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Customers behaving badly
This article appeared in the October 2001 issue of MoneySense
Customers behaving badly
Getting shoddy service from store clerks? Maybe it’s you
Alex Mlynek
As a fellow consumer, I empathize with Ian McGugan’s frustration over the decline of customer service (Editor’s note, February 2001, print edition). At the same time, I can tell you that it’s just as tough being on the other side of the cash register.
Until a few months ago, I was a sales clerk for a major music-store chain in Toronto. While I won’t deny that sales staff can be disgruntled, especially on a Monday morning, retail is a give-and-take relationship. You may be a good customer who would never conceive of acting badly, but clerks get abuse on a regular basis–so when they see you walking through the door, they immediately toughen up for a confrontation. For example, when one of my co-workers asked a customer to wait while he helped someone else, the customer snapped: "I work in a bank, how dare someone who makes $6.85 an hour talk to me that way!" Which brings me to my first piece of advice on how to get better customer service:
• Point your ire in the right direction. If there are only two clerks on the sales floor, and they’re both helping customers, please don’t freak out because you haven’t been served yet. Clerks can’t help it if the store is understaffed, and making a scene only proves you’re less important than you think you are. (Got that, Mme. Banker?) You want someone to blame? Find the store manager and complain that he or she has not scheduled enough employees that day.
• Be honest about returns. Do you want to know why sales staff are suspicious when you ask for a refund? It’s because we’re accustomed to being bamboozled. Clerks can’t be sure who’s honest and who’s not and, unfortunately, you suffer for that fact. I’ve lost count of the number of shoplifters who tried to "return" stolen merchandise on my shift. "I got this CD for my birthday," they’d claim. "That’s why I don’t have a receipt." Others lurked outside the store entrance, waiting for legitimate customers to discard receipts on their way out. These scammers would lift the same CDs listed on the receipt, then march up to the counter for a false refund. Dozens more were notorious for buying a stack of discs on Monday and bringing them back on Friday–after burning copies on their home computers.
The regulars would try to avoid getting caught by giving me a different name each time they filled in a Reason for Return form. I have a news flash for these geniuses: this ploy is as transparent as a CD jewel case. I’m pretty damn sure you’re not Stevie Wonder–although the customer who actually was named Sammy Davis Jr. (he showed me his driver’s licence) did throw me off.
For honest customers, there is an easy way to ensure prompt, polite service when you return merchandise: bring in your receipt. That way, there will be no confusion about where, when and how you bought the item. Also, if you paid by credit or debit card, bring the card in, too. Often, stores require their staff to follow certain policies about returned merchandise purchased with plastic. If a clerk refuses to refund your money until you come back with your American Express card, don’t take it personally. She’s just doing her job.
• Put problems into perspective. If you do receive bad service, by all means talk to the store manager. But before you file a complaint, ask yourself: did my behavior make the situation worse? In my experience, there’s usually blame on both sides. Try to keep in mind that when you make a complaint, you may be jeopardizing somebody’s livelihood. So don’t exaggerate the problem. And if you do encounter amazingly good customer service–believe me, it does exist–make sure you let someone know about that, too.
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