Why are people so afraid of Banning Customers from Big Name stores?

[allniter]

I was reminded of an incident I witnessed as I was reading the post about the guy at the bank who threatened to pull all his money out unless he got exactly what he wanted right this instant.

Without going into too much detail, this took place at a Big Name Electronics store somewhere in the South.



CA: Cashier
SC: Sucky Customer
MA: Cool Manager

We come into our story about 3 minutes in. The Customer was yelling at the employee for something they had no control over. The cashier was trying their best to reason with him but he wasn't having none of it. Facts to this guy were like snakes - not to be handled. He wanted it done his way and no other way would do form him. The arguement below is paraphrased but it's close enough to what was actually said.


Cashier: I'm sorry sir, I just can't apply that discount because the ad says...
SC: I don't care what the ad says, I read it this way and I want it this way!
Cashier: I'll have to call my manager over to see about this.
SC: Fine call your manager! At least I'll have someone competent to deal with for a change.

Manager comes over.

Manager: What's the problem then
Cashier: this gentleman wants to...
SC: (cuts them off) I told him I want this item for half off and he won't give it to me.
MA: I'm afraid that's right sir, the ad does specificially say that...
CS: You don't get to argue with me, I'm the customer. And the Customer's Always Right. You'll give me that price or I'll never shop here again.

At this point, our Awesome Customer walks over

AC: Excuse me, but I've been standing behind this guy the whole time and from the start he's been unreasonable. In order to get his way, he's blamed the employee for creating the situation, which he didn't, and insulted him viciously. If this is the way you run your store, allowing good employees to be smacked around by the likes of small minded bullies, then you've just lost all MY business here. And I know that you recognize me because I buy all my office supplies here on a weekly basis.

They all stood there shocked at this unexpected ultimatum. But the manager recovers first and with a smile towards the older gentleman says:

MA: Yes sir, she has a point. I can afford to lose your business a lot more than I can afford to lose hers. Consider yourself banned from this store.

The old man, obviously stunned at having a customer show off more balls than he has, and probably even more stunned to be beaten by a mere woman, slunk off without another word.

I wish there were more people like her out there. I mean what if for every asshat person who threatened to never come back, another customer, or two or three, went ahead and threatened they'd do the same if the asshat got their way. Isn't it better to lose one person's business rather than three or four?

Comments?

[Imogene]

Huzzah for the wonderfully ballsy lady!

[Mark Healey]

I've waited for years to do what the lady did, the oportunity just hasn't come up.

token content

[JustaCashier]

Awesome Customer:

I'm glad to read of this situation.

Between my own experiences, and others' that I've read here, in dealing with SC's, that threaten to "Never shop here again", I have often wished for just this scenario.

Mike

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I....I think I have a crush on the woman in your story.

[ArenaBoy]

In regards to your question:

The reason why Big Name Companies are afraid of banning people from stores is because when they see a customer, they see a profit. Bear in mind that I am speaking from a corporate standpoint. That one customer who rants and raves about "Customer Service" is usually the person who is hurting the business most. All those refunds, comps, and other freebies the SC gets is hurting the business. Corporate and managers think that if they give the SC freebies the SC will continue shopping there. The reasoning behind corporate and managers is that if they ban a customer who is being sucky, they are afraid that the SC will spread the word about how "evil" a store is all because the store had a good reason for banning him/her. What they are forgetting is that no one knows everyone. One can know OF someone but that usually ends right there. What they also do not realize is that the ones who continue to shop at that one store are the ones corporate and managment want to keep. They should be more afraid of losing their regulars rather than one person who is just a whiny ass.

Just my

As for the woman: She wins this.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

"Why are people so afraid of banning Customers from big name stores?" you ask?

Because they (I assume you mean managers, or at least people having the authority to ban customers) have been whipped into believing that the customer is always right, that the customer is King, that the customer pays their salary, that every customer is worth retaining no matter how little they spend or how many headaches they cause, so on and so forth.

I can't help but think that had the old coot complained to the corporate office about being banned, they would have turned around and written him a sniveling, ass-kissing letter overturning the ban, apologizing for the way he was treated, and maybe throwing in a nice gift card for his trouble.

Somewhere on this site there is a story about a group of women who went absolutely apeshit when asked to move their chairs away from an aisle in Barnes and Noble, and had to be hauled away by the police. They complained to the district manager, and he wrote them a sniveling, ass-kissing letter like I described above, apologizing for what happened and welcoming them back with open arms.

I swear about the only thing people can do to get banned from some places is stealing from them. And even that may not be enforceable.

[Argabarga]

Because at the end of the day, they want that SC's money, and if they still have a chance to break even or better, even if they have to make unreasonable concessions, they'll do it.

There is a total disconnect between the corporate view on this and just how bad it hurts as an employee to get yanked around when it happnens

If they'd just come out and say "yes, you were right, the customer was wrong, but we want his/her money" I wouldn't feel half as bad as when they say "it's customer service"

[Gurndigarn]

There was an interesting article in Key Bank's for-business magazine they leave around their branches, which talked about the benefits of firing unprofitable customers. It would be a good read for CEOs and their lackeys.

Back to the question at hand: the biggest problem, IMO, is that most MBAs do not have and never get any real experience dealing with problems the rank and file get, so they never realize what problems the rank and file faces, and how boneheaded management decisions increase the problems. They understand numbers (how well depends on how good they are), but don't understand squat about people, and never put themselves in a position to actually find out about them.

[Anakah]

I couldn't remember what someone looks like long enough to recognize them as the person who got banned in the first place. How do people keep track? What stops the "banned" person from coming in the next month?

[Boozy]

I've noticed this from reading the forums. It seems like those of us who work for small independant businesses have more stories about customers getting banned, and those of us who work for the Big Name Stores have more stories about putting up with endless crap only to have the same SC return week after week.
The biggest reason for this has got to be corporate. Banning someone for life is a decision that's usually made by the Big Boss. In large chains, the Big Boss isn't even in the store dealing with customers, and in their naivete has given instructions to appease the SCs at all costs. If the owner is on site, and has witnessed the offending behaviour personally, AND has gotten to know the front line staff personally, they're less likely to put up with SC crap.
Perhaps the Big Name Stores should consider giving their store managers more leeway in dealing with situations as they see fit. Corporate needs to have more faith in the abilities of the people they themselves have hired and entrusted with managing one of their stores.

[tollbaby]

I couldn't remember what someone looks like long enough to recognize them as the person who got banned in the first place. How do people keep track? What stops the "banned" person from coming in the next month?

If someone does something BAD enough to warrant being banned, I'll remember them. Likely forever.

[Ackee]

wow, how amazing....

[CanadaGirl]

I don't know if Safeway is considered a big name store... but my Safeway won't even ban a known pedophile that shops there (Karl Toft, anyone?) ... meanwhile there is a school behind the Safeway, and families with little children shopping every day. :| So, it must take a lot to get banned at mine.

[Rapscallion]

Because at the end of the day, they want that SC's money, and if they still have a chance to break even or better, even if they have to make unreasonable concessions, they'll do it.

Radix malorum est cupiditas.

Rapscallion