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(I moved this here because I put it in the Praise section by mistake the first time.)
This one is not a full blown SC story since it has a happy ending, but I'm not sure where else to put it. It's from a few weeks ago.
This woman comes into the store and asks the new girl (who I trained and work with most of the time) if we had a particular Avery product number in stock. She didn't know, and referred her to me.
I looked the product up on our website to get the SKU, then checked the inventory system. Nothing. In fact, it's status is listed as "F I" which means "final clearance" and "inactive." In other words: we aren't carrying it in the stores anymore. And none of the area stores have it either. BUT, I told her, it was still available on the website, and if she ordered it by 4PM that day (it was around noon) she could have them delivered the next day.
SC: But I need them today! Some people from my church group are coming over to work on this big priject with me and I NEED them for it!
(As if I care, and as if that will magically cause them to be in stock).
Me: Unfortunately as I said, it's not something we carry anymore, and none of the stores in the area have any left. *starts paging through more store listings* IN fact, I can't find ANY store in the region that has any. But I can order them for you right here in the store and have them delivered right to your house, or have them delivered here for you to pick up.
SC: Would they come in by this evening?
Me: No, ma'am, they'd come in tomorrow, IF you order by 4PM. However, we do have a large variety of similar products in stock. It's possible one will fit the bill?
SC: No, it has to be these. Nothing else will work. Never mind; I'll get them at the pharmacy.
(Yeah, right. Like the pharmacy is going to have an obscure Avery number in stock. If Staples doesn't have it, then the pharmacy sure as hell won't, but whatever). I gave her the Staples SKU for the item in case she changed her mind, and she left.
Fast forward two hours. We're in a busy stretch, so the ASM takes a Customer Service call for us. After she finishes with the call, she comes over to my register and asks if I told a woman she could pay for something over the phone.
I of course said no such thing, since under NO circumstances can we accept a credit card number over the phone.
Well it turns out that this woman failed to find anything at the pharmacy (surprise, surprise!) and had specifically asked for me so I could order them for her and she would pay over the phone, sicne she didn't think she'd be able to get back here by 4PM (the deadline for next day delivery), which she claimed I said was possible (nope. She hadn't even asked me if she could so that). ASM made it clear that anything purchased or ordered in the store MUST be paid for IN STORE. She also gave the woman the number for Staples phone ordering service and told her she could make an order there. Ok, fine. I put the incident out of my mind.
Fast forward another two hours. It's how 4:05PM and things have slowed down a bit. THis woman comes in again, comes right to me, and aks to order the item for next-day delivery. I look at the clock, and tell her that we've probably missed the cutoff, but maybe if we hurry we'll catch a break. I quickly hop on the website, punch int eh SKU, add the desired quantity to the cart and click "Place Order."
Well, lo and behold, the next thing that pops up "Expected Delivery Time Has Changed." We missed the cutoff by 7 minutes. And since this was a Thursday, and there's no deliveries on the weekends, the expected delivery date is the following Monday. I break the news to her.
And she goes nuts. Not angry nuts, but devasted nuts. She very nearly burst into tears on the spot. She repeated her story about the church group (which was now coming over the next day, not today as she'd said earlier) and how there was no way they could complete the big, important project with this EXACT item. She asks if there's ANYTHING I can do to get next-day delivery.
Me: Unfortunately, this is totally beyond my control. I have no way to override this.
SC: I'll pay for it; it doens't have to be free! (Her order would have qualified for free shipping since it was over $50)
Me: I'm sorry, I don't have control over that either.
*SC is now on the verge of crying; tears are already starting to roll. Oy!)
So suggested again that although we don't have the specific item she wants, we do have many things like it, and maybe one of those would be suitable? Bereft of ideas, she agrees, and I page someone to meet her in that area.
About 10 minutes later, she comes back up with a whole bunch of Avery stuff, beaming. She was gushing over how the OS guy had saved the day by finding something she could use and how helpful he was. She bought her stuff and left.
Of course, I didn't get any praise, because I wasn't able to help her. Except, if she had just taken my advice the first time, she would have gotten exactly what she wanted. Or if she had gotten the "perfect" similar item the first time, she could have avoided all this grief. OR if she had listened to the ASM and made a phone order, she still would have gotten them the next day. No, she had to ignore all reasona nd stubbornly insist on trying to have her cake and eat it, too.
A happy ending perhaps (no yelling or screaming and she went home satisfied) but still mighty irritating to deal with.
This one is not a full blown SC story since it has a happy ending, but I'm not sure where else to put it. It's from a few weeks ago.
This woman comes into the store and asks the new girl (who I trained and work with most of the time) if we had a particular Avery product number in stock. She didn't know, and referred her to me.
I looked the product up on our website to get the SKU, then checked the inventory system. Nothing. In fact, it's status is listed as "F I" which means "final clearance" and "inactive." In other words: we aren't carrying it in the stores anymore. And none of the area stores have it either. BUT, I told her, it was still available on the website, and if she ordered it by 4PM that day (it was around noon) she could have them delivered the next day.
SC: But I need them today! Some people from my church group are coming over to work on this big priject with me and I NEED them for it!
(As if I care, and as if that will magically cause them to be in stock).
Me: Unfortunately as I said, it's not something we carry anymore, and none of the stores in the area have any left. *starts paging through more store listings* IN fact, I can't find ANY store in the region that has any. But I can order them for you right here in the store and have them delivered right to your house, or have them delivered here for you to pick up.
SC: Would they come in by this evening?
Me: No, ma'am, they'd come in tomorrow, IF you order by 4PM. However, we do have a large variety of similar products in stock. It's possible one will fit the bill?
SC: No, it has to be these. Nothing else will work. Never mind; I'll get them at the pharmacy.
(Yeah, right. Like the pharmacy is going to have an obscure Avery number in stock. If Staples doesn't have it, then the pharmacy sure as hell won't, but whatever). I gave her the Staples SKU for the item in case she changed her mind, and she left.
Fast forward two hours. We're in a busy stretch, so the ASM takes a Customer Service call for us. After she finishes with the call, she comes over to my register and asks if I told a woman she could pay for something over the phone.
I of course said no such thing, since under NO circumstances can we accept a credit card number over the phone.Well it turns out that this woman failed to find anything at the pharmacy (surprise, surprise!) and had specifically asked for me so I could order them for her and she would pay over the phone, sicne she didn't think she'd be able to get back here by 4PM (the deadline for next day delivery), which she claimed I said was possible (nope. She hadn't even asked me if she could so that). ASM made it clear that anything purchased or ordered in the store MUST be paid for IN STORE. She also gave the woman the number for Staples phone ordering service and told her she could make an order there. Ok, fine. I put the incident out of my mind.
Fast forward another two hours. It's how 4:05PM and things have slowed down a bit. THis woman comes in again, comes right to me, and aks to order the item for next-day delivery. I look at the clock, and tell her that we've probably missed the cutoff, but maybe if we hurry we'll catch a break. I quickly hop on the website, punch int eh SKU, add the desired quantity to the cart and click "Place Order."
Well, lo and behold, the next thing that pops up "Expected Delivery Time Has Changed." We missed the cutoff by 7 minutes. And since this was a Thursday, and there's no deliveries on the weekends, the expected delivery date is the following Monday. I break the news to her.
And she goes nuts. Not angry nuts, but devasted nuts. She very nearly burst into tears on the spot. She repeated her story about the church group (which was now coming over the next day, not today as she'd said earlier) and how there was no way they could complete the big, important project with this EXACT item. She asks if there's ANYTHING I can do to get next-day delivery.
Me: Unfortunately, this is totally beyond my control. I have no way to override this.
SC: I'll pay for it; it doens't have to be free! (Her order would have qualified for free shipping since it was over $50)
Me: I'm sorry, I don't have control over that either.
*SC is now on the verge of crying; tears are already starting to roll. Oy!)
So suggested again that although we don't have the specific item she wants, we do have many things like it, and maybe one of those would be suitable? Bereft of ideas, she agrees, and I page someone to meet her in that area.
About 10 minutes later, she comes back up with a whole bunch of Avery stuff, beaming. She was gushing over how the OS guy had saved the day by finding something she could use and how helpful he was. She bought her stuff and left.
Of course, I didn't get any praise, because I wasn't able to help her. Except, if she had just taken my advice the first time, she would have gotten exactly what she wanted. Or if she had gotten the "perfect" similar item the first time, she could have avoided all this grief. OR if she had listened to the ASM and made a phone order, she still would have gotten them the next day. No, she had to ignore all reasona nd stubbornly insist on trying to have her cake and eat it, too.
A happy ending perhaps (no yelling or screaming and she went home satisfied) but still mighty irritating to deal with.
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