The customer is always right?

[Jan]

I've been in the hospitality industry for almost 40 years now I've seen people at their best and at their worst.

The customer may not always be right but they'll have my respectful attention for as long as they require provided they remain respectful to me. Once raised voices or profanity enter into it they'll be told that I'll continue the conversation once they calm down and then I either hang up or walk away.

There are times when what the customer wants simply isn't reasonable or possible in which case I let them know that we cannot accomodate them and try to help them find someplace that can or will (contrary to popular myth, hotels *don't* generally have rooms held back 'just in case' of an owner or VIP visit).

I've had naked people lock themselves out of their room, drunks throw liquids and tape dispensers at me, street people trying to set up housekeeping in closets (and others who simply wanted to try to get clean), battered wives whose husbands had cancelled their credit cards, guests who gave me tips and gifts for the smallest of services, suicides, and guests at the happiest and saddest moments of their lives. Most people are very nice and reasonable and a pleasure to deal with. The rest of them make the good stories.

Jan

 

[jamestyler]

I really hope you don't work in Coventry. If so... I apologise on behalf of any and all wrestlers who have stayed at your hotel

 

[Jan]

I really hope you don't work in Coventry. If so... I apologise on behalf of any and all wrestlers who have stayed at your hotel

No, not Coventry. Various hotels in various cities in the States (Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, Denver, the cornfields of IL, the Florida panhandle and Orlando.

Oddly enough, I've actually had regular guests from one hotel show up years later at another hotel in another part of the country and we've recognized each other. One instance was particularly cool since I'd thought that she'd died of liver cancer but instead she'd had a successful transplant. Lovely lady.

Jan

 

[Rincewiend]

 

[Cali]

Rincewiend:

Summary of my crazy customers from yesterday:

Sunday 15th: the son of this father & son duo takes out a new contract + phone.

Monday 16th: father & son come into the store at approximately 11.30am. They wait in line until one of us is free (there were two of us on at this point).

Father and son approach area of the till/desk area where I am serving. Father dumps phone on desk in front of me, saying it's faulty and what are we going to do about it (no hello or anything. Just a demand). I ask what the problem is - it's not one that we can confirm in-store but all the same, if a phone is faulty/claimed to be faulty within the first 28 days we will happily do an exchange, but unfortunately we do not currently have that handset in stock in our store (he'd taken the last one yesterday and an exchange has to be for the same make/model of handset).

Options available after this suggestion: wait and see if we get one in our delivery this coming week (likely), see if a nearby store has one in stock (also likely). Option taken: neither. Not good enough. He wants to walk out with a fully-functioning phone.

We then suggest that we send that phone off for repair - a bit crap considering they've had it 24 hours but they refused our first suggestion. The customer would be entitled to a courtesy phone in the meantime. This isn't good enough either.

What follows is an hour of the father and son shouting, swearing and being very aggressive. To the point where I (and one of the other customers, who those of us who work at the shop know-ish and happily chat with if they pop in) thought he was going to hit the other guy who was on with me.

During this we ask the customer to please calm down or he'd have to leave. Several times. There are other customers in the shop (one of whom is pregnant! no unexpected births please). The customer says he won't leave unless the police ask him to (several times). Eventually we call the police who escort them out of the shop.

We had politely offered the customer all possible solutions, explaining each fully. He declined each, presumably expecting us to pull a working handset from thin air. My Manager who was in today said there was nothing else we could have done in his view.

 

[John Picard]

I am always courteous to support staff when I am a customer since it often leads to freebies, good deals, or some other type of service. When support staff become very apologetic due to a problem beyond their control, I ask if it should be preferred that I shout, scream, and stomp my feet in a rage. At this point, the staff quickly state that a hissy fit isn't necessary and we have a good chuckle, at which point they thank me for being so understanding, and I thank them, stating that I don't see how productive it is to throw a fit.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Working at a supermarket on St. Patrick's Day...I've been bracing myself for a lot of useless customer bullshit, but strangely enough I haven't received any. Yet.

 

[Unicron]

I prefer to go by Dogbert's two rules of management.

1. The customer is always right.
2. They must be punished for their arrogance!

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

Working at a supermarket on St. Patrick's Day...I've been bracing myself for a lot of useless customer bullshit, but strangely enough I haven't received any. Yet.

I'm afraid to ask, why is St Patrick's Day any different?

It's the leprechauns, isn't it?

 

[JAG]

Isn't it always the leprechauns isn't it?

 

[archeryguy1701]

My favorite ones are from my computer lab. When I either diagnose a problem, or am asked to help someone do something, people have a bad habit of arguing. They'll tell me that the problem isn't what I say it is or when I try to help them do something, they'll say that I'm doing it wrong. If they knew what the issue was or how to do whatever it is they need to do, then why do they need me?

My policy is that the customer is human: They can be right, but they are wrong as often, if not more often than, as they are right. And, to quote one of my friends, "Customer service without any customers would be awesome!"

 

[Outpost4]

It's simple. If the customer is always right, then those who are wrong must not be customers. Simply apply a different label to them and you're set.

Nice one, Lindley.

I worked for 30 years in retail, owning my own store for 21 of them. I've always thought the phrase should be, "The customer is always right, even when they are dead wrong." As a retailer, it was my job, whenever possible, to say YES, not NO. I rarely had problems with upset customers but when there is that one jerk a year (most years it was zero jerks), you give them their money back and make them get the fuck out of your store as fast as you can. If you want to, you can also tell them what you truly think of them and their attitude as they will never be a customer of yours, period. Somebody needs to tell them that their behavior is totally outside the limits of acceptability.

Cali, sounds like the father/son combo is exactly that situation. Most states, including Wisconsin, where I worked, have something like a 3 day rule, where any contract can be invalidated by either party within 3 days, no matter what. Take advantage of this rule and make this tag team go away.

If it's any consolation, I've always held onto the belief that all their friends and family think they are assholes, too.

 

[MANT!]

Working in my second job (Electronics Retail) I've had to "boot" 4 customers in 2 years..each started using profanity and making unreasonable demands.. So I have a speech ready "By law we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone and now I'm exercising that right..leave this store and don't bother to return or I will call the police."..They usually leave at that point..We are NEVER allowed to cuss when dealing with an unruly customer but we are not allowed to take verbal abuse from them as well...

 

[Outpost4]

Profanity doesn't work in retail, but especially with a customer that is using it first. You have to stay above the situation to have any hope of controlling it.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Working at a supermarket on St. Patrick's Day...I've been bracing myself for a lot of useless customer bullshit, but strangely enough I haven't received any. Yet.

I'm afraid to ask, why is St Patrick's Day any different?

It's the leprechauns, isn't it?

More like the underage pricks trying to buy booze and/or use bad credit cards.

 

[RoJoHen]

Working at a supermarket on St. Patrick's Day...I've been bracing myself for a lot of useless customer bullshit, but strangely enough I haven't received any. Yet.

I'm afraid to ask, why is St Patrick's Day any different?

It's the leprechauns, isn't it?

More like the underage pricks trying to buy booze and/or use bad credit cards.

Yeah, the liquor department is the only place I can see there being issues in a grocery store.

I know St. Patrick's Day sure wasn't anything special back when I worked in the Produce Department!

 

[captcalhoun]

customers are frequently pricks.

i once had a meltdown at a guy. he came in and asked for blue Rizla cigarette papers.

we hadn't got the normal sized ones, only the king-size. i assumed he wanted the normal size as most people do.

i told him we hadn't got any.

he said we did, as he looked over the counter.

i politely repeated we didn't. he then got assy and started shouting at my colleague who was just leaving that i was refusing to serve him and being rude. (which i wasn't)

i tried to politely point out i wasn't refusing to serve him. he then complained to the assistant manager and the AM came over to serve him and the guy THEN said he wanted the king-size papers. i politely said 'i didn't know you wanted them. you didn't specify and i assumed you wanted the normal ones.'

so he ranetd at me about me being rude and ignorant and being a cock and all sorts of BS.

so, i turned around and told him i didn't give a fuck about his opinion of me, i didn't give a fuck about him, my mother was in fucking hospital having fucking brain surgery and he should shut the hell up.

so, the AM calmly says, 'i think you should just take five minutes and calm down.'

i walked out the back and promptly burst in to tears.

all the stupid fucker had to do was say 'i want the king-size' and it all could've been avoided, but no, he had to be a prick about it.

i have still got the job, btw, the manager and AM were very understanding that i was a bit stressed at me mum's op and that the guy was being an a-hole.

 

[Trekker4747]

Or you could've said

we only have the king size

is that ok?

 

[RoJoHen]

Or you could've said

we only have the king size

is that ok?

Yeah...um...that's what I would have done, too.

 

[John Picard]

Or you could've said

we only have the king size

is that ok?

Going to have to agree with Captain Grumpy here. You were clearly in the wrong by assuming he wanted normal. Plus, he pointed out that you had the papers in stock.