Tweet
It's never fun dealing with a customer complaint, but they're easier to swallow when they're legit and we have to power to fix it. However, things can and do get ugly, and what starts out as complaining can easily turn into bitching.
Allow me to explain the difference between complaining and bitching. Complaining is when a person voices their displeasure about something that they believe is wrong or unfair, and then shuts up once the problem is addressed. Bitching is when a person voices their displeasure but never shuts up about it, not even when their demands are met; they just go on and on and on, rehashing the same points over and over again, sucking the poor slob that was standing too close into their bitch vortex.
In our shop you can get two different flavors of frozen yogurt in one cup, but you are charged extra for each flavor (up to fifty cents, depending on the size). This extra charge is not shown on the price list, so customers don't realize they have to pay extra until they get to the register. Naturally this has resulted in a few complaints, and I can't say I blame people for complaining about it. But as usual some customers have to go the extra mile to make our jobs just a little worse.
Today it was a soccer mom (aren't they always fun)? When I rang her up she asked why it was so expensive, and when I told her about the extra charge for the half-and-half, she got outraged and demanded to speak to the manager, because naturally it's all our fault the yogurt is so ridiculously expensive.
The manager came up front and this is essentially how it went: "I'm sorry ma'am, I don't know why it's priced like that...I'm sorry, corporate determines the prices, we have no control over them...yes, I will let them know that these extra charges are insane and that customers refuse to pay it...yes, I will refund you the difference...yes, we are actually getting a new sign that will reflect this extra charge, we're just waiting for it to arrive...yes, I do see both charges, that you for pointing them out...yes, I agree we should tell people about the extra charge, I will remind everyone to do so when we're done here...yes, I did get both charges, here's your change and your receipt...yes, it isn't right to not tell people these things...no, we certainly don't want people to think we're being dishonest in any way...yes, ma'am, that's why until we get the new menu with the right prices on it, our servers will explain the extra charges to every customer...yes, I will tell corporate that we will probably lose business over this...
This went on for about five minutes, with the manager apologizing about a dozen times, the poor bastard. I almost felt like screaming "why are you still here?! You got your refund, you got your ass kissed, you got everything you wanted and you're still not happy?? God how I pity your children. Sooner or later you will have to leave our store, but they're stuck with you forever!"
Allow me to explain the difference between complaining and bitching. Complaining is when a person voices their displeasure about something that they believe is wrong or unfair, and then shuts up once the problem is addressed. Bitching is when a person voices their displeasure but never shuts up about it, not even when their demands are met; they just go on and on and on, rehashing the same points over and over again, sucking the poor slob that was standing too close into their bitch vortex.
In our shop you can get two different flavors of frozen yogurt in one cup, but you are charged extra for each flavor (up to fifty cents, depending on the size). This extra charge is not shown on the price list, so customers don't realize they have to pay extra until they get to the register. Naturally this has resulted in a few complaints, and I can't say I blame people for complaining about it. But as usual some customers have to go the extra mile to make our jobs just a little worse.
Today it was a soccer mom (aren't they always fun)? When I rang her up she asked why it was so expensive, and when I told her about the extra charge for the half-and-half, she got outraged and demanded to speak to the manager, because naturally it's all our fault the yogurt is so ridiculously expensive.
The manager came up front and this is essentially how it went: "I'm sorry ma'am, I don't know why it's priced like that...I'm sorry, corporate determines the prices, we have no control over them...yes, I will let them know that these extra charges are insane and that customers refuse to pay it...yes, I will refund you the difference...yes, we are actually getting a new sign that will reflect this extra charge, we're just waiting for it to arrive...yes, I do see both charges, that you for pointing them out...yes, I agree we should tell people about the extra charge, I will remind everyone to do so when we're done here...yes, I did get both charges, here's your change and your receipt...yes, it isn't right to not tell people these things...no, we certainly don't want people to think we're being dishonest in any way...yes, ma'am, that's why until we get the new menu with the right prices on it, our servers will explain the extra charges to every customer...yes, I will tell corporate that we will probably lose business over this...
This went on for about five minutes, with the manager apologizing about a dozen times, the poor bastard. I almost felt like screaming "why are you still here?! You got your refund, you got your ass kissed, you got everything you wanted and you're still not happy?? God how I pity your children. Sooner or later you will have to leave our store, but they're stuck with you forever!"
Comment