So I find myself now in the world of full-time work until
August. Luckily I have a great retail job, a pet shop if you must know, that
pays just enough and doesn’t bore me to death. Generally the customers are
polite, well-mannered, and happy with the level of customer service we provide,
but recently I have begun to notice that people are changing. The way we shop
and specifically the expectations we have of the staff members in stores, restaurants, and
hotels have changed, but before we consider why, allow me to better explain
myself.
As a customer I may enter a shop expecting to purchase a
particular item, for example I recently visited Top Shop
knowing the exact item I was looking for as I had previously seen it online. I
found the t-shirt but unfortunately they did not have my size. I’m sure you
will agree that the normal reaction to this would be to ask if they had any in
stock, to which I was told no. Now personally this was frustrating, but these
things happen, and so I thanked the colleague and left. I have worked at the
pet shop for nearly 5 years, and in most cases our customers behave in a
similar way, but recently individuals have begun to expect more from us.
An example of this occurred only today, where a customer
arrived expecting to buy a rabbit hutch. Unfortunately we did not have any in
stock as we had sold the last one previous to their visit, but rather than
politely leave they reacted differently.
They continued to demand various solutions that where beyond what you would
expect from a simple pet shop. For example they demanded huge reductions on our
display models, and when we did not reach a bargain they demanded a more
valuable hutch for the price of the unavailable one. Eventually the problem was
solved, leaving one of my colleagues to pick up the hutch from a store 25
minutes away and driving it to their house at no extra cost to the customer. In
similar situations I have even had people ask if we would pay their petrol for
the inconvenience. Customers have begun to seek compensation for any inconvenience, even where the fault may be their own.
Now, I understand their frustration but I found them
incredibly rude to expect such special treatment. Not only that, they got what
they wanted from a company who wishes to keep all of their customers happy even
at their own expense. It is clear to me that in this new age of customer
service, companies will throw money at anyone who sounds unhappy (Not always
the case though, Sports Vest *cough* *cough*). With this in mind, what message
are we giving to consumers? Are we encouraging people to ask for more and test
the boundaries? And if we are, will it no longer be practise to be polite in
such situations? Perhaps I should start expecting more from companies in order
to keep up, because clearly being polite does not get you the same result as
complaining.
While I leave you to consider this, I will share with you my
own personal revenge on the situation. This afternoon a lady in her 60’s
approached me asking for my help. She was very polite and well mannered, and
happily took my advice as we discussed the product she was interested in. After
price checking the item, I informed her of the cost as she considered buying
it. At £40 I personally felt the item in question was overpriced, but of course
I didn’t tell the customer this at the time and I waited for her next
instruction. She fumbled in her purse mumbling to herself that she should have
bought more cash with her. She explained to me she would have to go home and
come back, with no expectations of me at all. At this I explained that I would
reserve it for her, but I was not satisfied with my own answer. The poor woman
was so lovely how could I let her go home for more money? So at this I did
something very cheeky, “Would you have enough money if it was £30 pounds
instead?” I asked. The lady was astonished and looked at me saying, “You can’t do that?”,
but I did. I reduced the product under the pretence it was damaged and she went happily on her way. In my mind I had rewarded her for being polite, and for being a valued
customer. It’s customers like her that deserve our special treatment, not the
rude individuals who ask for it.
