Specimens from the retail jungle.

[cantunamunch]

Today we have for you a superb Greater Eastern Curmudgeon:

https://www.washingtonian.com/2016/05/27/capitol-hill-books-jim-toole-curmudgeonly-rules-signs/

The customer isn’t always right. I am. People don’t like that. They think I should be groveling—I don’t grovel.

 

[JeffB]

Rules of my favorite burger and beer joint where I live. Worth the read. If you're ever in town, it's worth a visit

https://thevortexatl.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Food-Rules-Pages-11-15.pdf

 

[Tricia]

JeffB that is awesome!!!

 

[Carl Kuck]

The customer is always right, even when they're not...

 

[Tricia]

The customer is always right, even when they're not...

Nope

 

[crgildart]

I worked 10 years as a retail manager in a mall store environment. One time there was this lady in the store throwing a hissy fit because the product details and salesperson's experience selling and servicing the product didn't match up with what her copy of Consumer Reports was telling her. She stormed to the front, busy, week before Christmas, demanding to speak with the manager (me). She insulted the part time help, she insulted the full time folks and even one of the vendor reps that had tried his best to diffuse the situation. Finally, she climaxed her tirade with "you really need to hire better, more knowledgeable people". I could feel this coming a mile away and pulled out an application and offered it to her. She gasped and asked to speak with my district manager. Just so happens the district manager was in the back room on a break eating her lunch. I went and got her without much briefing as to what she was walking in to..

So, with a new audience member, and crowd of somewhat impatient but interested regular customers watching the next act of the show the irate lady went through the entire story from the beginning, pretty much EXACTLY as it went IMO.. then got to the part where she said... and then HE<Pointing at me> offered me a job application. The District Manager busted out laughing, the lady gasped again and hit her on the arm with her rolled up copy of Consumer Reports.. Most of the other customers laughed hysterically. I was in grad school at the time and the company knew I was leaving as soon as I finished and found something less retail oriented so the higher ups never said a word to me about it beyond the district manager saying I should have warned her there was a "lunatic" she had to deal with.

I have the utmost compassion for folks that still work retail, pretty much every holiday and most weekends. I had to go back part time and sell electronics at Circuit City for a few months when I was between full time gigs in the early 00s after the dot com crash. I'd do it again, but don't expect me to behave and take too much crap from jerks or over the top folks that need to be slapped hahaha.

 

[Jilly]

That's priceless. What a PITA. As a business owner (not retail) I think you would have got a raise or promotion for that idea. Great way to handle a customer.

 

[Philpug]

I do think everyone...everyone should work retail or as a server at least once in their lives to learn how to respect others.
As far as the customer always being right? No way. The amount on stories I could tell..I am sure I have forgotten more than I can remember. Being able to fire a customer should be a right of any seasoned salesperson, manager or business owner.

 

[crgildart]

Here's a nice story I heard from one of the sales reps many moons ago. He said one Saturday morning when he was selling cars at a Pontiac dealer these 3 hispanic kids were on the lot looking at the brand new 1980 Trans Am Indy Pace Car. All of the salesfolks were ignoring them waiting for better looking prospects to pounce on. He said he just decided to go talk to them anyway. The guy that spoke English asked of he could test drive the car pulling out a drivers license. He said they all piled in the car and off they went, smallest kid on the hump. One quick trip around the block and when they got out the kid said I want this car. He handed the salesman a business card and said this man will pay for the car. It was the business card of the general manager of a large metro radio station. The kid had won a contest and the deal was legit! Never pre judge a customer!

 

[Philpug]

Here's a nice story I heard from one of the sales reps many moons ago. He said one Saturday morning when he was selling cars at a Pontiac dealer these 3 hispanic kids were on the lot looking at the brand new 1980 Trans Am Indy Pace Car. All of the salesfolks were ignoring them waiting for better looking prospects to pounce on. He said he just decided to go talk to them anyway. The guy that spoke English asked of he could test drive the car pulling out a drivers license. He said they all piled in the car and off they went, smallest kid on the hump. One quick trip around the block and when they got out the kid said I want this car. He handed the salesman a business card and said this man will pay for the car. It was the business card of the general manager of a large metro radio station. The kid had won a contest and the deal was legit! Never pre judge a customer!

Dozen of stories like that. Wasn't my customer but this older gentleman pulled up in a rat assed base base model Ford Contour wanted to look at a new Volvo. It was the Montgomery of Janney, Montgomery Scott.

 

[Tricia]

I had a dad bring a kid in for a boot fit one day while the kid was eating a hot dog and drinking apple juice. I told the dad that I'd let him finish his lunch while I got some other stuff done before we started the boot fit. The dad was outraged, so I started the fit. Needless to say, I couldn't keep the kid's attention, as he was munching on his hot dog, and he spilled his apple juice while we were amidst the fitting. I went to get a towel to clean up the apple juice and the dad threw another fit, saying, "We'll just move over and you can clean that up later. This is taking too long as it is."
I cleaned up the apple juice as quickly as I could and finished the fit.
I kept my cool and was ultimately patient, but this guy lodged a complaint about me to my boss, saying that I took too long to fit his son, and refused to give him an additional discount because he is a local. (on a 99.00 jr boot)

Co-workers who witnessed the whole thing had my back and came to my defense immediately.

Fortunately these customers are few and far between.
The past few weeks, a majority of our customers have been super happy, and super fun!

 

[Philpug]

I worked for a boss/owner that had no problem firing customers. One of the senior salesman (25+ years onthe floor and as professional as can be) was being berated by a costumer to the point he was was almost loosing his cool, which I never saw him do. Just at that point, the owner came out of his office and calmy (hish was tough for him) introduce himself and started talking to the folks and asked them to follow him. He walked them to the door, opened it and just asked them to leave and kindly never return.

The same boss had a Cobra (real, not repro) 427 in the corner of the showroom. There was a sign on the car, please do not touch. A customer put his small child in the drivers seat. The owner flew out of his office and started screaming at the man..."Listen to me, you prick with ears, get that rat of a child out of my effin car and get off of my property" We chuckled.

My favorite. Knowing he had a temper....

One Saturday the same owner was walking around the lot. A woman pulls up in a beat up 940 wagon and gets out of her car and points to him and snaps her fingers to waive him over. Myself and a couple of other salespeople see this and know what is going to transpire. We could not get the popcorn popped fast enough. We are watching her yell at him, poke her finger in his chest and berate him on why the Service Department was not open on a Saturday and that she needed a bulb replaced. All the time he is getting redder and redder and we could see the storm brewing. Finally he turns the tables and start yelling at her pointing at the car saying they way she treats it, she has no right to complain about a bulb being out. At that point the woman was in teats and he just turns around and storms away. She comes int the showroom as we scatter and pretend like we werent watching. She demanded to speak to the owner about the guy who just verbally insulted her. We just simply said, "That guy who you just talked to is the owner".

 

[neonorchid]

^ @Philpug, long gone exotic car dealership in Ft Washington PA used to put signs on the cars saying "Do not touch unless you're in the nude".

 

[Gaby]

Dozen of stories like that. Wasn't my customer but this older gentleman pulled up in a rat assed base base model Ford Contour wanted to look at a new Volvo. It was the Montgomery of Janney, Montgomery Scott.

I am sure I have told you the story before of when I went to buy my Miata. Salesman at Sussman wouldn't even look at me. Told me to come back on Monday because it was obvious I just wanted to go for a joy ride and that I was wasting his time. Said fine, I'll come back Monday, then drove up to Faulkner and bought my Miata there instead.

Always regretted not going back to Sussman on Monday and gloating at the guy with the car he could have sold me, but I just didn't actually have time to waste like that.

 

[coskigirl]

Sadly, I see it from a different angle and in a business to business atmosphere. Being in the legal department I often have to stand up for my company to protect its rights and liabilities. However, I often have salespeople/managers who just want us to roll over and accept whatever insane risks the customer is putting on us. It is maddening to have to fight to protect the company both internally and externally.

 

[Tricia]

Sadly, I see it from a different angle and in a business to business atmosphere. Being in the legal department I often have to stand up for my company to protect its rights and liabilities. However, I often have salespeople/managers who just want us to roll over and accept whatever insane risks the customer is putting on us. It is maddening to have to fight to protect the company both internally and externally.

I have experienced this as well. Sometimes apologizing for something that you didn't do wrong is a good way to end a conflict with a customer. Sometimes its an appearance of actually doing something wrong, which can hurt your business.

 

[Philpug]

 

[Tricia]

On another note:
Our store is "shopped" by professional shoppers, hired by VRR to make sure that the employees are doing their job.
Most of the survey the shopper fills out is good and makes sense, but some of it is weirdly subjective.

Most recently I was shopped and got a very high overall score by the shopper but the one question that she said I failed on was
Did the employee use an open ended questions to understand your needs. She scored me 1/5 and said, "Tricia asked if there was a style I was looking for"

The accuracy of that is true, but after getting this shopper review, I know who this woman was and I know that wasn't my first question.
I started with "What can I help you find today?" After she told me that she was looking for workout gear because she was on vacation and didn't bring anything with her to use the fitness center, that is when I asked her if she had a particular style she was looking for.

The point is this, you can do everything right, but someone looking for a problem will find one.
The store's overall score was over 90% based on my shopper's experience, but it could have easily been 100%.

 

[crgildart]

OK now let's all crack a Gatorade and watch Clerks. "This job wouldn't be half bad if it wasn't for all the customers"..

Tell the customer to come back after the first period ends..

 

[Philpug]

OK now let's all crack a Gatorade and watch Clerks. "This job wouldn't be half bad if it wasn't for all the customers"..

Tell the customer to come back after the first period ends..

What do mean I have to drink this coffee hot?!?!?