unreasonable customers

johnson1

Are you or have you ever been an unreasonable customer ?
I apologize if this has been brought up before but i couldn't see it anywhere. and also its a bit of a rant

Anyway ... I have worked in retail for several years now in several different areas and I have always had angry customers up and down and accept that it is part of my role to deal with it. As a reasonable person I can often see and agree with the customers point of view and do everything i can to help. However some people are just incredible ! They storm in on a mission and shout and roar at you and basically treat you like sh!t.
Every company will have a set of rules or policies that they follow and the days of the local stores with the owner behind the counter are gone and most people in stores now never even see the owners. So they have to follow those procedures/policies, however harsh they may seem to the customer they have always in my experience followed the law.

So here's the latest example.
I recently had a customer in store who's product was faulty and on the day after they bought it they returned it. I apologized for the inconvenience and offered a replacement or a full refund. Not satisfied with this they demanded to speak to a manager, when i informed them i was the manager they then said well i have lost a days work because of this and I want compensation !!!! I thought this was a bit unreasonable but I said "ok i can understand your position but as I have no way to facilitate your request in store i will have to contact my head office about your claim but as it is a saturday i can't do this until monday. I will still give you a refund now and follow up on monday" Nope this wasn't good enough and they insisted on staying in the store until they had "satisfaction" ! Now at this stage they were shouting and being aggressive and were also on the phone to somebody misquoting me and after they hung up he started to tell my customers not to buy from me as i would "rip them off" and "lie to them" I repeated myself several times but they weren't having it and in the end i had to ask them to leave and eventually had to threaten to call the police...

I mean fcuk sake they could have been in and out in 10mins with a refund or replacement but instead had to make a big deal out it for an hour and upset my staff and customers. And thats just the most recent example.

What is the thinking here ? Have you ever done something similar ? Is it that shop assistants are just seen as sh!t and we are there to serve you no matter how ridiculous the demand ?

LolaDub

I think you'll find that people go into a store expecting poor customer service and think that the louder they shout and the more trouble they cause for you the more you will give them in compensation. If i returned a faulty product to a store i would expect a replacement or a refund. Shops are open 7 days a week now and a faulty product can be brought back at any time so there is no necessity to take time off work.

Recently i was to have a technician to my home to fix my lap top, i was told he would be here on one day-didn't show, another day- didn't show then he came the third time and was able to show me he had received notice of my problem 2 hours before. So i had to take 3 days off in one week because they wouldn't tell me the right day, in this case i wrote to them saying i should receive 2 days wages but i sincerely doubt they will give it to me.

There is a huge difference in how you are treated. If i'm treated with professionalism, efficiency and courtesy i'm happy with what i'm entitled to as most people are. If i am misled, messed about, and treated badly i expect more. I think a lot of people feel that way. But some people are never happy!

foggy_lad

i think that person was just an ignorant sh1t who was so blinded by the fear of being ripped off they did not see the fantastic offer which was made to call head office etc who would probably have made a nice and most likely costly gesture.

had problem in local superquinn a while ago with a larg food order which was not ready for collection, the manager rang head office and arranged a substantial discount then personally delivered the goods along with a bottle of champers. it pays to keep your eyes and ears open when dealing with a problem or making a complaint!

also Well done on remaining calm in the situation

Guy:Incognito

johnson1 wrote: »

have you ever been an unreasonable customer

Cant imagine anyone relying to that one. Main reason being, most of those fools actually believe they are in the right.

Cabaal

Stekelly wrote: »

Cant imagine anyone relying to that one. Main reason being, most of those fools actually believe they are in the right.

Agreed, alot of muppets out there that think they can charge for the time it had to take to return an item or some bollox like that.

Its sad that many people often do get what they want when they shout.

Sam Vimes

Cabaal wrote: »

Agreed, alot of muppets out there that think they can charge for the time it had to take to return an item or some bollox like that.

Its sad that many people often do get what they want when they shout.

qft. The worst thing i found was, i would tell the customer our policy and they would scream and shout and rant but i would stand firm. They'd insist to speak to the manager and i'd say that he couldn't do anything about it and they'd have to talk to our customer care but they'd say the same thing. I'd call customer care for them and the c*nts would do what they wanted, making me look like an idiot for following the policy. Companies, if you have a policy, FOLLOW IT!!!!

axer

Cabaal wrote: »

Agreed, alot of muppets out there that think they can charge for the time it had to take to return an item or some bollox like that.

Its sad that many people often do get what they want when they shout.

Couldn't agree more

Sam Vimes wrote: »

Companies, if you have a policy, FOLLOW IT!!!!

Just because it is policy doesn't mean it does not attempt to limit the rights of consumers. The problem is that a large portion of consumers have no idea of their rights and often think they are entitled to something that they are not as in the example provided by the OP above whereby the person thought he/she should be compensated for having to return to the shop.

OP: It all boils down to ignorance of their rights and believing that silly saying "the customer is always right". Many people see businesses as evil entities out to rip everyone off and thus have no problems trying to get as much out of them as possible even when they know that they themselves are in the wrong so they scream louder. What they don't see is that the person behind the counter is also a consumer and a human being working in a job just as the consumer in question probably is thus should be treated with the same respect as they would like to be treated in their job.

I would have called security sooner and if no security then the gardai. The issue was dealt with if they want to take it further they can bring the company to the small claims court.

mikemac

“I know my rights! Did you need a college degree to get your ****ty customer service job?” said the housewife sneering to the law student working part-time in a shop :rolleyes:

I’ll also add (maybe a stereotype) in my experience the worst offenders for abusing staff are middle-class well-to-do, middle aged women.
Men are usually far easier to deal with.

the_syco

I find once they start asking for compo for something beyond your control, it's cos they're a leech, and not cos they deserve compo. They then become loud and demand money, thinking they'll get it.

Cabaal

Sam Vimes wrote: »

qft. The worst thing i found was, i would tell the customer our policy and they would scream and shout and rant but i would stand firm. They'd insist to speak to the manager and i'd say that he couldn't do anything about it and they'd have to talk to our customer care but they'd say the same thing. I'd call customer care for them and the c*nts would do what they wanted, making me look like an idiot for following the policy. Companies, if you have a policy, FOLLOW IT!!!!

ah I've seen that happen alright, tis ****e we people don't back you up alright

As for the whole manager and taking it further, in 99% of cases it doesn't go further then me :pac::pac:

As for the most fun people to deal with, I find Doctors are especially fun as they seem to believe they deserve more compensation or benefits then any others...least in my experience

johnson1

ye the idea of me standing my ground and following proceedures only for head office to completely give in and make me look like an idiot and worst of all confirm the customers thought that they were right all along and i was talking rubbish is a problem in my work place.

As has been said already the louder they get the more they think they will recieve, it's like the idea of someone not understanding your language so instead of slowing down and using rational thought they just shout it louder!!

As for the idea that men are better I don't know it's seems pretty even although I would definatly agree that doctors have this opinion of themeselves that i should be glad just to bask in their glow its hilarious sometimes. Solicitors as well with all sorts of leagal action threatened. I recently recieved a solicitors letter saying that the client "put the device in to their pocket and when later they took it out the screen had devloped a large crack of it's own accord" I mean come on lads the thing was obviously sat on and not cracked but smashed (it was with the letter)...

Most times though it's fine and can even be funny but it's those few that really go too far and become aggressive that get me..

The reason i ask if anyone has been an unreasonable customer is because i couln't imagine ever being as bad as some are, and would have to assume that they have a bigger problem in their life and are just off-loading onto shop assistants. It's free and easy and they know they won't get in trouble and sometimes they are even rewarded. It's probably theraputic

Cabaal

From dealing with customers over the years I've learned the following:
- Keep your complaint logical
- Stick to facts
- Keep calm because if you piss of the person you'll get their back up and they'll be less likely to sort things for you.

I've had to complain to the likes of Three and BT over the years and with Three I did very well as I outlined on my blog at the time - http://www.cabaal.org/log/2006/11/threes-unlocking-joke-pt-i.html

I won't complain for no valid reason at the end of the day and I'll also give credit where its due,

jor el

johnson1 wrote: »

Now at this stage they were shouting and being aggressive and were also on the phone to somebody misquoting me and after they hung up he started to tell my customers not to buy from me as i would "rip them off" and "lie to them"

Some people are just assholes. You should put the CCTV footage on Youtube, that'd be a good laugh.

the_syco wrote: »

I find once they start asking for compo for something beyond your control, it's cos they're a leech, and not cos they deserve compo. They then become loud and demand money, thinking they'll get it.

It's possible that this often works. Make enough noise and they'll pay you to go away.

foggy_lad

johnson1 wrote: »

Every company will have a set of rules or policies that they follow and the days of the local stores with the owner behind the counter are gone and most people in stores now never even see the owners. So they have to follow those procedures/policies, however harsh they may seem to the customer they have always in my experience followed the law.

the sad thing is that many companies do not follow the law

they try to water down customers rights with signs proclaiming "no refunds" or "credit notes only given, no cash refunds" and blatently telling customers that they MUST contact the manufacturer for repairs when goods are faulty due to defects or poor workmanship or them not being fit for use/purpose in the first place,

this is especially relevant for electrical goods which should be under warranty for 12months from date of purchase. this warranty is with the seller/retailer but they often try to pass on their responsibilities to the manufacturer often making it much more awkward and costly for the consumer to get redress

Kintarō Hattori

One thing you learn after having worked in retail is that people are idiots. I'm sorry to say it, but it's true.

Corruptedmorals

Ughh, the amount of people who cannot accept that the shop is closing, that the fitting rooms are closed 10 minutes before the shop does, that underwear cannot be refunded/exchanged/tried on (duhh!), that only the customer service desk can do refunds, that I cannot give €100 cashback 5 minutes after I opened my till...people who scream in my face for something that is NOT my fault.

I'm often in shock that someone can actually be that rude/aggressive/completely unreasonable, but there's a much higher proportion of nice, reasonable customers so I don't actually hate my job.

axer

Corruptedmorals wrote: »

that underwear cannot be refunded/exchanged

unless the underwear is faulty of course.

mcaul

I had a sign in Special Days in Liffey Valley saying that any threats to a member of staff would be considered as an assault and a garda reprt would be made. We also informed customers that voice recording was in palce at the till area.

It worked a treat and it was no idle policy - we had 2 people charged with threatening behaviour. Both apologised profusely!

Staff play a part - a smile and a laugh can diffuse most situations.

For really unreasonable customers - just show them the door -let them talk to jooooooeee duffffyyyyy and let them tell their friends - their friends know what they're like and JD won't entertain them.

Oh God. I hate unreasonable customers. There's been so so many over the past 2 1/2 years I've been working there;

A woman who was stopped bringing her own popcorn into the cinema. It's against our policy - you wouldn't be bringing a supermacs pizza into a restaurant. A member of staff told her it was against policy, she just carried on walking. A manager happened to be there and told her the same thing. The woman proceeded to throw the bags of popcorn at the manager (hitting her) before storming off.

Or the gentleman who almost got into a scrap with a member of staff, after the staff member stopped him going into a movie he didn't buy a ticket for. I was there and the staff member was not aggressive in any way.

Or the teenage brats who tried to headbutt a manager after he caught them stealing a lot of sweets.

I have made many requests to management asking for signs up saying that verbal or physical abuse towards staff shall not be tolerated, but they just wont do it.

Nody

Worst I've got to deal with is a death threat where the guy said he was going to come over with a shot gun and kill us all when we refused him a refund.

I've also had another guy spend 15 minutes explaining to one person in a team I managed that the reason his service was not working was because of some very explicit descriptions of male on male sex in our office. After he had spent 15 minutes doing this he offered 1000 euro if we would fix it directly (because ya know we where breaking his service because of our excessive male sex behaviours in the office or something, not like there was an ACTUAL problem...).

LolaDub

I saw a girl trying to return shoes in foot locker once and the manager made her cry!

To be honest i think it was the manager in that case was unreasonable, she felt they were faulty and he started shouting at her.

waves

I run my own business but I've learned not to take sh1t from any customers now. I handle complaints efficiently and I take complaints seriously.

The rude ones though, if they have been extremely ignorant, I tell to eff off. Sorry, but I'm doing my best to get on with things, things are busy and people are being unreasonable. It gets to the stage where you can't reason any further with them and a swift, "how about this mate : go f*** yourself" usually shocks them into silence.

These are people I don't want to do business with. THey are few and far between but take up so much time and energy that they're not worth the hassle.

They don't realise that I run the business - I am on the front line - and it's like they view me as below them.
I would never treat a worker like that.

JohnC.

We had someone buy some meat and, by her own admission, she simply didn't bother to use it before it went out of date. She brought it back steadfastly demanding a refund.

Or the epileptic guy who had a seizure on the stairs. Actually on the first step off the ground. He wanted compensation for falling on the stairs, like it was our fault he had a seizure there. He was even bringing it to court, but I don't know if anything happened with that.

People in the off licence get a hard time too if they have to refuse someone who could be underage and have no ID. Even death threats.

Too many (I'm not saying the majority) are just generally unpleasant. It is a pleasure to deal with someone who is reasonable and nice. They are happier. I am happier. Everyone wins.

Garth

from my years in retail, I can tell you this

1. those who shout are never right and I don't care if they are.

2. people who know their rights don't need to threaten people to have their rights respected.

3. I have always had "wiggle room". Nobody who has raised his/her voice to me has ever benefitted from it.

If you have a problem in a shop

1. Know (research if necessary) your rights (your mates down the pub are not the best source)
2. Complain promptly and appropriately. Take a name and make clear what resolution you would be happy with, and a reasonable time line. Be prepared to adjust this if it turns out your timeline isn't reasonable.
3. If they say they'll ring you back in 24 hours, wait 48 before you ring back.
4. When you've had enough and given them every chance to resolve the issue, escalate the complaint. If the head office/area manager/whatever won't help, take your case to small claims.

There is no need or excuse for aggressive or threatening behaviour, ever.

ScouseMouse

I have customers demanding that the bread on the shelf from yesterday is not fresh and demand I have it returned to the supplier. Even though it has another three days left on it. They are in your face DEMANDING you remove it from sale.

I have some ladies attacking me over everything from dates, to prices and even stock availability. They have no idea of the problems for new startup companies, cash flow, wage bills etc etc. They then complain to your head office not realising that a freehold business is the head office. Franchises dont necessarily answer to a group head office. Then they get the hump when you have had enough and ask them to shop elsewhere.

Murt10

Deleted User wrote: »

A woman who was stopped bringing her own popcorn into the cinema. It's against our policy - you wouldn't be bringing a supermacs pizza into a restaurant. A member of staff told her it was against policy, she just carried on walking. A manager happened to be there and told her the same thing. The woman proceeded to throw the bags of popcorn at the manager (hitting her) before storming off.

The woman had paid her entrance fee to the cinema for admission to see the film. That was all she wanted and paid for. She didn't want to be ripped off by buying your overpriced popcorn or sweets. Why should she? You do what you want with your policy, it's nothing to do with her. She just wanted to see a film that she had paid good money for.

The comparison you are making about binging food to a restaurant is unreasonable and not a valid comparison as you are not comparing like with like. You are working in a cimema not a restaurant.

IMO, ignoring the muppet who tried to stop her going in with her own personal posessions is quite reasonable behaviour. Why should she get involved in a debate/argument with someone who she didn't feel like talking to, especially when that person wanted to stop her doing something that she felt she was entitled to do and was also going to save her money.

Maybe throwing the popcorn at the manager was a bit OTT, but then again, we wern't there and we don't know how the manager behaved towards her. The manager may have been quite agressive (I don't know) and should think herself lucky it wasn't tins of coke and 7 up that the woman was bringing in.

Next time, if she is not recognised/barred, I'm sure she will bring her goodies to the film in a bag.

the_syco

Murt10 wrote: »

The woman had paid her entrance fee to the cinema for admission to see the film. That was all she wanted and paid for. She didn't want to be ripped off by buying your overpriced popcorn or sweets. Why should she? You do what you want with your policy, it's nothing to do with her.

What age are you? 12? The cinema gets f**k all money from the ticket price, and makes all it's money on the food sold, which is why it's policy for patrons to be allowed only eat in the cinema what they bought in the cinema.

stepbar

For me working in a bank brings a fair share of contrary cnuts. A collegue of mine had a customer who wanted to invest 50k. She ran through the options and mentioned that we offer a fixed rate of 8% on a certain product over 18 months. Anyhow the customer proceeded to question why it was only over 18 months. As far as he was concerned he could get 8% elsewhere for a year. After lots of tooing and frooing the conversation ended something like this - "Well good luck with that, I hope you get what you are looking for" and she walked off.

Another collegue of mine asked a customer to provide ID and Proof of Address to open a deposit a/c (in line with regulation), wasn't happy that she had to do same and wanted to speak to a manager. She proceeded to do so and walked off without saying too much constructive (in fact it was more of a case that she was introduced to manager said something and walked off after insisting that she wanted to talk to a manager in the first place). In some cases you just have to let customer off and just not entertain them because their more hassle then it's worth.

Sam Vimes

the_syco wrote: »

What age are you? 12? The cinema gets f**k all money from the ticket price, and makes all it's money on the food sold, which is why it's policy for patrons to be allowed only eat in the cinema what they bought in the cinema.

exactly. All places that serve food have a policy that only food bought on the premises can be consumed on the premises. She can "feel" she's entitled to a complimentary back rub but that doesn't mean she is

Malmedicine

micmclo wrote: »

“I know my rights! Did you need a college degree to get your ****ty customer service job?” said the housewife sneering to the law student working part-time in a shop :rolleyes:

QUOTE]

Ha brilliant mine was, "Oh look if it isn't Mr. Spar Manager, awh you've achieved so much ,Mr. Spar with your life. Manager in Spar your Mum must be so proud. Wanker!" So said 17 year old kid (who I stopped one of the staff serving alcohol to as he was about to take money of him) to me in the pub afterwork. The next day at work, kid's mother came in and gave out to owner that the kid had been refused and embarassed in front of HIS friends.

Murt10

the_syco wrote: »

The cinema gets f**k all money from the ticket price, and makes all it's money on the food sold, which is why it's policy for patrons to be allowed only eat in the cinema what they bought in the cinema.

That's their problem, nothing to do with me. I don't owe them a living, I don't owe them anything. I paid E11.00 plus CC handling fee the last time I went to the cinema. Are you seriously saying that they didn't make anything out of that?

I have no problem paying the amount requested for what I want from the supplier of the product I want to consume (in this case film at a cinema). I reserve the right to buy other products cheaper somewhere else.

It is my policy to take whatever sweets I want with me and to avoid being ripped off wherever possible.