I've got one of those things on my mind today that, the more you sit and think about it, the more irritating it becomes.
That whole thing about the customer always being right? That's BS. All that's done is launch a whole subculture of people who are rude to waiters, customer service reps, and anyone else doing them a service.
What's got me thinking about this are the calls The Boy One and The Blonde One take during the day. The Blonde One had a woman on the phone this morning screaming at her because she didn't like the way her contract was set up. In theory here, I think that maybe you should read a contract before you sign it. Also, I'm pretty sure The Blonde One had nothing to do with that contract, so why don't you shut up and behave like the adult you are supposed to be.
It all reminds me of when I was working for a newspaper. For whatever reason, the editor had it in their head that whenever someone with a complaint called or e-mailed or came in, we were supposed to take their abuse and give them what they wanted.
No, I'm sorry. No. If the pollicy clearly states that engagement announcements must be received a month before the wedding in order to make sure there's time to run it before the actual day, don't come to me on a Thursday while I'm putting together Friday's newspaper and tell me that this engagement HAS TO RUN in the next day's paper, because the wedding is on Saturday. I'm sorry, no. I'm not going to do it. (Well, I did when the editor made me.) But really? There are rules for a reason. These are not optional.
Another thing that always got me was the obituary page. I understand that you can't plan for someone dying, but you CAN wait for the next issue of the paper to get the obituary in if the person doesn't die in time for you to make the 4 o'clock deadline. I don't understand the purpose of having a deadline if I'm going to be told to put in everyone that comes in AFTER said deadline.
I lost my train of thought for this post. Point being, if it's your own fault for being stupid, don't blame the person you call to try to help you.
This is why Yankee Candle's 100 percent customer satisfaction guarantee is a pain. Because in our company, the customer really is always right. People can pretty much demand whatever they want to in our store, and we basically have to give it to them because "The guest is most important, and we must keep them happy!"
ReplyDeleteIt creates some seriously frustrating customers, because they know they can get what they want if they get agitated and demanding. I definitely agree with you about the said emerging subculture of rude people. How hard is it to treat people with respect?
Ah, the joys of retail.