Is the customer always right?

josip · 14-02-2014 11:45PM

guppy wrote: »

I was in a Swarovski shop a while ago buying a leaning gift for someone when an auld one came in screaming about something. The clerk dealing with her tried to tell her about the no return policy on earrings, but the customer screamed and screamed. The manager was helping me and exused herself to step in. In the end she authorised a full refund. I was not impressed at all.

Tldr, scream a lot, it works.

I wasn't there so I might be reading this wrong but it sounds to me like the manager did a good job as long as she explained to the clerk afterwards her reasons for allowing it.
In a place like a Swarovski shop you don't want to have a disgruntled customer scaring off other potential customers.
I once left a bike shop because while I was waiting there was a protracted dispute over a warranty because the other party had gotten it serviced 2 months late. It came across as petty and I decided I didn't want to deal with such an inflexible business, even if they were in the right according to their Ts&Cs.

Stained Class · 14-02-2014 11:48PM

guppy wrote: »

I was in a Swarovski shop a while ago buying a leaving gift for someone when an auld one came in screaming about something. The clerk dealing with her tried to tell her about the no return policy on earrings, but the customer screamed and screamed. The manager was helping me and exused herself to step in. In the end she authorised a full refund. I was not impressed at all.

Tldr, scream a lot, it works.

I hate this attitude.

The squeaky wheel gets the most oil theory.

Loads of people out there are pure arseholes cos they get away with it time after time.

I wouldn't put up with it from my own kids & I surely wouldn't put up with it a chancer from the street.

Technoprisoner · 14-02-2014 11:49PM

had an irrate customer the other day. He had ordered a part and came into to collect it. When we searched for the part it could not be found and he threw a wobbly... When we did a bit of probing it was discovered that the customer had ordered the part from another branch. Being polite while he had a rant we offered to have the part collected so he could pick it up in our branch. When we told him we could have it in 3 hours he started shouting about having someone waiting to fit the part. when i explained it was him who had ordered from the wrong branch he stormed off out of the shop and never came back

moral of the story is that sometimes the customer cant even phone the correct shop...and some can be just stuck up their own asses

Stained Class · 14-02-2014 11:57PM

tomwaterford wrote: »

WTF where do you work??

not a bouncer by any chance???

Ah no. I wouldn't be big enough for that.

I'm self employed.

Garden Centre. Some of them Pensioners can be very naughty.

Wander 'round the place & wonder why they can't take the stock out for free.:eek:

You question them & they tell you that they did something in the 'War'.

Still, you have to be cruel to be kind.;)

guppy · 15-02-2014 12:01AM

josip wrote: »

I wasn't there so I might be reading this wrong but it sounds to me like the manager did a good job as long as she explained to the clerk afterwards her reasons for allowing it.
In a place like a Swarovski shop you don't want to have a disgruntled customer scaring off other potential customers.
I once left a bike shop because while I was waiting there was a protracted dispute over a warranty because the other party had gotten it serviced 2 months late. It came across as petty and I decided I didn't want to deal with such an inflexible business, even if they were in the right according to their Ts&Cs.

I'm not great at explaining myself at the best of times!

No, the customer wanted to return pierced earrings, a complete no-no due to hygiene reasons. The clerk was standing her ground on it while the customer screamed in her face (the clerk was very professional about it).

The manager intervened in the nasty situation and was abused herself with intermittent cries of "I know my rights". Customer was offered a credit note, it wasn't good enough. After more screaming the manager just said "give her the refund" and returned to me, apologised and made the €200+ sale I was there for anyway.

It lowered swarovski's name in my mind as I love their jewellery and I trust them to do the right thing. That was not the right thing, it was proving to someone that screaming at sales staff works.

Fair play to you for sticking to your guns, that was a different situation. I've walked out of shops myself in the past due to pathetic customer service, once when I really, really wanted a specific ring as a birthday present but after 2 minutes standing waiting for attention from one of the two staff yapping to each other and ignoring us, I would rather have swallowed that money than give it to them.

bnt · 15-02-2014 12:45AM

Technology customers are the worst, they don't seem to get that they have a part to play in the effective use of whatever gadget they bought. It starts with buying the right device to do what you need to do. Some folks buy expensive stuff withouht knowing what it does and doesn't do.

If you buy a Ford Focus, you don't call Ford when you run out of petrol, or can't find your destination on the map, do you? Or threaten to send the car back to Ford because your garage is too small? Yet the same customers seem to lose all sense when faced with a bit of technology that they could understand if they opened their minds a little. :rolleyes:

martinedwards · 15-02-2014 08:50AM

I work in HMPO passport call centre.

the fastest you can renew a child's UK passport is 7 days.

I explained this repeatedly to a woman who had booked a holiday without checking if her kid's passports were valid (daft bat)

after about the 7th time (seriously!) she said she'd get her husband to call later.

certainly madam, but he'll get exactly the same answer............

when I worked in restaurants, the boss said the customer ISN'T always right, but you never win an argument with a customer.

wisdom.

bogwalrus · 15-02-2014 09:04AM

Two opinions. I used to own a shop and put up with all sorts of customers. I really do not like the fact that some people forget you are also a human and treat you like Crap. I think the customer is always right mentality feeds this division which is bad.

Second opinion is from a customer view. I had an altercation a few years ago with a garage. The garage wasted a few days of my time because they did not fix a few bits that I said in order to pass NCT so had to do test 3times. They were in no way apologetic or acknowledging it was their fault and wanted to charge for the third bit of service I needed. I demanded they did it for free as they had already cost me money.

So it is situations like this that make me realise shops just want your money so no point in trying to be friends but get the best deal you can even if it pisses someone off.

sawdoubters · 15-02-2014 09:19AM

I can see why your not in customer service

ted1 · 15-02-2014 09:46AM

Dad was a hotel manager in several up market hotels and the best advice he gave his staff was
" the customer should always feel that he is right, but seldom is actually right"

Santa Cruz · 15-02-2014 10:30AM

The customer is always right but don't let that stop you ripping him off as often as you can.

MonstaMash · 15-02-2014 10:49AM

krudler wrote: »

When I worked for hmv people would try haggle all the time, you'd scan whatever it was they were buying and give them the price and usually get "will ya take tu-wenty cash dere now?" Uhhh, no, it's 45 quid, regardless of how you pay. "ahhh ya can do bettur dan dat now so ya can" gtfo you cabbage smelling buffoon.

Shhh...loss prevention might hear

Cedrus · 15-02-2014 11:16AM

Going in to a high street shop and saying "I can get that cheaper on line,, in another shop,, etc." Is like going in to a nice restaurant and saying"I could get that steak for €3 in Lidl, why are you charging €25?".

Sod off and eat your steak in Lidl so.

Penny Tration · 15-02-2014 11:49AM

Whenever people try to haggle with me (i already give people discounts if they buy more than one item!), they always trot out the 'I can get it cheaper online' line.

I point out that our online store has one staff member, and no rent costs because the stock is held in another shop. Here, we have two staff, rent and electricity to pay. If that doesn't work, I say 'ok well go get it online so' with a smile. 9 times out of ten, they buy it from me.

Cupcake_Crisis · 15-02-2014 11:57AM

God no. From years working in retail, and from being a bit of a chancer of a customer myself I can assure you that the customer is wrong about 53% of the time.

zcorpian88 · 15-02-2014 12:10PM

That saying is just thrown at you on induction day, you make them believe they are always right is all, basically you just have to keep them sweet to the best of your ability until you see a manager in your sights, then it's his/her problem.

Worked in Dunnes Stores for 2 years, nothing aggravated me more than having to suck up to customers. Would rather go hungry than work for them again.

Really have no idea how I didn't punch any customers in the face!

miss no stars · 15-02-2014 12:11PM

martinedwards wrote: »

when I worked in restaurants, the boss said the customer ISN'T always right, but you never win an argument with a customer.

wisdom.

I worked in a restaurant and took the approach of the customer is always right and KILLED them with kindness. Was always very funny to see. They'd huff and puff about something not being right and I'd just say "Oh I'm so sorry, let me bring that back to the kitchen for you". Don't care if they actually forgot to ask for the sauce on the side, if you don't argue in a situation like that it's genuinely funny because they are so puffed up and red and angry and at a complete loss as to what to do without the argument.

Oh and haggling can work sometimes, but not in chains of high street shops.

dd972 · 15-02-2014 12:14PM

Friends, family and humanity in general are marvelous

Joe and Josephine Public are f**ing geebags. I've always envied people who have jobs where the nature of the work makes no demands on their personal space, Lorry Driver's or Tradespeople for example, sure they have their own bugbears but in comparison to being a 'grief monkey' for the public they seemingly have jobs where they go in, do their days graft and go home.

zcorpian88 · 15-02-2014 12:23PM

miss no stars wrote: »

Oh and haggling can work sometimes, but not in chains of high street shops.

Haggling is for the market place, never for High Street chains, one bellend came into me one day and talked to me like I was some stall owner in Baghdad, he wanted a pair of shoes that were typical cheap Dunnes Stores shoes, they were 16 euro. He wanted them for 10 euro. He insisted on them for ages before I asked for my manager to see would he let them off for 10 (which I knew he wouldn't) but he chucked the shoes in a basket beside my checkout and walked out in a huff.

This guy wasn't stuck for money either, f**kin snooty Brown Thomas head on him.

RogerWilco1982 · 15-02-2014 12:30PM

kneemos wrote: »

I pay your wages....don't forget.

Can I have a raise please?

borderlinemeath · 15-02-2014 12:32PM

I worked in retail for almost 2 decades. For most of that time I was in a manegerial position so had to deal with the worst of the worst people. I once had a customer returning something generic that her daughter had bought, claimed it was broken, had no receipt or proof of purchase and the item could just as easily have been bought in a supermarket/chemist/online and she gave out hell because I 'didn't believe her' and she was a 'god fearing, churchgoing, upstanding member of the community'. I told her if that was the case that she should go and say a prayer to St Anthony and the reciept might just turn up and if it was for my store I would deal with her then. I never saw her again.

And no matter how many times you tell people at the till, and show them the sign at the till, and that it's also written on the receipt, and online for both store and online purchases that if you break the plastic seal/hygienic cover on the item that IT CANNOT BE RETURNED - they don't listen and think they have 'rights'. You may as well talk to the wall as talk to some 'customers'

Femme_Fatale · 16-02-2014 06:58PM

Most certainly not.

elperello wrote: »

No the customer is not always right but he/she is always the customer.
If you can't get your head around that concept take a new path in employment.

Yes I'm sure they'll do so since you told them to. If a customer is behaving appallingly despite being helped in every way possible, there is no need for them to be licked up to. They can still be treated politely. And any customer who goes too far can be reprimanded. They are not of diminished responsibility for themselves and there are limits to what they can get away with.

Flutterby80 · 16-02-2014 07:55PM

I work in retail management so have to deal with difficult customers on a daily basis . This weekend alone I had a lady trying to return a rug she claimed was unused yet was covered in pet hair , human hair and bits of dirt. She actually couldn't believe that I was refusing her a refund and said she would "never shop here again"!! This is a threat that gets trotted out at least once a week!
Then I had another customer trying to return a Hoover complete with dirt because she had simply decided she didn't like it! I'm entitled to a refund within 30 days says she! It says so on my receipt! Yes but it also says that you must return the product unused in its original packaging! People can just be so thick and rude!! Also what makes them think that shouting and foul language will get them anywhere!?
Don't even get me started on how many junkies / shoplifters I had to hunt out of the shop this weekend also, time for a career change I think I'm getting burnt out from it!

Is the customer always right?

Comments