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And your comment about not being able to make the USPS go any faster was rude and totally out of bounds. When you're at the point where you are about to get snippy with a payingcustomer, that is the point where you get a manager on the line and let them handle the situation.
WRONG!
You can only explain something to someone so many times, you cannot FORCE them to understand and accept it. Some people need a firm voice telling them their demands are unreasonable.
Customers have been catered to for so long they think that whatever they dish out a business has to put up with. Newsflash! Most businesses reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, more of them need to exercise it and let these POS customers know that they aren't putting up with their crap!
I am SO SICK of people bending over backwards for the most vile, bottom feeder customers out there!
You can only explain something to someone so many times, you cannot FORCE them to understand and accept it. Some people need a firm voice telling them their demands are unreasonable.
Customers have been catered to for so long they think that whatever they dish out a business has to put up with. Newsflash! Most businesses reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, more of them need to exercise it and let these POS customers know that they aren't putting up with their crap!
I am SO SICK of people bending over backwards for the most vile, bottom feeder customers out there!
It's not the job of a phone rep to use that "firm voice." Customer service reps have very little power to enforce company policy, and it is NOT their job to get into arguments with customers who are being belligerent.
If you read all the posts about the matter in question, it was in regards to a customer complaining about not knowing when their package was going to arrive, and also asking for a USPS tracking number, which the phone rep (C-D poster) was unable to provide. The poster claims that they couldn't provide tracking because it was international shipping, which is incorrect. When pressed, the poster got snappy and said they couldn't make the USPS move any faster.
That kind of attitude would get them fired where I work.
I've worked in customer service in one form or another for over 25 years. One thing that has been DRILLED into me is that when a customer is getting belligerent, you step aside and let a MANAGER sort it out. This is especially true when you are dealing with customer accounts that provide a good deal of business to your employer. We deal with a number of customers like that where I work, and yes, they have a right to be demanding when things don't go right.
And you ALWAYS bend over backwards, because it is the CUSTOMERS who actually pay your paycheck, not the CEO/shareholders/ company president, or whoever's name is stamped on the signature line.
I've both seen in person and watched videos online of irate customers who were in the wrong thinking that crying "This is customer service?" or some other sentiment with the idea of "the customer is always right" behind it automatically makes them right, and I have no qualms about telling them that they aren't!
Some customers think that a business owes them the world and must give into their way simply because they give them some of their money. While I'll agree that you should do your best to serve the customer and make them happy, some people are unable to be pleased and need to be told to GTFO and that they aren't getting their way no matter how much they whine and cry.
How would you deal with a customer like this? What is the appropriate response? And any self-employed people, have you ever had to "fire" a customer because they were unreasonable or unbearable?
IF you are a front line employee the most important words you need to learn are "Let me get my manager"
If you are self employed and the customer isn't worth the headache go ahead and fire them. Now if they represent a huge part of your business that is a very difficult decision, but in that case a financial analysis may make sense and in the end that analysis may very well prove the customer is "too expensive"
It's not the job of a phone rep to use that "firm voice." Customer service reps have very little power to enforce company policy, and it is NOT their job to get into arguments with customers who are being belligerent.
If you read all the posts about the matter in question, it was in regards to a customer complaining about not knowing when their package was going to arrive, and also asking for a USPS tracking number, which the phone rep (C-D poster) was unable to provide. The poster claims that they couldn't provide tracking because it was international shipping, which is incorrect. When pressed, the poster got snappy and said they couldn't make the USPS move any faster.
That kind of attitude would get them fired where I work.
I've worked in customer service in one form or another for over 25 years. One thing that has been DRILLED into me is that when a customer is getting belligerent, you step aside and let a MANAGER sort it out. This is especially true when you are dealing with customer accounts that provide a good deal of business to your employer. We deal with a number of customers like that where I work, and yes, they have a right to be demanding when things don't go right.
And you ALWAYS bend over backwards, because it is the CUSTOMERS who actually pay your paycheck, not the CEO/shareholders/ company president, or whoever's name is stamped on the signature line.
I'm all about trying to work things out with a customer to make them happy, but some people are unable to be pleased and bending over backwards trying to please them is a losing battle and a waste of time. You don't have to grab for every dollar that flies under your nose, especially if the customer is a total POS. And because customers are treated like their **** doesn't stink by other businesses has inflated their egos to the point where they think they can dish anything out and the business has to take it. Got news for them, I don't have to take your crap.
I'll do my best to please a reasonable customer, but some are not worth fighting for, let them become someone else's problem. Meanwhile, I'll stick to satisfying my loyal, paying customers, not bottom feeders who want something for nothing or don't want to wait their turn.
So you still haven't said what you would do as the boss if you had you for an employee and just lost a very important client. And said employee refuses to do what you say because no one can "boss" him. And don't forget, you still have payroll to meet. Seriously,what are you going to do?
So you still haven't said what you would do as the boss if you had you for an employee and just lost a very important client. And said employee refuses to do what you say because no one can "boss" him. And don't forget, you still have payroll to meet. Seriously,what are you going to do?
I don't have a problem with having a "boss" per se, I have a problem with people who bark orders and the only reason they can give to follow them is "because I said so". I'll GLADLY explain my reasoning and though process behind every policy and rule I make and follow. Granted, they might not AGREE with my reasoning, but at least I can articulate the reasons I feel it is the best course of action. If they still don't want to follow them, it's time for us to part ways. Bosses who are unwilling to discuss anything and just issue edicts are not ones I care to deal with.
Again, you misinterpret my inherent fear and distrust of authority as absolute hatred of it. Quite the contrary, my REAL problem lies with people who have unabashed respect and admiration for authority, seeing it as above reproach and unable to be questioned. People who see authority figures as perfect gods, not flawed human beings, who must follow their orders unquestioningly are the reason why the people in power can get away with so much, because no one will take a stand against it. The way I see it, the law is constantly changing, therefore it is not perfect and not inherently worthy of respect just by virtue of being a law, and neither are those who enforce it. Authoritarian people cannot make that differentiation.
IMO, the ones that are the worst are the ones who say they're "just following orders". That tells me they have a fundamental incapability to think for themselves or make decisions on their own, and they are only able to listen to what the person "above" them tells them to do. Simply being a sheep and doing what you're told is not an attitude worthy of respect.
And to the point of the thread, I do my best to keep my customers happy, that's what keeps them coming back and brings new business in. Some customers are not worth that effort do to being unreasonable, so I won't waste my time trying to please an unpleaseable person. I'll focus my efforts on customers who appreciate my time. That's the point of this thread, it's not "F the customer/boss/etc.", it's more of "not all business is good business/worth your time".
Global Express, Priority Mail International, and Priority Mail Express International, ALL include tracking information. If your employer used any of those, they had an obligation to give the tracking number to the recipient. .
True. If I worked for a business that didn't provide tracking numbers to their customers, I'd wonder "wow, they aren't giving out tracking numbers? Why?" And I'd probably understand why customers would be angry.
I just sell stuff online out of my home and always provide tracking numbers. It's come to be expected part of doing business, since so many things are purchased online these days.
Global Express, Priority Mail International, and Priority Mail Express International, ALL include tracking information. If your employer used any of those, they had an obligation to give the tracking number to the recipient.
And your comment about not being able to make the USPS go any faster was rude and totally out of bounds. When you're at the point where you are about to get snippy with a payingcustomer, that is the point where you get a manager on the line and let them handle the situation.
Depends how much they are paying......
Not all customers are created equal....
Worked for a large financial institution that actually had algorithms set up for customers....
The biggest complainers were our smallest profit centers...
We had no problem cutting them loose and focusing on the complaints of people who actually had "real" money....
What about people who go in for a bar meal, use discount/money off vouchers, complain at anything they can hoping for money off, never tip, drink tap water instead of ordering drinks they need to pay for, question everything on the bill like a standing charge. It’s not just one off they do everywhere they eat.
They pay peanuts and expect the best, you’d think they were in a Michelin Starred restaurant except there too cheap or poor to do that.
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