[Goodbye]

Last night at work I had to deal over the phone with the most furious customer I have ever come across in 5 years working at Officeworks.

This elderly couple came in on Friday to order two chairs to be delivered to their house. Delivery takes two working days (delivered from Brisbane, not the store), however the person who served them didn't take into account Monday's public holiday. So this couple were waiting all day for their chairs on Tuesday which of course didn't show up.

The wife calls up at 4.30 on Tuesday afternoon asking where their chairs were, I tell them I'll see if I can find out, and will call them back shortly.

Go and print a copy of the receipt, but can't get on to our delivery centre in Brisbane as it's out of hours. Call them back and that's where all the trouble starts.

Husband picks up the phone (now keep in mind they're living in a retirement village, so they're in their early 70s I'd imagine). I tell him that there's nothing I can do tonight, but that first thing in the morning someone will check to see where their chairs are, and call them first thing.

He then starts shouting down the phone:

"WE PAYED ALMOST $400 FOR THESE CHAIRS AND THIS IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE"
"I WANT THESE CHAIRS HERE NOW! YOU BRING THEM TO ME NOW!"
"I'M A WESFARMERS SHAREHOLDER AND I'M GOING TO SELL MY SHARES IF THEY DON'T COME TONIGHT!"

I reply to this last point "Well that's up to you Sir"

"NO IT'S NO UP TO ME! AND STOP CALLING ME SIR! IS THAT ALL YOU CAN SAY?!"

"There is nothing I can do this afternoon Sir, first thing tomorrow I will get someone to call you back."

At this point I'd had enough of his swearing and carrying on at me and I just put the phone down. Worst thing to do in this situation I realise, but I was not getting through to him, and he just wanted to keep yelling and swearing at me.

--

About 2 hours later he phones back. Begins very calm, tells me his name (how could I forget?), then when I tell him "As I said earlier, I will get someone first thing to call you back"

NO! I WANT THESE CHAIRS HERE TONIGHT!

Well Sir, that's just impossible as we don't actually have these chairs at the store.

He finally realises that he's not going to get his precious chairs tonight, and then gives me another ultimatum.

"IF THEY'RE NOT HERE BY 10AM [and he says "10AM" very slowly and clearly] I WILL BE CALLING RICHARD GOYDER [Wesfarmers GM] AND TELLING HIM PERSONALLY HOW INCOMPETENT YOU ARE".

"Well that's your prerogative Sir, if you wish to do that"

"I'LL BE SUING YOU PERSONALLY IF THE CHAIRS AREN'T HERE BY 10AM TOMORROW!"

"Me personally?"

"YES, YOU PERSONALLY, NOT THE COMPANY - YOU!"

"OK Sir, look..."

"STOP SAYING OK! HOW THE **** DO YOU SPELL THAT? O.K. OR OKAY?
WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME"

"I'm not going to give you my full name Sir"

"YOU'RE NOT? WHY NOT?"

"Because of my own privacy, and because it has no relevance to the issue at hand"

"THEN WHO ARE YOU AND WHO DO YOU BELONG TO?"

"Who do I belong to?"

"WHO DO YOU WORK FOR?!"

"My name is Ashley and I work at Officeworks Maroochydore"

"ASHLEY? WHAT SORT OF NAME IS THAT??"

"Sir, I've told you what I can do for you unfortunately tonight, but first thing tomorrow I will tell whoever is on to chase this up"

The above was said over him shouting and swearing and carrying on. He then puts his wife on who is much more reasonable (but still understandably angry), and I explain what's going to happen.

--

I hardly thought when I went to work yesterday what an eventful evening I'd have.

His total disregard for any sort of reason was the most frustrating thing in dealing with someone like this. I could understand his anger, but don't people understand that swearing at, and insulting people isn't going to make them help him anymore? Had he been more reasonable (I'm not saying he shouldn't be angry), he may have got a more satisfactory outcome. Nothing he could yell at me was going to make his chairs magically appear. "Oh! You just insulted my name! Here are your chairs - ta-daaaa"

My manager was standing next to me listening to my side of the second conversation, and she said she was very proud of the way I handled myself. Stayed calm, listened to what he had to say, saying that I understand.

His chairs won't be there by 10am today just because of the way deliveries work, so I'm just glad I'm not in today to see the reaction.

What would you do in a situation like this? I haven't had a whole lot of experience with angry customers, mainly because I'm perfect ,
so when something like this does come up, it's really hard to know how to react!

Thanks for reading.

Please PM me for details of donating to the "Goodbye's being sued fund". Taking all donations - large or small.

[Phase]

Some people are angry assholes.

You just get that. I'd use to just smile, I mean shit, I loved having the monotony of the day broken up a little with the loonies.

The guy you had was a particularly awesome variety of crazy.

Key sentences that would make me laugh at you, rather than care anymore:

'You people'
'This is unacceptable, I paid X dollars of my OWN money' (no shit, your own?)
'I'm going to sue X'
'I want to talk to a manager'
etc, etc.

By the by, I have often been 'Ulysses, Xenos, and Tevelian' for the sake of the 'WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME Raaasdhgjsdxg.

I cried laughing hearing managers tell people there is no Xenos working here.

[Goodbye]

Oh I had to laugh at the "I'm suing you personally" line.

Me? I'm just the poor sod who happened to answer the phone! Sue the muppet who told you the chairs would be there a day early!

He didn't even ask to speak to a manager, so I didn't offer that course of action.

But yes, it was a good break up from the monotony of the day!

[Lutze]

The most famous incident I have of dealing with a customer like yours was to, after 20 mins of fixing their problems to be faced by 30 mins of complaints that I would not fix an issue that was not ours I told the customer that I was going to end the call.

The user asked my name - I made one up - they asked my department - I told them I worked in the "I'm not helping you department" and hung up.

2 weeks later my boss walked up and said that I'd been transferred to the I'm not helping you department .... thankfully he found the funny side and I got roasted.

My response would probably have been similar... but I would have said next to nothing. State the solution that is available and then keep quiet. Let them complain and get it off their chest - if you do this properly then the customer see's you as being on their side and it's then you and them vs "the man".

[forno]

I wouldnt worry at all, there will be no further action on his behalf if he gets the chairs today.

Piss n wind IMO

[Phase]

Originally Posted by forno

I wouldnt worry at all, there will be no further action on his behalf if he gets the chairs today.

Piss n wind IMO

Well exactly.

I was lucky to work at a shop where the manager was actually on our side when it came to the loonies beating their chest.

Some people are under the impression that if you go to a store, raise your voice and start slagging off X product, that you'll get your way.

Not at our store. I personally relished these fucktards. I was often fascinated by how much arrogance you could squeeze into one person.

I've been sworn at, spat at, had products thrown at me, been threatened to have my limbs/face/neck broken, personally sued, my family sued (the fuck), find where I live, kids shitting their pants and the parents just tutting them and leaving their mess on the carpet, people sobbing, and a guy kick- and burst a girl's wheelchair tyre in front of me.

Pretty much seen the works.

(This is why I treat retail workers with the upmost humility and gratitude, because I fucking know what they go through).

[tintinaujapon]

There should be a principle in law that, to whatever extent possible, you don't pay for something until you're able to hold it in your hot little hands.

Then in cases like this it's less of a drama and the customer, although inconvenienced, doesn't feel like their money's paying for an executive's crack habit while they're sitting on the floor twiddling their thumbs.

[forno]

Spat at!!, you have more control over your rage than I do!

I will not let little cherry of personal attack that slide EVER!

[Lumus]

I feel for you man. I've had two customers get upset at me and if there's nothing you can do for them there and then thats when the tears/yelling/swearing starts.

The first was about 6 months after I started with Vodafone. I had a customer with a phone that had a known fault and the fix for it was for it to be repaired as we didn't stock it any more. One of the guys knew a workaround to get him by until we had a loan handset in stock but he thought it was a permanent fix. He came back a few days later when I called to let him know we had the loaner and said "I've come to pick up my replacement handset." I kindly informed him "The handset we have is a loan, not a replacement".

He then claimed he was told that I would swap the handset for a new one there and then and didn't accept the fact that his phone needed to be repaired. (Also bear in mind his phone was 11 months into a 12 month warranty). After about 10 minutes of "I'm not leaving until I have a new phone." with my "The only way I can do anything is to send it away" replies he just wouldn't leave. Eventually he turned to me and yelled "YOUR JUST F*$&#G USELESS! VODAFONE IS F$*%(#G USELESS!" and threw the phone at me. Fortunately it missed and hit the wall behind me, with people from the nearby stores watching. The phone smashed into a bout 4 peices at which point I turned to him and said "I'm sorry sir, this repair is now classed as phyical damage and will cost you $150 to get fixed"...... It felt good saying that.

The other one was more recent. A woman in her late 60s I guess came in and asked for a $30 recharge. Before any of us replied she said "And don't you DARE tell me that it will last me 12 months, this one only lasted me 4." Curious I asked what problems she had. "I was told that $30 would last 12 months before I had to buy more" she said. Every time I tried to explain that "Yes, $30 can last you 12 months but if you use it it will run out sooner". As she turned away I (stupidly) narrowed my eyes at her as she'd really pissed me off (Don't interrupt me... hint hint.) She saw me and walked up and pointed her finger in my face. "How dare you narrow your eyes at me! You have the worst customer service I have ever had.". I replied "I'm sorry you feel that way, but I have tried a number of times to politely explain how the credit works but you keep interrupting me". She said "I was lied to about the credit and I want you to fix it". "What do you expect me to do?" i asked, once again getting pissed off. "Make it so it lasts longer." she said. "The only way to make it last longer for you is to put more than $30 on there". Her response was "Well get your wallet and put more on." "Obviously I'm not going to do that!" I said so she said "Give me your name your obnoxious little s%*t" So I gave her my first name and staff number and let it be.

While this was going on Hollie (other sales person) was watching, and was just starting to put the recharge on the womans phone. The woman was walking out the door withour her phone so Hollie yells "Would you like your phone!?". Old woman comes back mumbling something about "little bitch" in reference to Hollie. I turned around with the intention to say "Don't refer to my staff like that!" and before I got a chance to say anything she said "You shut up!". "Excuse me!" I said. "SHUT UP" she yelled. My response got the attention of a few nearby shops as well as a few customers "NO YOU F$*#(G SHUT UP AND GET OUT OF MY STORE NOW!".

I'm not so bad now but I still get riled up when customers start yelling at me and telling me what I can and can't do.

[shiny]

I work in call center for an ISP and have had my fair share of angry customers.

We have a one warning system for abuse/swearing, if a customer starts to abuse or swear you warn them 'If you continue to swear/abuse I will end the this call'.

Typically this calms them down, you get a few that push it typically with 'You think your're so f**king smart'..click

I have had a customer advise he has 'contacts' and will ruin me and that I could never get another job, another said he will wait for me out the front and sort me out after work . Also a lady who runs a gun shop who advised me if her fault was not fixed she was going to take 'action', I just had images of her bursting into reception with a machine gun, she was a nutter, would not listen to reason and expected an instant magic fix!

[melbmac]

I know precisely how you feel.

I usually take the complete silence option, when they realise your saying nothing, stop and ask if your still there you can then say, "now that your done insulting me I can start trying to help you..."

[gehenna]

When I was working Helpdesk I gave up on even trying to deal with people like that after the first few times. Whenever it happened I would just calmly say "If you continue to talk to me in this manner I will have no choice but the end this phone call". Usually they wouldn't hear me say that because they were too busy ruffling their feathers, so I would have to hang up after that.

I don't care who you are or where you work, you don't have to put up with crap like that from anyone.

[banjo]

The best way to deal with these sort of customers, if the fault is avoidable and at your end (i.e. caused by the company or another staff member), is to offer them something free for the inconvenience. Try to give them anything, even if it's something like a free set of prints at the photo centre. Most of the time they might be itching for a fight but you can distract them by getting in first with a (seemingly) generous offer.

A small gesture like that will typically placate an upset customer, and it's best done as soon as you realise there was a mistake on your end, before they get angry. Of course, don't get carried away and offer something out of proportion with the inconvenience caused. Stay reasonable, and if their demands or outrage are incommensurate with the offence, then stick your ground. Most people will take what they can get.

But sometimes you get the crazies who will demand more than they should. The best way to deal with these people is to stay calm, explain the situation patiently (but not patronisingly), and let them vent ... a little. If they push the issue to far, too long, and won't take the only explanation and solution (or lack thereof) that you have to offer, then often it's best to end the conversation.

I would have hung up long before you did and have on many occasions simply walked away from irate customers who wouldn't take "no" for an answer.

Anyway, the only time I really lose my temper with customers is when they abuse other staff, particularly the checkout staff who have the least control over anything and lack the ability (according to policy) even to walk away. A few times I've told customers that such abuse is unacceptable and not to come back until they're ready to apologise to that staff member. Once or twice I've told customers that they're no longer welcome and never to come back.

On the rare occasion that those incidents were raised to a higher level (i.e. head office), I've had the back up of my managers to show the cause was just. Getting rid of trouble-making customers is often better for the company (and staff morale) than giving in to their demands.

[tcn33]

Originally Posted by Phase

'You people'
'This is unacceptable, I paid X dollars of my OWN money' (no shit, your own?)
'I'm going to sue X'
'I want to talk to a manager'
etc, etc.

"I'm calling Today Tonight!" was a particular favorite of mine.

I used to just sit there in absolute silence until they ran out of steam and eventually said "Hello? Are you still there?" After that point you can usually speak normally without them going off, and if they do you just repeat the process.

Just be happy it wasn't the angriest man ever.

[bdude]

I just smile, say "have a nice day" and then bitch about them later.

[Granny Mac]

I had a retail manager once who calmly stated to us (her staff, in a retail store) that she would always get a refund for an item she didn't want even if the policy was no refunds. She would "simply start yelling till she got what she wanted", great inspiration for her staff.
In a career in sales I've had many abuses, unfortunatly for me I always got upset even though I tried not to show it. The adrenalin would kick in and the hands start shaking, you think I would have got used to it. Unfortunatly in retail, you just have to cop it. I have spent my life being appalled at the way people treat staff and stock in stores.
In one of my last jobs I was a manager of a French Lingerie store, and the way customers treated $200 sets of french lace undies never ceased to amaze me.
I developed a look, and I would just stand there and look at them. I once got a written warning from a company because of the way I looked at a customer.
Working in retail is the worst job and it's just because of the way other people treat you. Billy Connolly is the funniest man around but he once cracked a joke about how fun it was to go into a clothing store and unfold all the neatly folded jumpers. Thought it was a huge joke. I've never liked him as much as I used to after that. Yeah! I know taking it all too personally, but retail does that to you.
It is interesting though once I got grey hair I had less people abuse me. I experimented once, dyed my hair and then let it go grey again. I don't know if it was because of reverence for my extreme age or because I was a doddering old fool that they couldn't get sense out of

[Brains]

I laugh. I can't help it, if someone gets angry at me I laugh. Sure, it often makes them even more angry, but I cannot help but think how much of a stupid clown they're being when they're angry

[OziMac]

Sorry to hear it Goodbye, but sounds like you handled yourself pretty professionally.

I have to say, I'm generally pretty customer biased given the shoddy service that most companies proffer these days, but I do know what it feels like to be on the other end of things so I try to at least be on the level and gracious with customer service given that there is actually only so much they can do. I agree with the comment above that if a customer has at least a rational reason to feel wronged or mislead, it doesn't hurt if customer service can offer some sort of token gesture to acknowledge that, rather than simply stonewall (which is what tends to lead to increased tempers).

I'd be interested to know though how you think it might have helped this man's case to remain calm (other than karmically)? I mean, regardless of how calm or angry he was, nothing was going to get the chairs to him any sooner right? So was he just (wrongly) letting off some steam?

[Exocet]

I did a work-based two day course on Handling Difficult Situations the other week. Very insightful look at the kinds of tactics people use to get the upper-hand in arguments and what methods you can use to overcome them.

[dekco]

well, i was once called an arsehole for being fast on the registers (at myers).

another time i was abused for handing out phamplets to a child (who grabbed one of me, because it had the latest toy on the cover!)

eitherway, im doing my job as per orders from management. sadly, the exact management failed to side me (in my opinion!).