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It seems like lately I'm starting to notice certain signs that warn me when a customer will suck.
So today we have a special lesson, with extra-special examples of extra-extra-special SCs!
1.) When I read through my opening spiel and you ask me more than once which company you have just called.
I can understand you asking once, I do say it at a rather fast clip since I have to say it before you interrupt me and it IS almost half a screen long(14 point font, sure, but still...) Anyway, one 'is this _____' is fine.
But when I get...
Me: Thank you for calling ____ glass service this is Drak speaking how may I help you?
SC: Is this ____?
Me: Yes this is the ____ glass service, how can I help you?
SC: Is this the glass service?
Me: Yes it is.
SC: For ______?
Me: ...yes. Can I help you?
2.) If, when I ask you your name, you actually have to PAUSE AND THINK ABOUT IT for almost half a minute, I start to worry. I'm absent-minded, but even I can remember my own name. Even when I'm sleep deprived and angry.
3.) If you ignore the laws of the country and physics, all in one sweeping condemnation of that which inconveniences you, it's a bad sign.
Those of you in the northern areas may remember that there were some rather ugly ice storms in the American Northeast recently. These essentially shut down large swaths of entire states due to power outages, poor road conditions, and being just plain COLD out.
Such trifling things, of course, do not matter when something so important as a cracked windshield is concerned. Oh no. The installers should risk their lives, bravely sallying forth into areas that are currently in a state of emergency for a very good reason, putting life and limb on the line to battle icy conditions, and freeze themselves to replace the windshield on a vehicle that you, by your admission, can't be bothered to put in your garage, all so they can replace the windshield on your vehicle.
Especially given that it's TOO COLD for the adhesive they use to actually bond properly to your vehicle, meaning the glass won't actually stick to your vehicle.
Which is probably quite a bit more dangerous than the 8 inch crack on the passenger side of your windshield... which is laminated glass and as such is unlikely to actually break any time soon.(Seriously, I've seen people take baseball bats to car windshields. It takes a LOT to do more than crack them.)
Or the installers could wait until the roads are clear and the store has power, and do a proper job of it. You know. One of the two.
Special Final Comment! Asking me politely will not cause company policy to change. Yelling at me has no effect either. I cannot change how the world functions in order to insure that the installers will arrive exactly when you want them to. Further, I cannot magically make certain that traffic will be light or that the other one and a half to two hour jobs that the installers have will be finished exactly when they expect them to, so that they can tell you to the minute when they'll get there.
The option to go into the shop is always there. They give you nice appointment times and are almost always on schedule(and if they're not, they'll work with you.)
I'm sure I had more when I started this, but now I can't remember them... anyone else have some ways that they can tell how a customer's going to be sucky even before they actually start to do their best prima donna impersonations?
So today we have a special lesson, with extra-special examples of extra-extra-special SCs!
1.) When I read through my opening spiel and you ask me more than once which company you have just called.
I can understand you asking once, I do say it at a rather fast clip since I have to say it before you interrupt me and it IS almost half a screen long(14 point font, sure, but still...) Anyway, one 'is this _____' is fine.
But when I get...
Me: Thank you for calling ____ glass service this is Drak speaking how may I help you?
SC: Is this ____?
Me: Yes this is the ____ glass service, how can I help you?
SC: Is this the glass service?
Me: Yes it is.
SC: For ______?
Me: ...yes. Can I help you?
2.) If, when I ask you your name, you actually have to PAUSE AND THINK ABOUT IT for almost half a minute, I start to worry. I'm absent-minded, but even I can remember my own name. Even when I'm sleep deprived and angry.
3.) If you ignore the laws of the country and physics, all in one sweeping condemnation of that which inconveniences you, it's a bad sign.
Those of you in the northern areas may remember that there were some rather ugly ice storms in the American Northeast recently. These essentially shut down large swaths of entire states due to power outages, poor road conditions, and being just plain COLD out.
Such trifling things, of course, do not matter when something so important as a cracked windshield is concerned. Oh no. The installers should risk their lives, bravely sallying forth into areas that are currently in a state of emergency for a very good reason, putting life and limb on the line to battle icy conditions, and freeze themselves to replace the windshield on a vehicle that you, by your admission, can't be bothered to put in your garage, all so they can replace the windshield on your vehicle.
Especially given that it's TOO COLD for the adhesive they use to actually bond properly to your vehicle, meaning the glass won't actually stick to your vehicle.
Which is probably quite a bit more dangerous than the 8 inch crack on the passenger side of your windshield... which is laminated glass and as such is unlikely to actually break any time soon.(Seriously, I've seen people take baseball bats to car windshields. It takes a LOT to do more than crack them.)
Or the installers could wait until the roads are clear and the store has power, and do a proper job of it. You know. One of the two.
Special Final Comment! Asking me politely will not cause company policy to change. Yelling at me has no effect either. I cannot change how the world functions in order to insure that the installers will arrive exactly when you want them to. Further, I cannot magically make certain that traffic will be light or that the other one and a half to two hour jobs that the installers have will be finished exactly when they expect them to, so that they can tell you to the minute when they'll get there.
The option to go into the shop is always there. They give you nice appointment times and are almost always on schedule(and if they're not, they'll work with you.)
I'm sure I had more when I started this, but now I can't remember them... anyone else have some ways that they can tell how a customer's going to be sucky even before they actually start to do their best prima donna impersonations?
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