Getting It With Vinegar
Entry posted by thurisas
149 views
So, are you one of those customers who believes every store is out to get you? That every policy ever made was made to make your life miserable? That the only way to get what you want is to be a pain in the behind to the person behind the counter? In plain, are you a person who knows that the more belligerent you are and the more hard of a time you give to the people behind the counter, the better your chances are at getting what you want? Let me clue you in on something.
I've had customers over the years who were very...well...heated in what they wanted and demanded. Regardless of the policies and procedures that any company puts in place, there is a type of person who feels that the same rules shouldn't apply. Over the last two days I had two instances.
In one instance a person was trying to return a fairly expensive item. He had no receipt, he couldn't remember the day it was bought, and he couldn't come up with a valid ID for the return. Of course we refused the return and he turned belligerent. Violent even as he chucked his item across the room and it ricocheted to hit one of our service people in the face. The gentleman(for I am still polite) decided to leave without the refund and without the item. A few hours later he called and demanded that we "take care of him". Of course the reply was "I'm sorry, sir, if you step into this building or any of our other properties again, you will be arressted and we should tell you a notice of tresspass has been filed with the county. Thank you, have a nice day."
In the other instance, the customer was also trying to return an expensive item without a receipt, without an ID, and she wanted cash back. In this instance, however, the customer actually listened to what we were saying, was actually interested in the reason behind the policy and then politely made her case. In the end, she simply had to go home to get the ID she'd forgotten and because I felt sympathetic to her plight I decided to break with policy and give her cash back without the receipt even though the policy dictated a gift card. Her only inconvenience was having to get her photo ID. She was happy and thanked me profusely for breaking with the policy.
Policies are put in place in stores because so many people out there abuse the "I am the customer and I am always right" attitude. In some cases they abuse it in such a way that the company loses money. Believe it or not, a company is out there to make money and the best way to get you as a customer to return is to take care of you. Most times a good service person is more than happy to make sure you're taken care of. Its the people who have abused the systems that has caused the real problem here. If people were honest with themselves and just used a little common sense and a bit of jam instead of vinegar, the retail world would be a much nicer, friendlier place.
2 Comments
Recommended Comments