The Road To Yell(ing) Is Paved With Good Intentions
Customer: “How much is this bag?”
Me: “That bag is actually part of a deal: if you purchase twenty dollars worth of product you can get the bag for an additional ten dollars.”
Customer: “That’s not what I asked. How much is the bag?”
Me: “Oh, I’m sorry. The price of the bag itself is forty dollars.”
Customer: “So why’d you tell me all of that other garbage?”
Me: “I was just telling you the deal we had going on with the bag. If you spend twenty dollars, you can get the bag for ten dollars.
(I glance at her shopping bag and notice other items.)
Me: “… and it looks like, with those lotions, you’ll be spending around eighteen dollars, so if you spent another two dollars, you could get the deal.”
Customer: “Why can’t I just buy the bag?”
Me: “You can buy the bag. It’s just a better deal the other way. You’re already close to spending twenty dollars with those two lotions, so if you reached twenty, you’d get the bag for ten.”
Customer: “This is ridiculous. Any time I come into this store, you people always try to get me to buy more of your junk than I want.”
Me: “Ma’am, I’m not trying to push you to buy anything… You’d just be saving a lot of money. Spending around thirty dollars and getting more items, rather than spending around sixty and getting fewer items.”
Customer: “Well, I don’t care. If I wanted to buy something else, I’d have put in in my shopping bag. This is all I want, so don’t go trying to get me to buy anything else. I’m ready to check out.”
Me: “Okay, then. I can ring you out.”
(We both proceed to the cash register, where she purchases the two lotions and the tote bag.)
Me: “Alright, that’s going to come to $61.77 after tax.”
(The woman goes to swipe her card when her daughter comes up to the register, adding a $6 lip gloss to her purchase. The woman nods, and I ring it through as well.)
Me: “And the new total is going to be $36.21.”
Customer: “Why did the price go down so much?!”
Me: “…Seriously?”
This story is part of the Customers-Are-Their-Own-Worst-Enemy roundup!
Question of the Week
Have you ever served a bad customer who got what they deserved?
