? You alone treat my messenger with contempt! On account of that one (trifling) mina of silver which I owe you, you feel free to speak in such a way, while I have given to the palace on your behalf 1,080 pounds of copper, and umi-abum has likewise given 1,080 pounds of copper, apart from what we both have had written on a sealed tablet to be kept in the temple of Samas.

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.

Take cognizance that (from now on) I will not accept here any copper from you that is not of fine quality. I shall (from now on) select and take the ingots individually in my own yard, and I shall exercise against you my right of rejection because you have treated me with contempt."

Ea-Nasir responded to the complaint with "I myself gave on account of you 19 talents of copper to the palace and Sumi-abum gave (likewise) 18 talents of copper, apart from the sealed document which we both handed over to the temple of Shamash."

While the only surviving documents are Nanni's complaint and Ea-Nasir's guarded response, the outcome remains unknown. Did Ea-Nasir heed the grievance or ignore it? The creative retelling imagines the aftermath, highlighting familiar tensions in trade that transcend millennia.

This is the beginning of the story about what happens after the complaint has been written:

(Nanni confronts Ea-Nasir after the complaint in a bustling marketplace in ancient Mesopotamia, around 1750 BCE. Nanni approaches Ea-Nasir's stall, the air thick with tension)

Nanni: Ea-Nasir! At last, I find you. Your "copper" has tarnished my reputation and angered many buyers. How dare you sell inferior metal and expect no consequence?
Ea-Nasir: Nanni, I have already answered you in my letter. I myself gave, on your account, 19 talents of copper to the palace, and Sumi-abum gave 18 talents as well. We even sealed the transaction before the temple of Shamash. What more do you want?
Nanni: Words and sealed documents won't weigh down dishonesty! The copper you sent was full of impurities, brittle, and utterly unfit for the crafts we rely on. It brought shame to my name and ruin to my business.
Ea-Nasir: I am a merchant of repute! If you complain, it is because you are trying to wring more profit or avoid payment. Copper is copper; you knew what you purchased.
Nanni: Do not insult me with claims of greed when your product is worthless. All the other merchants whisper your name in scorn. Your reputation is ruined, and rightly so.
Ea-Nasir: If I am hated, it is because I deal honestly and boldly. Others fear to sell large quantities as I do. Perhaps your expectations are unreasonable.
Nanni: Boldness does not excuse deceit! If you continue to sell copper unfit for purpose, you will find all marketplaces closed to you. I warn you: either provide pure copper or cease trading. Your name will become a byword for fraud.
Ea-Nasir: Hmph. We shall see. Trade is a harsh game, and only the strongest thrive. I will not bend to every complaint. But beware, your words may harm you as well.
Nanni: Then let the gods judge us both. But know this, honor is harder to rebuild than any copper ingot. I will spread word among Sumer and Akkad of your dealings.
Ea-Nasir: So be it. But when the palace demands copper, they come to me. And who else can supply such quantities? Your threats are wind upon the desert.

(Nanni storms off, while Ea-Nasir resumes dealing with wary customers. Later, the marketplace is quiet. Word has spread far and wide: Ea-Nasir's copper is no longer trusted. Merchants avoid his stall; buyers seek other suppliers. Alone in his house in Ur, Ea-Nasir sits amid a growing mountain of clay tablets, complaints etched in cuneiform)

Ea-Nasir (sighing heavily): Why do they no longer come? The market once buzzed with eager hands reaching for my copper. Now, silence.

(He picks up a tablet and reads aloud)

Ea-Nasir (reading):
Arbituram complaint: "I have not received the copper I ordered. My craftsmen stand idle, and my debts grow."
Another letter: "I tire of receiving bad copper from you, Ea-Nasir. The metal breaks before we can shape it."

Ea-Nasir (muttering): How many tablets hold these words? How many merchants bear grudges?

(His eyes look around the room, a small archive of grievances: the stone tablet from the Temple of Shamash; recording disputes sealed in his name, letters of angry merchants demanding refunds, replacements, or simply justice; records of missed shipments, broken contracts, and lost trust)

Ea-Nasir (quietly, almost pleading): Once, my name was respected across the lands... now, it is cursed. What have I done wrong? Or is the world unfair?

(He stands and looks toward the window, watching the fading light over Ur's ziggurats)

Ea-Nasir (resolving): If I am to reclaim my honor, I must change. I must find purer copper, fulfill my promises, or lose everything.

(But the road back from disgrace is long in the ancient world. For Ea-Nasir, the mountain of complaints is not just clay tablets, it is a mountain of lost trust, waiting to be overcome)