Inventory

Any time a box with multiple things is returned to a store, an inventory of the current contents must be done.  This is the case even if the product is defective, because the manufacturer often won't give credit for something that has missing parts.  For example, a man was returning an ear piece device to a cell phone accessory store, because the quality of the sound wasn't up to his standards.  What did he expect for twenty bucks?  Anyway, the employee handling the return couldn't find the usb cord at first, because it was still attached to the adapter.   She realized the ear-wrap wire  was still attached to the speaker that goes inside the wearer's ear.  The customer removed the usb cord and the wire, explaining, "So it will look unused."  The saleswoman responded with a tone of amazment, "Oh, well this won't be resold, so you don't need to bother."  She was also thinking that would be gross if we lived in a world where someone would stick something in his ear, and then when that item was resold it was stuck in the ear of a perfect stranger.

So, What's the Problem?

Somebody tried to return a box of golfballs to a sporting goods store.  He claimed he opened the box to discover there were different brands of balls in the inner boxes. This, of course was the store's fault, because it had supposedly sold the mixed-up box, since the outer box rang up $15 and was from said store.  The man said HE purchased the box just as it appeared right then.  He said it had no shrinkwrap on it.  There was no comment from the woman with him.  When management was called, the guy started talking louder and more animated, as though this would make him more convincing.  He claimed that the sporting good  store would have to pay for it's big problem. 

Another way the guy tried to prove his case was to say that one of the inner boxes alone was worth $50.  So, the employee of the sporting goods store who was standing there wanted to ask him, why wouldn't he keep the $50 box that came from a $15 one?  Wasn't that a real bargain?  What was the problem with that?  Anyway, when the inner boxes were scanned, they were not from the sporting goods store where they were being returned.  That's when the guy's story changed.  He turned to the female standing next to him and asked if she got them somewhere else.  Hadn't he already said HE bought them?  When the return couldn't be completed, the man angrily told the employees to throw away all of the golf balls.  Why?  Why wouldn't an honest and sane person just take them and leave?

Yelling Louder

Have you ever noticed, when two people are fighting, sometimes one or both persons will get louder for no good reason? I've gotten louder in a heated conversation without even realizing it. The other day, there was this guy who was also a customer, and he had a complaint about our store. Our big, big, worldwide store. A store so big I used to boycott it long ago, because of its hiring practices. I figured that had to change when I was hired by this store in a heartbeat, when other places rejected me for no good reason, other than someone didn't like the way I had my hair cut or the way I wore my clothing. Now, I am a happy employee of this store that is not about to go belly-up anytime soon, and a good deal of my income goes to this store. So do other people's incomes go to this store. Anyway, this complaining, whining customer demanded to see upper management. So, he did.

I liked how the customer was yelling at the top of his lungs, as though this would make his point more valid, or would prove his point. The manager calmly asked the man what was his proof of the specific offense he claimed that had happened to his product? What the guy was saying was that the item was defective in some way, not working, plus it was missing a thingamuhjigger, and that it was returned to our store and then returned to the shelves before he purchased it. The manager said, "Well, sometimes those don't have a [thingamuhjigger], so how do you know it was supposed to have one?" The guy wasn't being heard, even though he was yelling. The manager wasn't being understanding and kissing up to him. He wasn't giving him whatever the customer wanted beyond what was reasonable. So, the raving customer was saying how he was going to sue our store, and we'd all be sorry. At no point did the manager's own temper seem to rise. He just responded, "Okay, you do that." I almost clapped my hands and said, "Bravo," but then I remembered I was watching real life.

Later that same day, or maybe it was the next, there was a woman trying to return something without a receipt. She was told we don't refund that item without a receipt. She complained. A manager was called over, and told her the same exact policy. The woman asked where it was written that this was our store's policy. I wanted to put in my two cents and say, "Maybe it's on the back of your receipt," but I didn't. Sometimes it's really tempting to be a smart alec with the customers who can be whatever way they choose. I have had people ask me such questions, and I point to our very clear policies written on the wall. The woman wanted to speak to higher management. Luckily, passing by there was the manager from the other incident helping a customer out with a very large object. Unfortunately, it was time for my lunch, and I didn't get to stick around to find out what happened. I meant to ask someone upon my return, but we were so busy I never got a chance. Now that's real life!

Rumors, Plastic, and Cancer

Okay, I'm not sure how this exactly relates to customer service, except it is important for consumers. I was trying to look up what I'd heard about plastic bottles, particularly used ones that had sat unrefridgerated for eight hours or more. I'd heard these bottles were found to leech chemicals and cause breast cancer. The American Cancer Society page says this story started as an email, and it is just a rumor. Apparently, the person who wrote the original email was writing a college thesis. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that the DEHA in plastic bottles is not a carcinogen, or cancer causing agent for humans.
Personally, I still think glass is more natural than plastic. I try to recycle plastic bottles whenever I use them or somebody has used them. Well, actually, I recycle glass too. Glass comes from sand, and it comes from the earth. It's natural. Plastic comes from chemicals, and nobody is going to con me anymore into putting tap water in a plastic bottle and selling it to me as something else. Having said this, I guess I can't tell you that the chemicals in plastic likely cause cancer. However, I can say, I think plastic is unnatural.

Interruptions

This morning, I was trying to enjoy my son's birthday when the telephone rang. I thought someone was calling to wish him a Happy Birthday. But it was one of my credit card companies. Maybe I lost one of my cards and didn't notice (not likely). Anyway, it was a marketing company hired by my credit card company to try to sell me insurance. What kind of insurance? "Accident Insurance". I asked was that like life insurance, the customer service woman said it was more like if I fell through my porch and couldn't work.

The woman tried to verify my age so she'd be sure I was eligible. However, she was off by 4 years. I joked that I didn't appreciate how she made me older. Anyway, after I'd already said I wasn't interested, she kept talking. I told her I was scared of anything where the premium amounts weren't mentioned. That's when she said, "Well, I was going to tell you the cost, but that is when you interrupted me the first time." That's when I hung up the phone. Hanging up on someone isn't as satisfying as it used to be. I used to be able to slam down a receiver. Now I press a button on a portable receiver and place it on a charging station. I didn't say anything before I hung up, but I was thinking, isn't SHE the one who interrupted me? Didn't she call me on my son's birthday morning before I have to leave for work and interrupt my time with him to sell me something I don't want?

Okay, that woman is just doing her job, and I'm not saying I could do it any better, but I don't think I would even accept such a position where I'm selling people things they really don't need. If somehow that telemarketing job was the only one I could get, then I wouldn't keep talking when someone politely said she wasn't interested. So, maybe I wouldn't even be offered a sales job like that, since I'm not willing to be an annoying impolite person interrupting people and then accusing them of interrupting me. Even if I did interrupt her, I have ADD, and my brain works differently. I don't interrupt intentionally. When that phone rang, I didn't think, okay, I have to concentrate on not interrupting the annoying sales person. What really bothers me is not that the woman was trying to sell me something or that she's a telemarketer, but that she scolded me for interrupting her. She's not my relative or my partner or my friend, and I don't owe her any of my time. In fact, I'd given her more of my morning than I wanted to give.

Attitude

Sometimes, in the case of customer service, and in other areas of life, the thing that really makes a difference is attitude. As an employee, I try to think, okay, not everyone is trying to steal from my store. On the other hand, does every customer deserve service with a smile when she herself is being a royal queen bee? I thought this a couple of times yesterday. The first person who made me think this walked up complaining that she hadn't gotten a receipt several hours earlier, and this was due to our machines. I mean the first thing out of her mouth wasn't a civil greeting but an accusation of blame so that I would be responsible for her not having a receipt. Of course, she was exchanging the items she'd purchased at that time of the supposed machine failure. There's just something about someone who is immediately on the war path that makes another person want to put up her defenses. Anyway, I helped her, and she was very friendly to my coworker who was standing nearby, but then before she left she was complaining again in her sarcastic tone about the way I'd handled something else with her return. When she walked off, I discovered that the counter I slammed my hand on was not even intact. I will never forget her face. I think I would have thought she had a pretty face if she hadn't been griping and frowning. I will so remember her the next time she doesn't have a receipt and according to her it's my fault. That's if she didn't anger someone in the parking lot who retaliated and ran over her.

Another person last night complained that somebody in the store had told her the wrong time for a certain service we offer closing in the store. At first the woman acted like she didn't believe me that the said service had ended. So, she walked off, and I mumbled to myself that I wasn't going to argue with her. Then, she returned to my station and demanded to talk to management, because someone on the telephone had supposedly told her the wrong information. A manager came over, and apologized. Then, the manager told me to provide the service to her. So, I did. During that transaction, the woman tried to apologize. I wasn't going to forgive her for being rude and possibly getting me in trouble for something I didn't do (ie. I didn't even talk to her on the phone much less give her the wrong information). I hate when someone is rude and demanding, and then suddenly somehow seems to care about my opinion of her. So, I didn't say anything. I just did my job and acted like I didn't hear her lame apologies. Later, after I'd closed down my own area, I saw the person most likely to have talked to the woman on the phone. She knew the correct time that sevice would have ended, and said she wouldn't have relayed anything else.