We Just Lost a Sale!

[Imogene]

And I THINK They offer free drinks in High Limit, though I'm not sure. And to play there you can't be a cheapskate with a 25 dollars minimum. Then again, I get guys who win 400+ dollars who dont tip a penny *kills all*

Oh, man. My Dad used to deal on the riverboat... isn't the tip for a win supposed to be about 10% of the win?

[chainedbarista]

i always get the 'i want water,' and the 'where's your bathroom' combo; that definitely falls outside of customer, so am i polite? no; the first is a freebie, the second is using our store like a public toilet, without contributing to the cost of supplies-i don't owe you the courtesy of squat, just because you came in...damn leeches.

then there are those who try to 'subtly' ask for samples:

'aren't you going to sample today?' 'i thought you did samples??'

only and only if that action results in a sale, either now or in the future, not as a free drink to some cheap bastard or moocher.

there are also those who 'demand' the freebies:

'i want a sample.'

so, i want a new car; doesn't look like either of us is coming out ahead, eh?

[dragonflygrrl]

I just "lost a sale." Just now. Gosh, how will our store pull out of this downward spiral before it's too late? This lady came in two months ago, did a two year renewal, and got a new phone. She just called and wanted to do another one. I told her she wouldn't be eligible to upgrade again until May of 2008, since she was in contract until July of 2008, and she completely freaked out. First came the "I'm a loyal customer," gambit, followed by the, "I want to speak to your manager," offensive. Eventually we progressed to "I will be telling my lawyer about this company's deceptive business practices," and finally finished up with, "Well, you have just lost a sale, missy!" and the dial tone. Gee, whatever will we do? We didn't get the chance to give you a free phone for absolutely no reason?! Man, I'll be crying myself to sleep tonight!

[Seanette]

there are also those who 'demand' the freebies:

'i want a sample.'

so, i want a new car; doesn't look like either of us is coming out ahead, eh?

Maybe you should try walking into a car dealership with the "I want a sample" line.

[Luna]

There was a woman who would come into B&N Cafe and have a full blown hissy fit if there wasn't some sort of treat being sampled that day.

We normally only did sampling when something new came out - or on the busy weekends to push sales.

Everytime she'd come in - I'd be the manager who would get paged over to deal with her. She'd yell and scream about:

*how it was illegal to not put out samples.
*How we're discriminating against her b/c she knows we have samples every day and we just hide them when we see her coming.
*How she can sue us for not providing her with free samples when she comes in

She was a very grumpy old lady. All she did - when she did come in and when we happened to have samples, it walk by the plate and EAT ALL OF THEM. Then she'd complain we didn't have samples out even though she'd just eaten the entire plateful of whatever was there. (Depite the signs staing 'please take ONE').

One of the baristas flipped out on her one day. I'm not sure what was said - but the old lady was ripping the barista a new one about how she was going to sue - the barista went off on the old lady and she was never in the store again. No one would tell me b/c they thought I'd be mad I guess since I was a manager. Honestly I thought it was funny.

[Ringtail Z28]

Okay, I have to break out with this story.

Years back, when I worked for Chain Family Restaurant, for a (thankfully) short while they ran a "Kids Eat Free" deal. Basically, on the slower days of the week, we ran a special where you could get one free kid's meal for each adult that was in the party. In other words, a soccer mom couldn't bring in the whole team by her lonesome and feed them all for free. One adult=one free kid's meal. Still a good deal, if you ask me.

I couldn't help but to cringe upon reading that. Just the thought of the number of SCs that would attract in the lousy areas I've worked in is just plain scary. People seem to get bitchier the cheaper things get.

[AFpheonix]

Maybe you should try walking into a car dealership with the "I want a sample" line.

Would that get you a hotwheels car?

We get a lot of people wanting us to give them pills for free. Sorry, there's non-profits for that. We don't loan out narcotics while we're waiting for your doctor to ok refills on them, although we will extend the courtesy for maintenance meds. People don't seem to get the concept that we are a "for-profit" pharmacy.

[DigitalEngine]

I don't understand how people can be so demanding ..

You know, just a penny for thoughts ..

In this country (I live in Indonesia) the average monthly wage is about 100 US dollars .. and that's if you have a fairly good job.
I have friends that get paid something like 30 US dollars a month. And the strange thing is, all the years I've lived here, I have never once heard anyone demand freebies.

Kind of makes you think, doesn't it?

[Jester]

DE, thank you for putting this whole thread in perspective.