A Tale of Two Suckies (long)

[flybye023]

I need a little help here. These two situations have happened to me in jobs I have had within the past two years. As far as customer suckiness goes, they weren’t really that bad but every time I think of them it makes me so very angry, plus, I can’t seem to just let these incidents go like I’ve been able to with others.

First story:

The store I worked at sold propane. It was one of those deals where you bought the tank and propane the first time and then you could just bring in the empty tank and trade it for a full tank while only having to pay for the fuel. So, this guy comes in with an empty tank and wants his money back. He’s not interested in getting a full tank, he’s just trying to get rid of the tank and thinks he should be reimbursed. We had never had a customer ask this before so it was kind of a new situation. However, we knew that the gas company would not reimburse us in any way if we did what he asked.

We tell him that we can’t give him his money back, that we would in fact lose money on the transaction. He asks (very rudely) what he’s supposed to do with the tank. We offer to take it back to give to the gas company just to get it off his hands which seemed to be his primary argument (also, he had claimed that there were places around town that would take the tank but they wanted to charge him like $35; we weren’t going to charge him anything). He argues some more so we get a head cashier up there who basically tells him the same thing. He just stands there saying “I’m not buying this.” (meaning our reasoning) over and over. Finally, a manager (who had been called repeatedly) comes over, refuses at first and then caves and gives the guy his money causing the cashier’s till to be short.

Second story:

This happened when I worked at a call center for a car manufacturer. We would often work with the dealerships and try to resolve issues between them and the customer.

This man bought a brand new car for his daughter and within two days a little fuse in the heater failed. He took it back to the dealer to be repaired on Tuesday, they ordered a replacement part and he leaves. Then he calls me on Thursday. This whole case took place in less than a week.

His original complaint was that there was a parts delay. Fair enough, that was a fairly common issue in general that we were brought in on and we had many ways to relieve the inconvenience. So, I call the dealer (not just going to take the customers word for it, of course) and it turns out that they ordered a part three days ago but it was broken and they re-ordered. It has only been 24 hours since then and three days since the guy brought his car in. We can’t do anything for a parts delay unless it has been a couple of weeks or more. The dealer also mentions that this guy takes everything they say, exaggerates it and twists it against them and they’re not very happy with him. I’m a little surprised since he’s been very civil with me.

He calls me every couple of days complaining. First they didn’t give him a rental. This is not good because his car is under warranty and he should get a rental. Upon calling the dealer, they report that they did offer him a rental and he refused it—something to do with his daughter not being insured for it (he was though). He complains that the first replacement part was broken. Like the dealer or I have control over that, besides a new part has been ordered and is on its way. He complains that this car is defective and we should take it back (for a fuse?! Get real!). He complains that this is a common problem (news to me and we got all the updates on common problems each day) All these issues were starting to annoy me but he still was not being overtly rude or nasty.

By Wednesday I had an answer for him. His car was done, he could go and pick it up, plus, the dealer had offered to do the six-month new car check up for free. This was a complete oil change, tire rotation, check the electrical system, engine tune up, check fluid levels, the works. The package was worth several hundred dollars and they were going to give it to him for free for his “inconvenience”. He responds to this good news by royally chewing my ass out over how irresponsible and unreliable I am (because I didn’t call him on Monday) tells me that the car manufacturer sucks, the dealer sucks and his is never buying our brand again and will go to the competitor since I personally didn’t keep my word with him thus proving that the Company doesn’t care about the Customer. Funny thing is, I never promised to call him on Monday. I promised to call him when I had news for him.

So, now that you’ve seen my stories any suggestions on how I can get over them?

[BaristaGirl]

It took me a REALLY long time to let myself get over this kind of thing, and a couple minor incidents still bother me a lot. The best I can do for you is let you know how I let the moments pass when I get upset over these things: Inhale, Accept that Customers do, Indeed, Suck, and Exhale, Acknowledging that You did Your Personal Best to Handle the Situation.

A very large chunk of the people we write about here feel this sick sense of entitlement, they own everything, everything exists solely for their pleasure/convenience, they don't have to respect things or people, they are somehow above the rules everyone else has to follow, they don't have to plan ahead because everybody they meet will bend over backwards to satisfy them. This isn't even exclusive to customers, though it is the most obvious and understandable example I can think of. I know that when I go out into the world, even when I'm sick or sad or having a horrible day or in extreme pain, I still try to treat people with respect, at work or in any other area of my life, and that is all I can do. I can't control other people, the only one I can control is me, and it isn't good enough for me but it has to be. I have to make that good enough for me, or go crazy with anger.

[Andara Bledin]

For that first guy: Your manager was sacless ass. And the till got counted as "short" because of that? WTF!

As for the second guy, he's a self-centered, entitlement whore, and he doesn't really deserve any time in your mindshare.

^-.-^

[flybye023]

Let me clarify a little. The till was counted "short" because it was. The manager had given the customer cash with no transaction to show what happened. The cashier, though, was not penalized in any way since it was "manager approved". The manager got in trouble a little 'cuz they're just not supposed to hand out cash without a valid transaction.

[sms001]

every time I think of them it makes me so very angry, plus, I can’t seem to just let these incidents go like I’ve
<snip>So, now that you’ve seen my stories any suggestions on how I can get over them?

I have a few incidents in life like this too. Not just angry, but embarrassing, or frustrating, or anger directed toward myself. I'll be daydreaming along and the recall of something will just make me cringe. I don't think it's anything unusual - in fact, it is probably helpful to recall past experiences with a good recollection of the facts and emotions that went with them.... as long as it's a passing thing.

For me, I AM "over" them - but I throw them up outta the subconscious as a reminder probably. I don't know what makes the brain pick some incidents and not others. For the ones where I'm angry, I try to remind myself to never act like the person that angered me. For the embarrassing ones, I try to never act like ME again

I think if you thought about them obsessively all the time and acted on it (trying to find out who propane tank guy is for example) then you'd have a concern, but it seems fairly normal for anyone with any degree of self awareness.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I have one of those stories that still bugs me, too. It was years ago...I had a customer wanting to return a study guide for some test. In general, these sorts of things are updated yearly, and this one was no exception. She still had the receipt...from 18 months prior. Yes, she wanted to return an outdated test prep book a year and a half later. Now, we aren't supposed to take back out-of-print books, and clearly she was well outside of the return policy (30 days). (If the book was still current, I wouldn't have had a problem. I have done a return on a 5-year-old receipt and it didn't bother me because it was an in-print book, in new condition. And the guy was nice.) I told her no, and she argued, and I explained, and she argued, and I explained further, and she argued...eventually she got her money back but I was sooo pissed off and if I think about it it still makes me angry. So I do my best not to think about it.

I have had similar situations so many times; returns that really should be refused but they end up getting what they want, and they don't piss me off so much, but this one, for some reason, just does.