Monday, July 7, 2008

Cranky Customers

Why is it that when it rains it pours? Yesterday, with two girls out sick, was one of the craziest days I've been through since I started my internship. The customers seemed to be needier than ever and were not looking to make my day easier. It was horrible and definitely made me reconsider if I'm cut out for retail management. The fun I went through yesterday include
  • Being screamed at over the phone because the lady gave me the wrong number and accused me of never calling her back. She desperately wanted 6 of the clay towels that we discontinued months ago and was so upset that I couldn't find them. I wanted to tell her to get over herself and to pick a different color because the clay color looked like something I puked up. Just because they're on clearance doesn't mean you should buy them.
  • A lady called while on vacation in Hawaii wanting these mother of pearl clearance place mats. When I had to put her on hold to find them and then help a few customers in line she rudely informed me her call was long distance and I should assist her first. I ran around looking for them and after finally finding them and ringing her up she told me she wanted them shipped to Canada. We don't ship to Canada.
  • Some guy was ordering an entire Calvin Klein bed and made me go over his order with detailed item descriptions at least five times. Which isn't that bad but it is when I have needy customers giving me the evil eye as I tell him I made sure I picked the right UPC codes and everything is full-sized.
  • Some lady was unhappy and disappointed with our selection because we didn't carry the towels in the ad in the newspaper. It was a 4-pack of cheap bright-colored wash cloths. Get over it
  • Some lady couldn't get why I couldn't just reduce the price of the frame she was buying. She wanted to buy a trash can and use her $20 off coupon. The $20 off coupon only works with a purchase over $50 but the trash can was only $40. So she had to spend 10 more dollars to use it. Well apparently nothing we sell is only 10 bucks and the cheapest thing she could find was a picture frame for 14.99. She wanted me just to take off the 4.99 so she'd only spend 10 extra dollars. After trying to explain to her I couldn't just adjust the price and going back and forth she decided she didn't want anything because it just was too much for a trash can. I smiled when the next guy I helped told me he thought she was crazy and was impressed with how I handled her.
  • Similarly, another lady was spending $48. She had the same $20 off coupon and a 15% off coupon. We can only use one and I told her it would be a better deal if she just spent $2 more so she could save 20 bucks instead of $7.20. We sell little Godiva Chocolates for 2 bucks but she'd rather only save 7 bucks than have the chocolate tempting her. I wanted to say honey just buy it and give it to me or heck, just throw it away.
  • I was helping some lady buy down comforters and mid-sentence her phone rang. She picked it up and answered it without excusing herself or apologizing to me. Then when I showed her Martha Stewart goodies she told me she refused to buy any of her stuff for political reasons. Uhhh how dare you diss my idol, girlfriend
It's hard to give outstanding service with such rude customers.

2 comments:

Sarah said...

Aww, Lara, how on Earth do you do it?! Crazies!!

And where do you work with such a variety of merchandise? (Sorry, I probably missed it in a previous post!)

Lara said...

ahh!! luckily my friend took me out to amazing pizza and beer after work so my bad day turned out much happier!

i'm interning at macy's. 5 weeks as a manager and then 5 weeks in the buying offices. i'm working with the home manager. it's a lot better than i expected. and most days aren't this terrible!