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...then what good would coming in here do?
This one's long, as most of mine tend to be, but I tend not to post till I have someone that REALLY pisses me off.
Had an interesting one yesterday. As you know, I work in sales. We have a relatively new guy, and I was working with him on Sunday because a new ad broke in the paper and the company wanted to make sure we had someone experienced on the floor when customers came in.
You know those customers that just come in with a huge chip on their shoulders, itching for a fight? One came in while I was closing another customer and the new kid, K, went to handle her. As I'm working with my own couple, I'm keeping a close ear on K and this woman, since he is knew and easily gets overwhelmed when it comes to product knowledge and policies, so I can bail him out if he gets over his head.
As I'm finishing writing up this couple on a final sale, I hear a very common complaint from the SC. "You mean I even have to pay delivery on this?" I hear this quite a bit, because yes, we DO charge for delivery as opposed to including it in the cost of the furniture. Our warehouse is over 100 miles away, so yeah, it takes an effort to deliver furniture.
So I finish writing up the couple and I can see K is in some serious distress because the customer is chewing him out about our company policies. I don't mean complaining - I mean REALLY tearing him a new one. I walk over to the area to straighten a few things and to eavesdrop on the conversation. This is what I hear:
SC: Well, I have already written a complaint to [name of CEO] regarding your illegal practices. You're just making it up in the cost of delivery.
K: Ma'am, I can't change the delivery charges.
SC: I owned a business for ten years and I am appaled at this. It's illegal to not have the product available for immediate pickup or delivery. And I know you can waive delivery, you're just being unaccomodating and refusing to help me, and that's a mistake on your part.
So at this point I step in to try and take some relief off of K.
Me: Ma'am, what seems to be illegal?
SC: You cannot have a product that you buy that is not immediately available.
Me: You're right. However, when you order furniture through us, you're doing just that - you're ORDERING. You're agreeing to our contract that it will take some time to get the furniture.
SC: That's illegal.
Me: No ma'am, it is not. We give you all the details and you can choose not to purchase from us at any time. The reason some of our items are showing a time quote of a few weeks is because it's a week after our Labor Day sale, and our inventory is completely cleaned out on a few of our pieces.
(Fun fact: It IS considered illegal to advertise an item that you do not have to DISPLAY, and I think this is what she was going on about. For example, if you wait until the last day of a sale and only the display model is left, it is illegal to sell the display model in case someone else wants to see it, and order it when it is backordered. 99/100 times people understand this, but not this woman.)
She narrows her eyes at me and I instantly recognize the type of customer she is. I've seen only two the entire two years I've worked here, and it's the type of customer who takes up a crusade against something that doesn't even involve her and just tries to make your life a living hell. It doesn't have to be an SC, you know the stereotype. They come in, just to complain when they haven't even shopped, or they see complaints about our company on the internet and decide to walk in and inform us of them in a very confrontational manner. Lady, the one with the issue lived in Maryland and it happend back in 2002. I live in San Diego and it's 2006. What the hell do you expect me to do about it?)
SC: Excuse me, I was talking with this gentleman here. Why did you step in?
Me: Ma'am, he's relatively new, and while he is very good at product knowledge, he wouldn't have been able to answer your questions. I'm the manager on duty for today.
SC: Why did you step in?
Me: Well, I heard you had already written a complaint to the CEO of the company, and I was curious if it was over some confusion of our policies that I would be able to clear up.
SC: What's your name?
Me: Kusanagi.
SC: :scowling: Don't insult me. What's your last name?
Me: I don't give out my last name.
SC: Well, Kusanagi, I sugguest you just remain curious because I am speaking to someone who is less adversarial than you.
Oh no she di'n't. I get pissed, but go back to fluffing pillows, praying to whatever god exists that karma will bite her in the ass. Then she starts belittiling the company to my trainee, and I decide this needs to stop.
Me: Ma'am, can I ask you a question? Why did you come in here today?
SC: Excuse me?
Me: Have you ever bought from here before?
SC: No, and you're being very rude.
Me: So you aren't a customer, you have not bought from us so you have never experienced how we do things, and you've already written to the CEO saying how our business practices are illegal, when I have clearly explained how they are not because you are ordering and not purchasing outright. What did you hope to accomplish by coming in here today, if you're apparently having corrospondence with the president of the company? This has absolutely nothing to do with us anymore, since you've gone directly to him.
SC: I thought I told you to mind your own business.
Me: When you come in here for the pure purpose of stirring up a fight or trying to circumvent our policies, then it does become my business.
SC is flabbergasted.
SC: How DARE you accuse me of circumventing!
Me: Since you seem to take the position that you know our policies, and have already written the CEO about them, why were you trying to get around the delivery fee and haggle to get it delivered for free?
SC: I'm going to be writing another letter. And I will never shop here again. Now, WHAT IS YOUR LAST NAME?
Me: I already said, I'm not giving it to you. And you have never shopped here in the first place, and frankly, anyone who would come in here to try and take advantage of a new associate who is not familiar with our policies is not welcome to do business with us. You came in here today for the express purpose of either starting a fight or to try to get the showroom associates to give you free delivery on an item.
SC: No, I didn't!
Me: I heard you, ma'am. I heard you trying to haggle to get the delivery for free.
K: That's right, you were, and I told you three times we couldn't do it.
Me: So you've written to the CEO about one of the very same policies you're trying to get the new associate to waive, and you expect me to believe you now when you say that you never knew our delivery wasn't included in the price?
She knew I caught her, and she was PISSED.
SC: Give. Me. Your. Last. Name. NOW.
Me: No. Now, is there anything else I can help you with?
SC: NOW.
Me: No.
SC: Give me your last name now or I am calling the police.
Me: Go right ahead and call them.
SC: I can't believe you. I have written to the president of the company, I WILL be writing him again about you, and you(pointing to K). How DARE you talk back to me. Do you know who I am? (Oh god I love this line)
Me: (grins and crosses arms) You're someone who came in here to try to pull a fast one on us and not only didn't think it wouldn't work, but you didn't expect that someone would actually call you out on it. stand up to you and not cave in. Now, is there anything else I can help you with?
SC: Absolutely not!
Me: Then get out.
Turns around and storms out. I wonder if I'll get any fallout from this one. K looked at me and I tell him "K, that's the third time I've ever mouthed back to a customer. You can refuse to serve anyone the minute they act like a shithead, and never let them threaten you. Don't threaten them back, but don't back down."
He bought me lunch
This one's long, as most of mine tend to be, but I tend not to post till I have someone that REALLY pisses me off.
Had an interesting one yesterday. As you know, I work in sales. We have a relatively new guy, and I was working with him on Sunday because a new ad broke in the paper and the company wanted to make sure we had someone experienced on the floor when customers came in.
You know those customers that just come in with a huge chip on their shoulders, itching for a fight? One came in while I was closing another customer and the new kid, K, went to handle her. As I'm working with my own couple, I'm keeping a close ear on K and this woman, since he is knew and easily gets overwhelmed when it comes to product knowledge and policies, so I can bail him out if he gets over his head.
As I'm finishing writing up this couple on a final sale, I hear a very common complaint from the SC. "You mean I even have to pay delivery on this?" I hear this quite a bit, because yes, we DO charge for delivery as opposed to including it in the cost of the furniture. Our warehouse is over 100 miles away, so yeah, it takes an effort to deliver furniture.
So I finish writing up the couple and I can see K is in some serious distress because the customer is chewing him out about our company policies. I don't mean complaining - I mean REALLY tearing him a new one. I walk over to the area to straighten a few things and to eavesdrop on the conversation. This is what I hear:
SC: Well, I have already written a complaint to [name of CEO] regarding your illegal practices. You're just making it up in the cost of delivery.
K: Ma'am, I can't change the delivery charges.
SC: I owned a business for ten years and I am appaled at this. It's illegal to not have the product available for immediate pickup or delivery. And I know you can waive delivery, you're just being unaccomodating and refusing to help me, and that's a mistake on your part.
So at this point I step in to try and take some relief off of K.
Me: Ma'am, what seems to be illegal?
SC: You cannot have a product that you buy that is not immediately available.
Me: You're right. However, when you order furniture through us, you're doing just that - you're ORDERING. You're agreeing to our contract that it will take some time to get the furniture.
SC: That's illegal.
Me: No ma'am, it is not. We give you all the details and you can choose not to purchase from us at any time. The reason some of our items are showing a time quote of a few weeks is because it's a week after our Labor Day sale, and our inventory is completely cleaned out on a few of our pieces.
(Fun fact: It IS considered illegal to advertise an item that you do not have to DISPLAY, and I think this is what she was going on about. For example, if you wait until the last day of a sale and only the display model is left, it is illegal to sell the display model in case someone else wants to see it, and order it when it is backordered. 99/100 times people understand this, but not this woman.)
She narrows her eyes at me and I instantly recognize the type of customer she is. I've seen only two the entire two years I've worked here, and it's the type of customer who takes up a crusade against something that doesn't even involve her and just tries to make your life a living hell. It doesn't have to be an SC, you know the stereotype. They come in, just to complain when they haven't even shopped, or they see complaints about our company on the internet and decide to walk in and inform us of them in a very confrontational manner. Lady, the one with the issue lived in Maryland and it happend back in 2002. I live in San Diego and it's 2006. What the hell do you expect me to do about it?)
SC: Excuse me, I was talking with this gentleman here. Why did you step in?
Me: Ma'am, he's relatively new, and while he is very good at product knowledge, he wouldn't have been able to answer your questions. I'm the manager on duty for today.
SC: Why did you step in?
Me: Well, I heard you had already written a complaint to the CEO of the company, and I was curious if it was over some confusion of our policies that I would be able to clear up.
SC: What's your name?
Me: Kusanagi.
SC: :scowling: Don't insult me. What's your last name?
Me: I don't give out my last name.
SC: Well, Kusanagi, I sugguest you just remain curious because I am speaking to someone who is less adversarial than you.
Oh no she di'n't. I get pissed, but go back to fluffing pillows, praying to whatever god exists that karma will bite her in the ass. Then she starts belittiling the company to my trainee, and I decide this needs to stop.
Me: Ma'am, can I ask you a question? Why did you come in here today?
SC: Excuse me?
Me: Have you ever bought from here before?
SC: No, and you're being very rude.
Me: So you aren't a customer, you have not bought from us so you have never experienced how we do things, and you've already written to the CEO saying how our business practices are illegal, when I have clearly explained how they are not because you are ordering and not purchasing outright. What did you hope to accomplish by coming in here today, if you're apparently having corrospondence with the president of the company? This has absolutely nothing to do with us anymore, since you've gone directly to him.
SC: I thought I told you to mind your own business.
Me: When you come in here for the pure purpose of stirring up a fight or trying to circumvent our policies, then it does become my business.
SC is flabbergasted.
SC: How DARE you accuse me of circumventing!
Me: Since you seem to take the position that you know our policies, and have already written the CEO about them, why were you trying to get around the delivery fee and haggle to get it delivered for free?
SC: I'm going to be writing another letter. And I will never shop here again. Now, WHAT IS YOUR LAST NAME?
Me: I already said, I'm not giving it to you. And you have never shopped here in the first place, and frankly, anyone who would come in here to try and take advantage of a new associate who is not familiar with our policies is not welcome to do business with us. You came in here today for the express purpose of either starting a fight or to try to get the showroom associates to give you free delivery on an item.
SC: No, I didn't!
Me: I heard you, ma'am. I heard you trying to haggle to get the delivery for free.
K: That's right, you were, and I told you three times we couldn't do it.
Me: So you've written to the CEO about one of the very same policies you're trying to get the new associate to waive, and you expect me to believe you now when you say that you never knew our delivery wasn't included in the price?
She knew I caught her, and she was PISSED.
SC: Give. Me. Your. Last. Name. NOW.
Me: No. Now, is there anything else I can help you with?
SC: NOW.
Me: No.
SC: Give me your last name now or I am calling the police.
Me: Go right ahead and call them.
SC: I can't believe you. I have written to the president of the company, I WILL be writing him again about you, and you(pointing to K). How DARE you talk back to me. Do you know who I am? (Oh god I love this line)
Me: (grins and crosses arms) You're someone who came in here to try to pull a fast one on us and not only didn't think it wouldn't work, but you didn't expect that someone would actually call you out on it. stand up to you and not cave in. Now, is there anything else I can help you with?
SC: Absolutely not!
Me: Then get out.
Turns around and storms out. I wonder if I'll get any fallout from this one. K looked at me and I tell him "K, that's the third time I've ever mouthed back to a customer. You can refuse to serve anyone the minute they act like a shithead, and never let them threaten you. Don't threaten them back, but don't back down."
He bought me lunch
Nice!
I AM the evil bastard!
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay you!!!!!!!!!!!
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