One of the daily frustrations/joys of working in a Christian retail Environment, is working with the public.
Our customers come in different shapes, sizes, and ages, but they all either make you mad or make you laugh!! Here are two situations involving customers this week that either made me laugh or made me mad:
SITUATION A: a male, single, late forties youth/childrens full time worker that I know quite well...
(phone rings and Jm answers) "Good morning, (company name) John-Mark speaking?" (Customer) "Hi can I order _________ please?"
(Jm) "Certainly, we actually have a copy in, can I put it aside for you?"
(Customer) "yeh, ok brilliant thanks!"
(Jm) "Ok, could I take your name and address please?"
(Customer) "yes, it's blah blah blah blah" (gives address details etc)
(Jm) "Ok, could I take a contact number please?"
(Customer) "yeh it's blah blah blah, and if you know any attractive young unmarried ladies, feel free to pass it on thanks!!"
(Jm) (laughing) "Ok, no problem!!"
SITUATION B: an early to mid fifties lady approaches the counter with two identical CD's...
(Customer) (smiling) "we have a mystery here I'd like you to sort out!"
(Jm) "Ok, I'll try!" (also smiling)
(Customer) "well, both these cd's have different prices, what's going on? Could you explain?"
(Jm) "Ok, no probs, let me check for you" (turns around to stock database on computer and does a price check on said CD)
(Jm) "right ok... apparently the price should be £7.99 but we've made a mistake on one of them and priced it at £3.99! I'm willing to honour the one priced at £3.99 but I'll have to charge you the normal price for the correctly priced one..."
(Customer) (smile fades instantly) "But I want them both at £3.99!!"
(Jm) (still trying to smile politely) "I understand, but the £3.99 prices is a mistake, but as I said I'm willing to honour that..."
(Customer) (frowning now and in a strop) "That's not right!! You shouldn't be selling two identical things at a different price, I'm not paying £7.99 for one of them!!"
(Jm) (trying to maintain smile but feeling a bit annoyed that the customer is not listening to a word he's saying) "as I mentioned madam it was a mistake in pricing. But I'm willing to honour the wrongly priced one..." (still trying to maintain a polite smile but inside is fuming)
(Customer) "Well that's not good enough!!" (goes off in a strop)
(Jm) (quietly fuming and wanting to climb the other side of the counter and throttle the life out of said ungrateful lady, but still maintaining a smile) "Ok, I'm sorry we can't do that, thank you bye!"
Customers...
What can I say!!
*shrugs*
Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii yi yi. How well I remember customers in Wal-Mart. :o Especially the ones who expect YOU the cashier to know all the in's and out's of why something is priced as it is and why you don't stock their favorite products anymore and why the Wal-Mart in Canada will take her item back but the Wal-Mart in Waterville Maine won't. Grrrr. lol
ReplyDeleteOnly with me they usually demanded to see a manager. LOL
Still, what I hated more than the meanies were the ones who either thought they were being funny and weren't, or the ones who said inappropriate things. :o
It's customers like your second example that make me wonder why I work in retail! Unfortunately the first example of a customer don't come around that often, for me anyway!
ReplyDeletePerhaps you could have told her that the more expensive one had been spared being exposed to a damaging experience ... being handled by ungrateful clients.
ReplyDelete