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Based on a true story. Sorry about how long and rant-ish it is.
You’ve walked into the store with your computer in your hands and you have this pre-conceived notion that because you are the customer, you are always right. It never ceases to amaze all of us in the customer service department that your forget the rest of that saying, “sometimes confused, misinformed, rude stubborn and even downright stupid”
The next thing you will do is throw your computer at the customer service desk and start trying to dig into the guy who’s standing behind the desk, just doing his job, trying to earn enough money to pay for university. You’ll tell that guy serving you that you or your friend know everything there is to know about computers, and that you have decided it must be faulty, and you demand a refund/replacement.
The guy who works behind the desk will calmly ask you to lower your voice and point out that if you don’t, the security guard who is twice your size, will come over and FLATTEN you. He will then explain that before he can do anything, he has to test the computer to find the fault, although what he’s not telling you is that given that you have just told him that you and/or your friend “know” that it’s faulty, he’s pretty damn sure you’re the ones who made a mess of it in the first place.
You’ll then start to have another go at him, re-assuring him that you KNOW the machine is faulty because you tested it yourself. You’ll then also tell him that you called the call centre guys on the tech support phone number. When the guy serving you asks for a reference number, so he can check the call centre logs, you’ll say you’ve forgotten it, so when he asks for name, house number and post code, you’ll start telling him he doesn’t need that. What will then happen is the guy helping you will catch sight of it on your paperwork, will then type that information into his computer and find that no such call was made to the call centre. You will then proceed to yell and scream some more, telling him that he must have deleted that call log, or that the call centre log was wrong, or even that the call centre engineer never logged the call, even though a call coming in automatically gets logged as soon as the tech picks up the phone.
You will reluctantly agree to allow the person holding your computer to test the PC to find out where the problem is after he has told you 47 times that if you don’t allow him to find the fault, he can’t do anything.
He’ll take your computer behind the glass partition to his desk and hook it up to his monitor, you will try your best to look under, over and around the strategically placed blue stripe that had been painted on the glass partition to stop you from eye-balling us. The tech will take the case siding off your computer, only to find one of the faults you have mentioned is because YOU have disconnected something. Do you know how we know it’s you? Because the seal that says “warranty void if removed” has had all trace of it removed from the computer.
As you see the tech with his hand in the computer you will start banging on the desk and yelling. This will be greeted with the tech marching back around the glass partition and warning you, very clearly that if you shout one more time, you WILL be thrown out of the store. He will then walk back, continuing to ignore you. You will start slating the company to other customers around you who, because of you, want to get away as soon as possible. Other members of staff will tell you to mind your own business, but you will ignore them.
The tech working on your machine will find that the computer it’s self is fine, you have installed an incompatible piece of hardware or software and have nailed the windows installation. Double points if you can make it so as windows doesn’t even ATTEMPT to load. The tech will try to get the computer to load into its on-board recovery program only to find out that you have somehow managed to totally nail that too.
The tech will return to you and tell you that not only does he know that you disconnected a wire inside the machine, and can prove it, but you have caused the problem with the computer, will have to pay for the repair charge and have to pay for the discs to restore the onboard recovery.
You will then Immediately begin to scream blue bloody murder that the computer is faulty because you diagnosed it, and you demand a refund this very second because it’s part of your consumer rights. You will proceed to say “Under the sales of goods act, I am entitled to a refund if I change my mind or if I believe the product to be faulty” or even better, claim you work for trading standards.
The tech will then produce somthing from under the counter. If you have said you work for trading standards he will say “you should recognise this then” if you didn’t then you will get “Ok, this is a copy of the sales of goods act. If you can show me on there where the law states I must do anything like what you are asking, I’ll do it”
Read through the list, finding the part about what to do over a faulty product and shove it in the techs face. Argue with the tech when he points out that it states that rule only applies if a fault can be found.
You’ll Demand a manager be summoned
Manager has been standing 3 feet away the whole time. You’ll Repeat entire process with manager while the tech goes around, disconnects your PC and brings it back to you. The tech will then realise he has left your details on screen the whole time and will discreetly hit the print button so he can log your arrogance on the call centre logging system after you leave
What you’ll then do is point out that you have the extended guarantee, which covers the machine for accidental damage. This will be closely followed by the tech pointing out that it doesn’t cover you opening the case and just blindly pulling wires.
You will then pick your computer up off the desk and throw it against the floor, saying “That’s covered. I’ll put the claim in tomorrow” the tech and manager will then both say “No, accidental damage is covered. Deliberate or malicious damage is not” we will also point out that we will be putting those notes on the system for anyone and everyone to read
You will then leave the store with a battered computer that will no longer be repaired, be several hundred pounds out of pocket because the computer won’t be repaired and probably try to take the company to small claims court, but not before yelling at full-lung that you will never shop here again, but you will go to another store that you apparently don’t realise, is part of the same company.
As you leave the store, the tech you just yelled at will already be updating your notes on the call centre logging system, informing anyone that tries to book a job under your name and address that the damage done to your particular machine was deliberate damage thus, ensuring you won’t get anywhere with anyone in other stores or at the call centre.
This is what SHOULD have happened;
Before entering the store, you should have read your warranty paperwork. You would have also seen the sticker on the back that said “warranty void if seal broken” and would not have opened the case to disconnect the card reader/front USB ports/ DVD Drive/whatever
You would have seen the number for the technical support call centre and would have called them up, making a note of your customer ID number when it was given to you and you were told to write it down. You would have describe the fault to the tech on the phone and he would have told you what you can do to fix it, walking you through doing so over the phone.
If the tech couldn’t fix it over the phone, he would have told you that he can get an engineer booked to you to come and repair the computer, or he could have arranged a pick-up for it from any UK address, if it were a laptop.
If you missed the call centre number and did take the machine into the store, you would have waited patiently in the cue, then, when called forward, you would have said “Hello” to the tech, in a polite manner, and preferably with a smile, thus making the tech smile and making him more open to bending the rules a bit to help you.
When the tech told you that the problem was a software issue, thus was your fault and you would have to pay to have it fixed, you would ask “is it not something I can do at home?” since you have probably put the tech in a good mood, he would say “well, actually, yeah” and would have given you written instructions on how to invoke your computer’s onboard recovery program. He would have told you that it’s an automated process, which takes between 40 minutes to an hour and would have told you that’s all you need to do.
That’s how, Mr. Sucky asshole of a customer, you should have behaved.
Oh yeah, for those interested, the full “the customer is always right” saying is here;
http://www.arun.info/blog/archives/2...mer-is-a-king/
although it re-enforces something which I do not believe in, the customer is always right (which we all know they aren’t) it’s interesting ammunition to use on an SC that comes out with that saying.
You’ve walked into the store with your computer in your hands and you have this pre-conceived notion that because you are the customer, you are always right. It never ceases to amaze all of us in the customer service department that your forget the rest of that saying, “sometimes confused, misinformed, rude stubborn and even downright stupid”
The next thing you will do is throw your computer at the customer service desk and start trying to dig into the guy who’s standing behind the desk, just doing his job, trying to earn enough money to pay for university. You’ll tell that guy serving you that you or your friend know everything there is to know about computers, and that you have decided it must be faulty, and you demand a refund/replacement.
The guy who works behind the desk will calmly ask you to lower your voice and point out that if you don’t, the security guard who is twice your size, will come over and FLATTEN you. He will then explain that before he can do anything, he has to test the computer to find the fault, although what he’s not telling you is that given that you have just told him that you and/or your friend “know” that it’s faulty, he’s pretty damn sure you’re the ones who made a mess of it in the first place.
You’ll then start to have another go at him, re-assuring him that you KNOW the machine is faulty because you tested it yourself. You’ll then also tell him that you called the call centre guys on the tech support phone number. When the guy serving you asks for a reference number, so he can check the call centre logs, you’ll say you’ve forgotten it, so when he asks for name, house number and post code, you’ll start telling him he doesn’t need that. What will then happen is the guy helping you will catch sight of it on your paperwork, will then type that information into his computer and find that no such call was made to the call centre. You will then proceed to yell and scream some more, telling him that he must have deleted that call log, or that the call centre log was wrong, or even that the call centre engineer never logged the call, even though a call coming in automatically gets logged as soon as the tech picks up the phone.
You will reluctantly agree to allow the person holding your computer to test the PC to find out where the problem is after he has told you 47 times that if you don’t allow him to find the fault, he can’t do anything.
He’ll take your computer behind the glass partition to his desk and hook it up to his monitor, you will try your best to look under, over and around the strategically placed blue stripe that had been painted on the glass partition to stop you from eye-balling us. The tech will take the case siding off your computer, only to find one of the faults you have mentioned is because YOU have disconnected something. Do you know how we know it’s you? Because the seal that says “warranty void if removed” has had all trace of it removed from the computer.
As you see the tech with his hand in the computer you will start banging on the desk and yelling. This will be greeted with the tech marching back around the glass partition and warning you, very clearly that if you shout one more time, you WILL be thrown out of the store. He will then walk back, continuing to ignore you. You will start slating the company to other customers around you who, because of you, want to get away as soon as possible. Other members of staff will tell you to mind your own business, but you will ignore them.
The tech working on your machine will find that the computer it’s self is fine, you have installed an incompatible piece of hardware or software and have nailed the windows installation. Double points if you can make it so as windows doesn’t even ATTEMPT to load. The tech will try to get the computer to load into its on-board recovery program only to find out that you have somehow managed to totally nail that too.
The tech will return to you and tell you that not only does he know that you disconnected a wire inside the machine, and can prove it, but you have caused the problem with the computer, will have to pay for the repair charge and have to pay for the discs to restore the onboard recovery.
You will then Immediately begin to scream blue bloody murder that the computer is faulty because you diagnosed it, and you demand a refund this very second because it’s part of your consumer rights. You will proceed to say “Under the sales of goods act, I am entitled to a refund if I change my mind or if I believe the product to be faulty” or even better, claim you work for trading standards.
The tech will then produce somthing from under the counter. If you have said you work for trading standards he will say “you should recognise this then” if you didn’t then you will get “Ok, this is a copy of the sales of goods act. If you can show me on there where the law states I must do anything like what you are asking, I’ll do it”
Read through the list, finding the part about what to do over a faulty product and shove it in the techs face. Argue with the tech when he points out that it states that rule only applies if a fault can be found.
You’ll Demand a manager be summoned
Manager has been standing 3 feet away the whole time. You’ll Repeat entire process with manager while the tech goes around, disconnects your PC and brings it back to you. The tech will then realise he has left your details on screen the whole time and will discreetly hit the print button so he can log your arrogance on the call centre logging system after you leave
What you’ll then do is point out that you have the extended guarantee, which covers the machine for accidental damage. This will be closely followed by the tech pointing out that it doesn’t cover you opening the case and just blindly pulling wires.
You will then pick your computer up off the desk and throw it against the floor, saying “That’s covered. I’ll put the claim in tomorrow” the tech and manager will then both say “No, accidental damage is covered. Deliberate or malicious damage is not” we will also point out that we will be putting those notes on the system for anyone and everyone to read
You will then leave the store with a battered computer that will no longer be repaired, be several hundred pounds out of pocket because the computer won’t be repaired and probably try to take the company to small claims court, but not before yelling at full-lung that you will never shop here again, but you will go to another store that you apparently don’t realise, is part of the same company.
As you leave the store, the tech you just yelled at will already be updating your notes on the call centre logging system, informing anyone that tries to book a job under your name and address that the damage done to your particular machine was deliberate damage thus, ensuring you won’t get anywhere with anyone in other stores or at the call centre.
This is what SHOULD have happened;
Before entering the store, you should have read your warranty paperwork. You would have also seen the sticker on the back that said “warranty void if seal broken” and would not have opened the case to disconnect the card reader/front USB ports/ DVD Drive/whatever
You would have seen the number for the technical support call centre and would have called them up, making a note of your customer ID number when it was given to you and you were told to write it down. You would have describe the fault to the tech on the phone and he would have told you what you can do to fix it, walking you through doing so over the phone.
If the tech couldn’t fix it over the phone, he would have told you that he can get an engineer booked to you to come and repair the computer, or he could have arranged a pick-up for it from any UK address, if it were a laptop.
If you missed the call centre number and did take the machine into the store, you would have waited patiently in the cue, then, when called forward, you would have said “Hello” to the tech, in a polite manner, and preferably with a smile, thus making the tech smile and making him more open to bending the rules a bit to help you.
When the tech told you that the problem was a software issue, thus was your fault and you would have to pay to have it fixed, you would ask “is it not something I can do at home?” since you have probably put the tech in a good mood, he would say “well, actually, yeah” and would have given you written instructions on how to invoke your computer’s onboard recovery program. He would have told you that it’s an automated process, which takes between 40 minutes to an hour and would have told you that’s all you need to do.
That’s how, Mr. Sucky asshole of a customer, you should have behaved.
Oh yeah, for those interested, the full “the customer is always right” saying is here;
http://www.arun.info/blog/archives/2...mer-is-a-king/
although it re-enforces something which I do not believe in, the customer is always right (which we all know they aren’t) it’s interesting ammunition to use on an SC that comes out with that saying.
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