tip? just kidding!

[Cyanocobalamin]

A man was interested in purchasing several furniture items for his business but all he really wanted to know was the total cost of everything, “after you throw in a few chairs and your tip, because we’re such good customers.” Good my arse. He had placed ONE delivery order in the past year, and I recognize ‘good’ ie regular customers of ours. He wasn’t one of them. So I simply said, “I'm not allowed to accept tips or give you free merchandise... I could get fired for that.” His face sort of fell and he replied, “OK, we wouldn’t want that to happen!” Tipping in my job is not customary so I always get weirded out when it’s offered to me.

Um? A) You haven’t paid for your merchandise; why should I believe you’re going to give ME any money?! B) I honestly would rather you have spent supposed tip to BUY something and help out my department’s numbers, so I get and from management. C) There’s likely some ethical/corporate rule against employees accepting tips.

The order estimate came to around $3000 and the delivery fee? A whopping $19.99 !! I even pointed this out to the man, showing him he got a GREAT deal on delivery. After like half an hour T came back from his lunch and offered to take over for me.

Actually I don’t even think the guy went through with the order because I would have come across paperwork on it aside from what I generated, such as a validated order form. And I probably would have heard about it from T. My coworkers like sharing stories of large sales
I think it would have been rude if I had asked the man how much he was intending to give in a tip but I would have loved to know... He and the three women he was shopping with looked quite well to do lol

[KnightsWhoSayNi]

Is it just me, because everytime I hear someone say "Were good customers!" it usually comes from some jerk.

I hate people that try to get me to slip them free stuff/good deals for a tip. I just don't think that $10 is worth losing my job for. Then they get all pissy when you refuse their offer.

[BusBus]

I suspect the tip was either

a) a bribe to get some freebies ($10 tip for you, $100 in chairs for him...what a deal )

or

b) was phony baloney and was his way of encouraging you to throw in the free chairs.

Assclown.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I take "good customer" to mean "I have lots of money I could spend here, but unless you kiss my butt I'm going to take it all to your competitor."

[AFpheonix]

I let my good customers know they are good customers. If I haven't told you something along the lines of "Oh, we love having you come by!" then maybe you either haven't made a big impression on me, or I hate your guts.

[pbmods]

Don't you get a commission on your sales anyway? I mean, if he really wanted to give you a tip, he should have spent more money (or at least sent a beaming compliment to your [district] manager).

Incidentally, retail doesn't like tipping because then you get into the hairy issue of associates who treat tipping customers better than non-tippers. The exception being when tips are part of the paycheck and socially accepted as such (e.g., waitstaff).

[Jester]

Years ago, I heard someone say that those who are getting a lot of sex don't need to talk about it, and those who talk about it aren't getting that much. It is an inverse ratio formula, basically, and I have found that to be true in many ways in life.

And that applies to "good customers" as well. 99%* of the time, good customers don't feel the need to tell you that they are good customers. Those who yak the most about being good customers almost invariably aren't.


(*There are exceptions when actual good customers get the shaft and are trying to get things righted, but this is rare.)

[Cyanocobalamin]

Don't you get a commission on your sales anyway? <snip> ... (or at least sent a beaming compliment to your [district] manager).

Commission is 5% on 'product protection plans' aka those damned extended warranties. I typically don't get a chance to try to sell them because I'm a stocker and I cover the furniture department just for breaks and lunches, and cashier occasionally.

Any sort of compliment letter that makes it to my DM results in a form letter sent back to the employee to the effect of "thank you for your great customer service skills." I guess it's the "thought" that counts, right?