The Customer's Always Right

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2003-01-13 03:26am

Damn...a customer just asked me to hurry up because she was parked illegally in a handicapped spot, and she didn't want a ticket.
So, of course, I gave her a smile, an understanding look, and I quickly finished her transaction, sending her on her way. I even told her to have a nice day. She hopped in her SUV and drove the wrong way out of the parking lot.

The entire time that this was happening, my mind was screaming "BITCH!!!"

But there was nothing I could do, right? This isn't the first time this kind of shit has happened, but it was the most recent.
I wonder, should I have done anything different? I could have moved really slowly...I could even have cussed her out, and I wouldn't have gotten fired...but it certainly wouldn't have been good.
Do any of you think (seriously) that I should put my professional sensibilities aside in such cases of extreme customer stupidity? Is the customer always right?

Falkenhorst · Post by **Falkenhorst** » 2003-01-13 03:59am

Is the customer always right?

Considering that I've worked in a grocery store for 4 years, I should know. My answer to your above question is a solid FUCK NO!

A large percentage of customers, maybe even 25-30%, are blindly fucking stupid. I have seen people walk up to automatic doors that only open to exit and stand there going DUH while not noticing the EXIT ONLY written on them in 10" red letters.

People walk up to me while I'm working, and ask me, "Excuse me, sir, do you know where the bathrooms are?" Well yeah, you dumb fucks, I only use them 2x a day.

What really pisses me off is people who park in the fire lanes. Some dipshit did that today while I was pushing carts. He sat there reading his newspaper for 10 minutes while I pushed carts past him. I got sick of it, so I moved a big "NO PARKING, FIRE LANE" sign over to the curb next to his car and pointed it so it was facing right at him, and he STILL DIDN'T MOVE!

People let their kids ride on the bottoms of carts, blissfully unaware that they could get seriously hurt, and get pissed off at us workers when we mention it to em.

The other night, a dad and his daughter and son came out of the store while I was pushing carts. She was throwing snowballs at her brother, and I told her she shouldn't throw snowballs in the parking lot, because she could hit and possibly damage other peoples' cars, and then they would come after the store for it. Of course, the dad gets all bitchy and gets in my face, so I just slagged him off and walked away.

I think there's something about stores that makes customers become blithering idiots.

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2003-01-13 04:08am

Falkenhorst wrote:I think there's something about stores that makes customers become blithering idiots.

Tell me about it. But for some reason I have a hard time being rude to customers...which is strange, because when I'm not on the job, I'm rude to whomever I damn please.
I mean, my job title is "Customer Service Representative" ... I guess it just wouldn't do for me to tell the customers off. But it's just so hard, when I constantly get questions like, "Why do they put those stupid black bars at the top and bottom of the screen?" or "Which would you recommend between 'Bad Company' and 'Undisputed'?"

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2003-01-13 04:38am

I get the fun one of tell folks

No, You've had enough!

Get's real fun when it's my boss' boss on his day off.

EmperorMing · Post by **EmperorMing** » 2003-01-13 05:50am

I know the feeling. As I work on a helpdesk, you can already tell I deal with dipshits on a daily basis.

Coaan · Post by **Coaan** » 2003-01-13 08:01am

While the customer is at your desk and your boss is somewhere nearby waiting like the ever watchful Raven to take it's next victim into the halls of death......I'd say the customer is always right.

When they leave your area or the store then FUCK THEM!, they aren't your problem anymore

Post by **Lagmonster** » 2003-01-13 08:28am

I actively encourage anyone in any position to take whatever steps they feel necessary to correct people who are being dumb. You don't necessarily have to personally punish them (except in cases where they are being more illegal than just stupid), but you should at least point out that they're doing something unintelligent.

Public embarrassment leaves a LONG and LASTING mark on people. If they get humiliated once for doing something, there's a decent chance they won't try it again too soon.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-01-13 08:36am

Tell me about it, I did two weeks work experience at McDonalds during high school. Mein gott, how dense can people get?! Reversing BACK UP the drive-thru lane to my counter to complain that the chicken nuggets were too hot. WTF? You've got an overgrown cakehole for blowing as well as bitching, use it!

Post by **Mr Bean** » 2003-01-13 09:07am

Next time say

"Oh you did did you? That your car? Well I'll just add the $500 fine onto your bill here and we will mail you the ticket in 2-6 Weeks"

What you did not know we could do that? Oh we report every asshole like you who steals handcaped spaces at the end of the day, Lucky for you the minium fine just got steped up two weeks ago

Who cares if you loose your job? The look would be worth it

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2003-01-13 09:14am

My "customers" are nurses and/or doctors. No matter whether the problem is their fault or what they want is just plain stupid I always get nailed with the "blah blah blah it's for the patient or the good of the paitent". Although, the good of the patient is never enough for them to walk a little further, do a little preplanning, get OFF THEIR FAT ASSES AND STOP GRAZING ON FOOD WHILE THEY PLAY COMPUTER GAMES, but it's always important enough for me to have to drop the actual work I'm doing and run to the other side of the hospital.

So I don't think the customer is always right.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2003-01-13 09:56am

Robert Treder wrote:Is the customer always right?

Hell No! In my retail days I had some real assholes to deal with. I just stood firm and stuck to my guns.

And believe me, there were some phsycos. This one fat bearded (I mean Licoln-esque beard) lady was always rude, obnoxious and a hateful bitch. One day after she had been prevented from illegally parking in a handicapped space she tried to run down one of our cart boys. I was on duty out there and I saw her taking off with the cops in pursuit.

One of the most rewarding experiences of the job was turning a child abuser over to security. The matter eventually went to court and they took the kids away from the crackhead-bitch of mother.

ArthurDent · Post by **ArthurDent** » 2003-01-13 11:14am

No, customers are not always right.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2003-01-13 11:25am

Having worked in retails in my distant past (THANK GOD Tha's over) I can firmly say that anyone who has extensive experience with the general public will quickly realize something...people are retarded. Seriously, the vast mass of people are simpletons, lazy and moronic.

I used to work at Barnes & Noble and the experience has left me scarred for life. Mind you I worked in the Medical dept. so my cleintelle was mostly doctors, nurses, etc. They were fucking idiots, books are aplhabetical by author...it might as well have been in greek for these people. Add to that the growing majority of these people are immigrants and you have a recipe for disaster.

I see it this way, if you don't know the alpabet in English...YOU SHOULDN"T BE A DOCTOR. But I digress...

Then of course you add the natural rudeness of these people, they really do feel like they are God's gift and you're this lowly clerk. Oddly enough my experineces with Med students were by and Large positive, something must happen in med school that twists them into these arrogant prick bastards.

The customer is certainly never right and I feel for any person working retail. Ever since my experiences in retail I always endeavor to be extra polite to the clerks and more importantly I PUT SHIT BACK WHERE IT BELONGS.

BTW: Let's all recognize another fact, there are ALOT of lazy clerks out there, so I'm sure that there can be a thread started on the lousy customer service thats out there these days.

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2003-01-13 11:26am

To hereby announce the motto German sales personnel has enshrined:
"The customer's king, but *I* am Emperor."

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2003-01-13 11:29am

"The customer's a fucking idiot until proven otherwise" - The shop mechanics' motto at the bicycle shop I work at.

We have so many asshole customers that we don't bother being nice to them anymore. We've told off customers, mocked their intelligence, and thrown them out of our store. We've decided that it's not worth it to deal with these jackasses, sure we might make a few bucks off them but it's not worth the aggravation, we just send them on their way for some other place to deal with.

The mechanics in our store each have at least 5 years experience working on bicycles for a living, and we're walking encyclopedias on bikes. When customers start lying and bullshitting us we can smell it from a mile away, and we're not shy at all in telling them that they're full of shit. A wheel does not fold itself into a pretzel shape when you're "just riding along", especially when the rim is dented in from an impact with a curb or rock. Liars who claim so get nailed with increased service fees for being assholes assuming we don't mock them and kick them out of the store.

I also love the fuckers who claim to be "going on vacation" to get a faster turn around time on repairs. What kind of dumbass gets his bike serviced the day before he leaves for a trip to Europe? It leads to 2 conclusions, 1)he's full of shit, or 2)he's a fucking retard, and either way he's getting in line behind the other folks.

There's so much more I could rant on but you get the idea. Our shop has the luxury of choosing customers to a certain extent, and I'm damn glad I have powers over the customers.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2003-01-13 11:40am

Customer always being right....BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

No

A small piece of advice, for EB...take up the dumb policy...only reason I recommend this is because honestly they fuck around with their stuff. I should know I was a manager for 4 years and hell...you'd be amazed how badly kept some junk was.(well for the DC area...I worked in Pentagon and PG county stores...and jeebus)

As for customers...morons, until proven otherwise. Too many idiots and assholes thinking they are the all knowing all seeing vs the half the times moronic cashier. Hell the reason I hated being n the register was because some geek fanboy who quote when some magazine said such and such game was coming out(which have those companies are so goddamn notorious that usualy they never came out within a Month of the supposed release date) and think I was hiding it from him. The rest of the people are usually sheep who don't understand don't ask for another person PERSONAL opinion. Then again labels meant more than substance, given some of the crap that was sold.

All in all the customer unless somehow being intelligent is 90% not right because they don't even know what they want.

InnerBrat · Post by **InnerBrat** » 2003-01-13 12:07pm

Oooh, parking in disabled spaces in one of my pet peeves - It's one of the most bloody minded inconsiderate things a driver can do.

I would have done the transaction quickly - for the benefit of anyone needing the space, but at the same time made sure she knew what a bitch I thought she was. OK, you lose one customer, but that cow can drive further...

Larz · Post by **Larz** » 2003-01-13 12:24pm

Customers loose 50 IQ points whenever they become customers without a clue. Some points made by work experience...

- People who park in our outside bays, not in them where we can work on the cars, no, across 2 to 3 bays of work space. Customers right by bosses standard.

- People who follow me like a loyal dog as I try to do work which involves hazardous conditions, dangerous chemicals and tools, lots of work which do not involve nice words.

- Some people pop their heads into a tire to see what I'm doing when I'm doing a tire repair using a 2000 rpm buffer.

- Customers who try to be helpful by doing stuff as a) turning on a car when their is no oil in it to turn the steering wheel b) turning on the car when my hands are in it c) trying to add leverage to a pry bar when the only leverage being applied between the car frame and my arm

- Customers who ask about EVERYthing I do to their car, every tool I use (even if its just a hunk of metal or a rag or hammer), every part or fluid I use.

Suffice to say, while working at the tire shop, a good day is one where no one yells "Fuck you!" to a customer and trys to make a monkey wrench a permanent part of the persons face.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-01-13 12:32pm

I worked in the Customer Pick Up section of a Circuit City in San Jose CA for 4 years. We were the last Circuit City to have the warehouse sealed off so we personally got interact with customers every day.

On the whole, I liked it that way. Most people are nice and somewhat reasonable. However, all you ever remember is the retards, bitches, and scary ones.

No the customer is not always right. That is just plain retarded. I had a customer flame me and return a product because she was using her father's credit card. When she handed me a credit card with a man's name I asked her who was Fred and she yelled at me saying it was her father and she had power of attorney over him. And not to question her use of the card. Before I could respond she stormed off and returned it.

TO THAT BITCH: HELLO IF YOUR CARD WAS STOLEN WOULD'NT YOU WANT THE CLERK TO CHALLENGE IT??????? FUCK YOU LADY.

Ah that feels better.

Anyway, if someone said can you hurry I am parked in disabled parking I would inform them to pull their car to the loading area before I can help them. You cant get in any trouble for that, but I realized your situation was different. You can politely inform the customer that handicap parking is reservered for the appropiate individuals and you are not responsible for preventing his/her tickets.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2003-01-13 12:37pm

Well true...you do remember the assholes more than good ones.

But at times the good ones were damn rare, I remember one would love to preorder and talk with us as guys not as guys who worked in a store. I mean they are a damn rare sight...one thing I learned is once you become some of regular try talking to them as human beings(let's say one has some interest in sports game...talk sports not just the games to him...etc)

But honestly too many were either fanatic to Madden(not a bad franchise....989 is by far worse...let alone Konami on sports) but honestly...it amazed me how many were just blithering ignorant(where on the reciept does it say 10 days?...ON THE BACK!!!) or just literally what I always imagined the geeky fanboy.

Sothis · Post by **Sothis** » 2003-01-13 12:42pm

Where I work, the customer is definately not always right. Though this is because most of my customers are criminals.

But still, some companies bend over backwards for a buck when they should start saying no to stupidity.

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2003-01-13 01:11pm

The one good thing about my learning experience were I work is that I know customers are complete assholes, so I try to NOT be like them when I go out. Some aren't, granted there's a minority out there. However most that walk up to my counter act as if I don't know shit, and I'm trying to either reem them and/or make them look like fucking morons. Don't worry folks, they accomplish the latter on thier own.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2003-01-13 04:40pm

My current favorite is "I already showed you my licennce before!" - 22 year old on their 2nd visit to my work lair since we became employee's only back in October.

Is it just me, or do people realize I don't/can't recognize everyone of our Thousand Employee's and their dependants, and automatically know whose of age and whose not. Besides I HAVE to check ID every night. That's the law.

The ones that try to drive, and won't acccept my offer of a ride. (REALLY piss me off, I have been known to make phonecalls)

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-01-13 04:56pm

Is it just me, or do people realize I don't/can't recognize everyone of our Thousand Employee's and their dependants, and automatically know whose of age and whose not. Besides I HAVE to check ID every night. That's the law.

I think customers honestly dont realize you cant recognize every face all the time. Just like I dont remember every issue each person at work has had with their computer.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2003-01-13 05:03pm

Because THEIR issues should always be formost in our minds.

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