Unfiltered Story #247559

(We are a office/printing supply company that sells mostly to businesses, so 95% of customer interaction is via email and phone. A woman with a Christian preschool has ordered a laminating machine. She had ordered one previously almost a full decade ago. When she did, they received a free training on how to use the laminator. She is ordered this laminator from us again because she was “super happy with the customer service last time”. A decade ago, this company was huge with over 100 employees in sales alone, made millions a year, and could afford such services. In the time since then, the owners participated massively in fraud, began hemorrhaging money, and fired everyone except three workers. Six months ago, the company was bought by new owners who work mostly on servicing machines and large commissions. By buying us, they can expand their service area as well as earn new sales in supplies and other smaller products. We simply cannot afford to provide our labor for free at this size while still trying to merge the companies and find our feet together. It should be noted that the customer ordered this online, pre-paid, and asked in the order notes to set up a demo. There are only three of us in this office, and I overhear my coworker as he asks our boss about labor costs for a demo and if we even want to, as the laminator the customer ordered is not one we’ve ever sold before under new ownership, didn’t realize was on the website, and so are not extremely familiar with it. As well, since we didn’t realize the laminator was even available, it is not until this order that we see we are not even making 20% on it, prompting my boss to up the cost on our site.)

Coworker: “Hello! This is [Name] from [Company]. I’m calling in regards to your recent order for a laminator. We see that you asked about a demo! We actually can set up a service call for this. It would be a $65 labor fee. As well, it might take a week or two after the laminator gets to you for a service tech to come out to you, as our service tech is currently based in [a different state] and comes down here every two weeks.”

Customer: “What? Last time we ordered this, we received training for free. We have a lot of employees that use this laminator, so it is important they receive training, and we are only ordering this from you again because we were so happy with the free training we got last time.”

Coworker: “I’m really sorry, ma’am, but that’s not a service we can provide anymore. I have checked with my manager-”

Customer: “That’s just unacceptable. I need this for free. We got it for free last time.”

Coworker: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but we do charge for-”

Customer: “No, we were really happy with the customer service last time. You have to fix this.”

Coworker: *not willing to argue for an hour on something already decided* “Okay, let me talk to my boss again, and we’ll call you back.”

(This is when my coworker does some digging, as he is the only one out of all of us who can even see orders from before three years ago, and finds out the original order was from a decade ago. He also sees that they’re not a very good customer for us: they’ve only ordered twice in the past three years for a grand total of $100. If they ordered more or we’d made a bigger profit on the laminator, we’d be more willing to waive the fee.)

Me: “Do you want me to wait a bit and then call her? I’ll be firm. I’m not giving into her.”

Coworker: “Yeah! I can’t believe she’s being this stubborn over $65 bucks. We’re not even charging a full hour of labor.”

(We usually charge labor by the hour but sometimes charge by the half hour for schools or for trainings for nice customers. I wait a couple hours before trying the customer back.)

Customer: *sounding very tired* “[Name] at [School].”

Me: “Hello! This is [Name] from [Company]. I believe you spoke with [Coworker] earlier about a training for your laminator order.”

Customer: *immediately perks up* “Yes!”

Me: “I’m sorry, unfortunately, we cannot waive the labor fee for the training-”

Customer: *becomes very stern and unhappy and takes That Tone* “No, I was very happy with the customer service when we ordered this before and got free training.”

Me: “Do you happen to know when that was because our system-”

Customer: “Yes, yes, I have that all right here. It was [Name that not even my coworker who worked here for the old company recognizes] on [date a decade ago]. He came out and gave us free training? Has this changed since then?”

Me: *I do raise my voice in the middle of my spiel here because she has interrupted my coworker and I several times – and tries again here – and I’m determined to get my whole explanation out* “Yes, I’m sorry, but this has changed. A decade ago, this company was very large. About a year after your service date, the company began massively downsizing, and a couple months ago was actually bought out by a different company. Due to our smaller workforce and being under new management, we have had to change policy on this.”

Customer: “No, I received free training last time and would like it again. We have a lot of employees here using the laminator, so making sure the laminator is in good shape is very important to us, which is why it is important for us to be trained.”

Me: “I understand and we would be happy to provide that training for just a $65 labor fee.”

Customer: “No, we need this for free or we may just have to cancel our order.”

Me: “That would be fine, ma’am. We have not processed your order yet, so cancelling and refunding would be pretty easy.”

Customer: “Good.”

Me: “Great! Would you like me to go ahead and cancel your order, then?”

Customer: *pauses a heavy moment* “No, I would like to speak to a manager.”

Me: “That’s fine, ma’am, but I assure you that my coworker and I spoke with this to our manager, and he said we could not do a training for free.”

Customer: “Your name was?”

Me: “[Name].”

Customer: “And I spoke to [Coworker] earlier. I would like to speak to your manager. You can put me on hold to transfer me.”

Me: “Alright, give me just one moment.”

(I put her on hold and go tell my manager that she absolutely refuses to listen to my coworker and I and needs to hear that we will not provide our labor for free from him. I give him the number to pull up her order, and he says I can send her over. I walk slowly back to my office to do so. Note that my coworker and I share and office right across from our boss. We can hear everything any of us are saying unless someone closes their door. I cannot hear the customer’s side anymore, though.)

Boss: “This is [Name] at [Company].” … “Yeah, so we actually aren’t even sure if we can get this laminator yet. We’re checking with the manufacturer on availability now, and I should have an answer by the end of day.” … “No, no, if we can’t get you this laminator, we can still get you another [same size] laminator, just from a different manufacturer. There’s one that’s really popular with schools that we would be very confident training you on.” … “You’re quite welcome to do that. We can certainly let your order sit while you decide. I can assure you that our prices will still be competitive even on different laminators, though.” … “Okay, we cannot waive the labor fee. It would just be $65 to come out and train you, no matter which laminator you bought.” … “Yep, we do charge a labor fee.” … “Okay, I will let you know when they get back to me on the stock. Alright, have a good day. Bye.”

Coworker: “If they have so many employees using the lamiantor already, why do they even need the training!?”