Praise for a customer!

AsknAnswer2

I can't be doing with shouting for shouting's sake. I'll deal with a customer who is frustrated with policies and displays agitation but is reasonable. It's perfectly understandable if this is the third time they've returned a product that they aren't falling over themsleves to be polite. I'll do whatever is within my ability to sort the problem.

I won't deal with the customer who shouts abuse from the outset, refuses to engage in a conversation about the problem (can't sort anything out when people scream over the top of you whenever you try to speak), takes exception to any question I need to ask to get to the bottom of things and generally deals only in aggression. They won't have their problem dealt with at all, unless they are prepared to speak to me civilly in the same manner that they expect me to speak to them.

Most people who initially display aggression will calm down and be civil when they realise you are more than willing to help if you are able to. Unfortunately a select few don't give you the opportunity to even deal with the problem because they won't stop to so much as draw a breath to allow you to speak and ask the questions which are often necessery to deal with the issue.

Don't even get me started on the ones who threaten with their solicitor because you had the nerve to ask if they have their receipt!

Freddie_Snowbits

That is absolutely disgusting OP, having an attitude like that. I mean, you should had at least waited until the customer had the heart to at least explain in the tone of ordering a drink off Brenda at the Dog and Duck at midnight.

I was just as gutted yesterday at my local Tesco, where the said product we had purchased on 22nd January 2010 packed in and had seen better days. Freda, the effervescent bottle blonde, and dumb with it, had not only kept the recipt. So off we trotted in our car, sorry, I smashed that up last week, but am again minded why never to buy a Vauxhall!, into Tesco and the assistant not only replaced said with same, but refunded difference as price had gone down during the intervening period.

Now Freda can tear into her pictures of Fred again, to her hearts contentment

Freddie_Snowbits

AsknAnswer2 wrote: »

I can't be doing with shouting for shouting's sake. I'll deal with a customer who is frustrated with policies and displays agitation but is reasonable.

As Freda did work in retail, I am alwyas minded of the USDAW campiagns.

Just bumped this in, as a minder again.
http://www.usdaw.org.uk/ourcampaigns/freedomfromfear.aspx

Malory

I think most customers are like her. Unfortunately, it's the loud, obnoxious ones who get the attention.

NGlady2

Absoloutly, I am a young woman, so I always tend to relate with a young member of staff, a bit of the whole "Urgh how busy is it in here today" starting chitter chatter really makes the member of staff a little bit happier, and generally if you have a problem to sort, because you've become 'friends' with that employee for a few minutes you manage to sort it out. I know it sounds really daft, but its a technique I learnt through dealing with customers at work.

HOWEVER I went into boots yesterday and my god I was peeved! One of those boots loyalty card things, I got a voucher from the machine. 1/3rd off bubble bath? Well she refused my radox BUBBLE bath because it said 'bath therepy' she wouldnt even allow me to calmly show her the back of the package - she literally wanted it to say 'BUBBLE BATH' on the packaging, really peed me off. BUT I still managed to mutter a thank you, and a please from it, because its not her fault she was badly trained.. is it?

rustyboy21

It's nice to see how consumers posting on this thread are agreeing that a bit of courtiousness when sorting out a problem,will get you far further to your expected outcome, than if you went in all guns blazing.

I have worked retail all my life, I now own my own shop. You naturally go out of your way to help 'nice' people and your natural defence mechanisms kick in when you have a screamer.

Age old adage... ' It's nice to be important... it's more important to be nice '

I treat staff, as I would wish to be treated. I have NEVER not got what I wanted. Perhaps this is down to me knowing, what I can get away with and what I can't. Something that a lot of the general public don't seem to acknowledge.

OP, You do know that there will be at least 3 forum members, who will be after you like a greyhound goes after the bait, now. Know the names, but I await their responses.

Normal things like.... ' It's your job etc ... I pay your wages...... retail staff are scum etc'

Good luck, We will try to help you out with them !

rustyboy21

Thought I would fill you in on an experience I had, which is 100% true, when I worked for a retailer 12 years ago.

I had a guy come into the shop one day, who had bought off the company a pebble, fuel effect gas fire, with a polished cast iron fascia which was in trend at the time, He was a supposedly ' friend' of the owner. He walked into the shop and started screaming that his pebbles had gone black ( normal if you run the fire wrong) and the front had gone blue instead of shiny chrome ( normal if you dont clean it often) I tried to placate him by saying I would get the fret cleaned for him, but he did need to do it in future, the pebbles will go black if you run the fire wrong. He wasnt happy with my offer, got me by the neck and hurled abuse at me, saying wants them swapping, with every other word starting with 'F'. The problem with me is when I am getting 'got at' I seem to have a smirk on my face, brought on by frustration, of not being able to placate his complaint.

Luckily for me the owners dad was in the shop, He was a former champion boxer, built like the proverbial ! He came out and got the guy off me. The guy left demanding that the owner be there at 4 o'clock that afternoon. I rang the boss, told him what happened and he needed to get his a**e down there at 4 pm.

Around 3 o'clock I was dealing with a lovely lady and we were looking at a fireplace in the front window, which fronted onto a busy main road. We heard a loud bang and thought something had fallen over, so thought nothing of it. The customer left. I went back into the window to see what happened and was met with a bullet hole in the window, which was at knee height with me ! To say I was shook up is an underestimation.

4 pm comes and the guy rolls up and enters the shop. He is kicking off bad style, looks like he was on drugs. Owners turn up, hubby and wife. Wife goes out to the guys car and starts talking to his wife to get her to calm him down, she refuses. End up with staff member calling police, saying about the bullet hole in window, 2 mins later armed police enter the shop, he starts having a go at them. Ends up he gets carted off and for 3 days afterwards, me and my staff had police escort home each night !

Maybe an extreme account, but having this is your memory, when dealing with irate customers, just reminds you of what can happen.

The guy didnt get his problem solved and didn't come back in again.

To me this shows that go in all guns blazing ( pardon the pun ) does not get you what you want to happen.

pimento

Blimey!!!!

caz2703

I was in Asda a couple of days ago and got chatting to the girl on the till about my impending new arrival (I think the wipes & nappies gave it away). I'd bought 2 bottles of lemonade which the SEL said was on offer at 2 for £2. One of the bottles however had the label printed with 2 for £1.50 but they only had one on the shelf. I figured if the till recognised the better off then great, otherwise I was still happy with the SEL offer. Turned out the bottle with the cheap offer wouldn't scan. I offered the girl the normal bottle but she insisted in getting a supervisor who promptly agreed that I should only get charged £1.50.

It was only 50p but the girl didn't have to go out of her way to ask and in fact I told her not to worry as there were customers behind me that I didn't want to hold up.

I think when everyone is nice and polite things get done quicker and better for all involved. I appreciate that I sometimes have my off days as do retail staff but on the whole I've had very good experiences and it's due to the fact that I too worked retail for a number of years and know where a good attitude can get you.

PhylPho

Azari wrote: »

And you're still alive?

(Yes, I know it was a typo but I couldn't resist.) Well done, BTW!

Oh, bums. Mrs P has always said that life is a crime scene, the more evidence you provide the more likely you're going to be convicted. As my post proves: guilty of being a p1llock. Yes, it was a typo, but that's no excuse. The 17lbs should've read 178lbs. Which I remember in tears seeing as how it's now 196lbs and all those size 34 waist jeans I bought don't fit. But I blame it on the scales.