Unreasonable requests and the SCs who make them.

[CrazedClerk]

While I was in college, I worked at the campus computer store. We sold a variety of electronics.

One day in November, this woman comes in looking for something. I don't remember what it was exactly but after some sleuthing, I determined that we didn't have it in stock at that time. Upon informing the SC that "we don't have it in right niow" , she replies:

"Well can you call around and find out who does?"

Resisting the urge to bitch slap this woman, I flatly told her "no, I have other things to do."

And here's the best part: She left in a huff because I refused to call around town to find her precious product!

Hellooooo....Do your own legwork for goodness sake's, I am an employee, I am not your personal errand boy.

[bakircioglu]

Sorry man, but you were certainly wrong there. I'd expect a stock check of another store as standard customer service. The way you answered back is wrong, at least you could have apologised that you weren't able to because of the time of year?

Its a commom occurance to see me ringing around to the nearest store to see if they've got an item in stock. And I don't begrudge doing it.

[Banrion]

He stated he worked at a campus store, to me that means it is not part of a chain, and therefore there are no other stores to stock check. It is absolutely not part of someone's job to call competitors. That is going above and beyond the call of duty, and the way this woman behaved, she did not deserve special treatment.

[georgiab]

The other day a woman came into my store and wanted to return or exchange a picture frame....we are a thrift store we do neither we have this posted everywhere. Since we just opened we do not have a phone nor a phonebook. We refused very politely I might add to accept the returned itiem. She proceeded to ask us to call our manager when we informed her we would not she asked very rudely to call our head office...Sorry ma'am we do not have a phone nor do we know the number she becomes angry and wants us to look up the number Again we are sorry we don't have a phonebook because we don't have a phone...She had a severe case of I am a complete moron!

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Trespassers would always want a lift to city garage after I'd towed their cars away. Let me get this straight...you ignore literally a dozen "no parking/we will tow" signs, park anyway, leave your car for 8 hours while you are in class, come back, pitch a fit, cuss, threaten, and generally make a fool of yourself, and then you have the berries to ask one of us to leave the store short handed so we can drive your trifling ass down to the garage?

You puttin' me on?

[dispatch]

He stated he worked at a campus store, to me that means it is not part of a chain, and therefore there are no other stores to stock check. It is absolutely not part of someone's job to call competitors. That is going above and beyond the call of duty, and the way this woman behaved, she did not deserve special treatment.

and in a smaller store I REALLY wouldn't take time out to call a competitor

[One-Fang]

In *any* store I wouldn't be calling the competitors. Other branches of the same chain, yes, but not the competitors. Door's to your left.

[AFpheonix]

I do it, but I'm in a different situation, since typically if I'm doing that, it's because it's a medicine that someone needs right then, and can't wait until I can get it in the next day. I will still check with other stores in my chain first, and then start checking with other pharmacies next. Other chains do the same for us, too. Actually, it's them calling us more often than me calling them, we've got a lot of wierd crap in stock that others don't.

Something not critical like software? Sorry, the customer can let their own fingers do the walking.

[Jester]

I am glad I am a bartender, but I know from talking to them that the front office folks at my hotel are often asked to call around for available rooms AND prices for them when we are out of rooms or even when the customer doesn't like our prices. Sometimes they do, if they have the time, as a courtesy, and sometimes they don't. As a hotel, we have no obligation to find you another hotel room with our competitors or to price hunt for you in any situation other than when we have screwed up somehow. And yet people not only ask this, they insist on it and get huffy with the front desk folks when they don't or can't because they are busy...say with PAYING customers of OUR hotel.

Imagine that.

[Lace Neil Singer]

At the garden centre a woman wanted her money back for some rats she'd bought that had escaped from the cage she'd put them in. She had a receipt, but no rats. The store policy is that returns can't be done on pets without the pets, so I told her that she had to catch them and told her how. She said, "Why do I have to do that? Why can't I just have my money back?"

I told her, cuz we needed some return on the money, ie the rats to resell. She replied with "Well, give me the money now and I'll bring in the rats later." Yeah, sure you will. In the end, she left in a huff cuz I refused point blank to give her a refund without the rats. She did bring back 2, and got money back for those, but no, not for the third rat she couldn't catch altho yep, she did ask.

[Argabarga]

Sorry man, but you were certainly wrong there. I'd expect a stock check of another store as standard customer service. The way you answered back is wrong, at least you could have apologised that you weren't able to because of the time of year?

Its a commom occurance to see me ringing around to the nearest store to see if they've got an item in stock. And I don't begrudge doing it.

No store has an obligation to do this, they can as a courtesy if the wish to, but it's unreasonable to expect them to essentialy shop for you. Again, this is a courtesy, but it's arrogant to expect any store to do this.

[CrazedClerk]

I work at a chain store now and I have no problem calling multiple other stores in our chain to find a product for a customer.

But calling other stores is out of the question, there's no way that I need to go out of my way just to guarantee that a competitor gets business instead of us.

The exception being when it's an item that we do not carry and have never carried but the customer assumes we might have (i.e. flight sticks for PC flying games). I might be willing to make a couple calls in that situation as long as I wasn't busy and the customer was polite to me.

[RichS]

In *any* store I wouldn't be calling the competitors. Other branches of the same chain, yes, but not the competitors. Door's to your left.

My #1 SC wanted to do that. He was complaining about the price on our IDE cables (*whine* "I don't want to pay that!!!"*/whine*), and wanted to look up a number of a store about 25 miles away. Sure, I let him do that.

When he asked if he could call them from here, though, I flatly said no.

[tenaciousb]

only reason to call a competitor is if you need to verify a price a customer claims another store has, to make sure they have it in stock

I laughed when I over heard a customer ask someone to call a competitor just to check and see what the price was on something over there

at least lie and say it was...