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I must be lucky... I don't get the sheer volume of SC's that the regulars here get, but I do have a couple of stories to share... because of the dreaded 'return'.
The Stamp
Two days ago, a woman comes in to the store madder than a wet cat (I was away for lunch... My lucky streak continues!). The organization that she works for ordered a self-inking stamp through us and WE put the wrong address on the stamp. Now, if it is our fault, we replace it for free... but we need to be sure that it is our fault. Luckily, we keep the original order forms, plus any artwork, stapled to the bill to the stamp maker, who I will call 'F' (who is a great guy, a former pressman with the local newspaper who is retired but makes stamps to suplement his pension). So, when I get back from lunch I'm told to start digging for the original. Search through the bills for 2010 so far... nothing. Dig out 2009 and search... nothing. Dig out 2008 and search... nothing.
So, we call 'F' and see if he has any way of checking. 'F' says he'll get back to us.
'F' came in today, with a copy of the invoice with the stamp on it. Dated November 2007. Billed to another stationery store.
So Boss calls the organization to tell them to pick up their stamp and explain why we wouldn't be replacing it for free. That's when he found out something interesting... the organization had just moved. So, up until a few months ago, the address on the stamp was correct.
Yeah.
The Fax Machine
A few weeks ago, a woman brings in a fax machine to get her money back. It was bought for a business but they never use it, didn't even hook it up, etc. She doesn't even wait for us to look at it, she just leaves it on the counter, says the name of the business and says "put the credit on the account."
Well, that's not going to happen, for three reasons:
1) According to your account, that fax machine was purchased in April of 2008, WAY past the 1 year warrenty period.
2) According to your account, you've been purchasing ink for that very machine every month, so your statement of 'not used' is BS.
3) After examing the box, we have discovered a problem: The box is that of the Brother fax machine that you had purchased, but the machine INSIDE the box is a Panasonic... and from the looks of it, a Panasonic that is roughly 20 years old.
The Boss has been trying to reach the owner of the business, but no luck yet...
The Boss (a Morons in Management bonus story)
We keep a rough pricing guideline for printing jobs behind the counter, in case someone wants a rough idea on how much an order of, say, invoice books will cost. It's not exact because the price for supplies changes, but it's usually within a reasonable amount so sometimes we just charge the 'rough' price.
Today the Boss tells me that we have to redo the price list... and it goes a little something like this...
Boss: Here's the quote that the customer got (just over $200), and HERE'S the price in the book (just over $300). Do you see a problem here?
*EPG looks at the quote, then at the pricing book*
EPG: Yes.
Boss: Do you know how that happened?
*EPG looks at the quote again, then at the book again*
EPG: Yes.
Boss: Really? And how did this happen?
EPG: The person who took the job gave them a price for a job printed on 2 part NCR (that's white/yellow carbonless paper) but the job is to be printed on 3 part NCR (that's white/yellow/pink).
*Boss takes the quote, then looks at the book again, then at the quote again*
Boss: Well, whoever did that certainly wasn't paying attention to what they were doing... Who's writing is that?
*EPG looks at the quote again*
EPG: Yours.
*Boss looks at the quote again, then turns and walks away...*
The Stamp
Two days ago, a woman comes in to the store madder than a wet cat (I was away for lunch... My lucky streak continues!). The organization that she works for ordered a self-inking stamp through us and WE put the wrong address on the stamp. Now, if it is our fault, we replace it for free... but we need to be sure that it is our fault. Luckily, we keep the original order forms, plus any artwork, stapled to the bill to the stamp maker, who I will call 'F' (who is a great guy, a former pressman with the local newspaper who is retired but makes stamps to suplement his pension). So, when I get back from lunch I'm told to start digging for the original. Search through the bills for 2010 so far... nothing. Dig out 2009 and search... nothing. Dig out 2008 and search... nothing.
So, we call 'F' and see if he has any way of checking. 'F' says he'll get back to us.
'F' came in today, with a copy of the invoice with the stamp on it. Dated November 2007. Billed to another stationery store.
So Boss calls the organization to tell them to pick up their stamp and explain why we wouldn't be replacing it for free. That's when he found out something interesting... the organization had just moved. So, up until a few months ago, the address on the stamp was correct.
Yeah.
The Fax Machine
A few weeks ago, a woman brings in a fax machine to get her money back. It was bought for a business but they never use it, didn't even hook it up, etc. She doesn't even wait for us to look at it, she just leaves it on the counter, says the name of the business and says "put the credit on the account."
Well, that's not going to happen, for three reasons:
1) According to your account, that fax machine was purchased in April of 2008, WAY past the 1 year warrenty period.
2) According to your account, you've been purchasing ink for that very machine every month, so your statement of 'not used' is BS.
3) After examing the box, we have discovered a problem: The box is that of the Brother fax machine that you had purchased, but the machine INSIDE the box is a Panasonic... and from the looks of it, a Panasonic that is roughly 20 years old.
The Boss has been trying to reach the owner of the business, but no luck yet...
The Boss (a Morons in Management bonus story)
We keep a rough pricing guideline for printing jobs behind the counter, in case someone wants a rough idea on how much an order of, say, invoice books will cost. It's not exact because the price for supplies changes, but it's usually within a reasonable amount so sometimes we just charge the 'rough' price.
Today the Boss tells me that we have to redo the price list... and it goes a little something like this...
Boss: Here's the quote that the customer got (just over $200), and HERE'S the price in the book (just over $300). Do you see a problem here?
*EPG looks at the quote, then at the pricing book*
EPG: Yes.
Boss: Do you know how that happened?
*EPG looks at the quote again, then at the book again*
EPG: Yes.
Boss: Really? And how did this happen?
EPG: The person who took the job gave them a price for a job printed on 2 part NCR (that's white/yellow carbonless paper) but the job is to be printed on 3 part NCR (that's white/yellow/pink).
*Boss takes the quote, then looks at the book again, then at the quote again*
Boss: Well, whoever did that certainly wasn't paying attention to what they were doing... Who's writing is that?
*EPG looks at the quote again*
EPG: Yours.
*Boss looks at the quote again, then turns and walks away...*
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