Shaping Up To Be A Sour Note
(We are a corporate company that sells a lot of sheet music. I have only worked at this place for eight months. I am helping out with customer service calls, when a customer calls in asking me to explain something she sees on our website. I have been on the phone for the last ten minutes, trying to answer her questions.)
Customer: “So, the symbol doesn’t mean it has shaped notes?”
Me: “The symbol you are seeing only indicates that is a capella, not that is has shaped notes.”
Customer: “I know that is a capella, I just want to know if it has shaped notes. Can’t you hear? I’ll say it again… does the music have shaped notes?!”
Me: “[Customer], as far as I can tell, they are not shaped notes. There is no way for me to view the music, since it is an older piece. Is there a particular voicing you are looking for, so I can see if we have it in our store and can look at it for you?”
Customer: “I don’t care about the voicing, I just want to know if it is shaped-note. Is there a supervisor around I can talk to, since you apparently don’t know your product?”
Me: *tired of arguing with this customer* “Yes, hold on.” *I put her on hold, which she sighs at as I do, and ask my coworkers about it, and they tell me the same thing I’ve been telling her.* “Okay, they said that there is no way to tell if it is shaped-note if it does not specify it in the description. Since it is not a common notation, they would have it in the description if it had shaped notes.”
Customer: “So, you’re saying it is not shaped-note? Are there any that are?”
Me: “As far as I can tell, we have none that are shaped-note for that specific piece. It might be in a collection book, but when I search for it, nothing comes up with that title.”
Customer: “Well, you are no help at all. You clearly should not be in the in music business if you don’t even know your own product that you sell! You have wasted my time. I hope you are happy.” *hangs up phone*
Me: *turning to my coworkers* “Well, apparently I have no idea what I’m doing in this business.”
Question of the Week
Have you ever served a bad customer who got what they deserved?
