There was a customer in the restaurant who ordered a soup based noodle dish for dinner. As described on the menu, the dish consisted of noodles and had other items such as beef and vegetables in it. When the customer received the order, she ate a little and then requested if we could take the beef out of the dish as she wasn’t much of a meat eater. So, we did.

She then called us again and now requested that we take out some of the vegetables as again it is not something that she would normally like. Finally, she calls us for the third time and now mentions how there seems to be too much soup in the dish and requested that we drain it so that she can simply et the noodles only. Sure enough, we did it.

When it came to the bill, she was outraged at it as she believed she shouldn’t have to pay the full price since all she ate was mainly the noodles. She also mentions how we could have simply served another person the portions that she did not eat and it’s our fault for wasting it which makes it our responsibility to cover the cost of it.

I was trying to sell something to a customer last week, and like most products in the store, the item I was selling had virtually no markup.  In fact, when you take into the account the cost of shipping this thing to our store, the cost of paying our warehouse crew to process the item off the truck and print a price tag for it, along with the cost of rent and utilities and my own wage to sell the darn thing, we’ve lost a good amount of money just to get on the shelf for the customer to buy. 

To offset all those costs and generate enough of a profit to pay a dividend to our shareholders, our sales staff are taught to sell add-ons.  So once we determined what it was what the customer wanted, I went about trying to find some accessories and other add-ons the customer might need, as well as offering an extended warranty service.  I also went about explaining any other features the product might have but that the customer may not have known about.

Of course the customer did not buy everything, which I expected.  I only wanted him to buy whatever accessory he thought was useful or interesting.  I’ve done this long enough to know that when you sell something a customer doesn’t actually want, they’ll just return it later.  But when I got to explain the extended warranty service the customer said he didn’t even want to hear about it. He was abrupt and rude, and having spent nearly a half hour with this gentleman I was a little offended that he didn’t have the courtesy to extend another minute to hear my sales pitch.  I asked him why he didn’t even want to hear what I was about to say, and he simply stated, “I know you guys make money off the extended warranty so I won’t buy it.”  I told him the whole purpose of my store or any business was to make money. 

I asked him again, if I could, like I did with the product itself, like I did with all the other accessories he was about to purchase (some of which had a better markup than the warranty itself,) simply explain the warranty and if he did not find it useful, then he could simply decline.  He looked me straight in the eye and said once again, “I know you guys make money off it so I am refusing to buy it.”  I rang up his purchase, bid him good day, and hoped to never have the misfortune of serving this particular gentleman again.

To be honest, I’ve done my job for years now, and I don’t really care whether someone buys the warranty or not.  However, if someone declines the extended warranty or anything else, they need to decline it for the right reasons.  If they’ve looked over the terms and don’t see a use for any of them, then decline.  I can’t sell you something you don’t need.  But don’t decline it because it helps us generate a profit. 

If you don’t work for a business then you’re running one.  And the point of any business is not lose money or even to break even.  A business needs to make money to support itself, its employees, and if it’s publicly traded, it needs to support its shareholders as well.  My customer had a stance that was one, irrational because he was not thinking of his own personal benefit but rather thinking of ways to ensure my store and I did not benefit whatsoever, and two, hypocritical because if it was his own business he would have no problem looking for ways to increase profit.

Lastly, is it so bad that we let someone make some money?  I’ve always been a fairly generous tipper and at the two lunch spots I always go to I leave a one dollar tip for a five dollar lunch.  I order what’s one menu and have yet to make any special request, although if I made a special request both places would accommodate me unquestionably.  The service I receive is always prompt and the people are friendly and welcoming.  If that customer came back to my store again, the one who wouldn’t even hear my sales pitch, I would still help him, but I certainly won’t go out my way to help him. 

I’ll smile but I won’t mean it.  I’ll be friendly though I don’t want to.  I’ll do my job.  Had he simply listened to my sales pitch and politely declined, things would most certainly have been different.  But he finds it offensive that I’m trying to make some money on his sale when all I’m doing to trying to make a living.

I used to do warranty repairs for home electronics a few years back and I remember this conversation a co-worker of mine had on the phone with a customer.

Co-Worker: Sir, I’m calling you to let you know there are roaches inside your DVD player and we will be refusing to service your item under the manufacturer’s warranty. Please pick up your item by the end of the day or we will dispose of it for health reasons.”

My friend is quiet while the customer at the other end is speaking.

Co-Worker: No, the warranty only covers manufacturer’s defects - either problem in workmanship or design. We will not be servicing your unit.

Another few seconds pass as he listens to the customer. His face starts to frown.

Co-Worker: Sir, did you hear me? There are cockroaches in your DVD Player. That is not a problem of workmanship or design. (Pause)

The customer then begins to say something and my co-worker reacts.

Co-Worker: No! It is not normal for cockroaches to live your VCR, or any other appliance or piece of electronic equipment. That’s why we can’t cover you under the warranty.

Customer then appears to understand and my co-worker is relieved a bit.

Co-Worker: Good, I’m glad you understand now, will you be picking up your DVD player or should we dispose of it for you?”

Suddenly, he has a long pause and this time his eyes begins to roll.

Co-Worker: Our in home technicians are pretty much booked this week. Let me get the number of another service depot and maybe they can get someone to your house and find out what’s wrong with your TV set.

Like every big box retailer, my company offers no interest financing for large purchases. The caveat being that you pay the total amount in its entirety by the end of the financing term, or we’ll ding you for all interest accrued all at once. Still, it’s an option and for a small financing fee, a lot of customers take advantage of it.

A little while ago, one of the managers at work spent nearly half an hour explaining to one such customer that we mailed monthly statements to all customers opting for financing, updating them of the balance still owing. He explained how every financing contract states the exact amount of time that a customer has to pay the full amount by. He even pointed out that the payment due date was on the customer’s receipt.

This customer however, was refusing to pay the late penalty. He kept stating because he did not receive a telephone reminder the day before the due date, he was not responsible for a single penny of the interest we charged. In fact, because we did not call him, he claimed that we were negligent and therefore obligated to pay his interest for him.

Right.

No joke, but this guy was totally serious.

One of the guys at work had a customer call in asking if we could hold a Nintendo Wii for him.  As per company policy, he told the customer that because of the intense demand, the consoles were first come first served.

“How am I going to get one if you don’t hold one for me?” he asked irritably.

“Well, just come down as soon as you can and hopefully we’ll have some left.”

“What happens if you sell out?  Do you guys know how much gas is going to be wasted if I come down there for nothing?”  The customer’s voice started to rise.  “Don’t you what that’s going to do to the environment?!?  Don’t you people care?”

“Sir,” my co-worker answered.  “Maybe you shouldn’t drive down here at all.  If you get a Wii you’re just going end up using more energy and killing the environment anyways.”

One day a person came in asking for the game NBA Live as she wanted to buy it for a present. She wasn’t too sure which game console system her nephew had. After speaking to her, we determined that her nephew had a Gamecube and so I showed her the game that she was looking for.

At about the same time, she saw the PS2 version of the same game which was about $5 cheaper as it was on sale. She then questioned why I didn’t show her that one first as it was the same game except cheaper. I then explained how that game will not be playable on her nephew’s system as these games will only play on specific game systems.

She then questioned my knowledge and mentioned how I was just trying to get her to pay more because I was a typical commissioned based sales person. I mentioned that this was not a commission based department and that I am just trying to help her purchase the correct item. Still, she refused to believe me and purchased the PS2 version of the game instead.

A few days later, she returns to the store and complains that the game is faulty as the disc is too big and wouldn’t fit in her nephew’s system.