Take (Your Appliances), Baby, Or Leave Me

In my days of glorious retail, I worked at a well-known UK electronics store. In training, we were always told to take each customer on “the journey”. This meant talking to them and finding out what they wanted, what their issue was, and how we could provide a “solution” for it. In layman’s terms, we needed to find something that we could charge them ridiculous amounts for; 90% of the time, it could be purchased cheaper somewhere else. In the old days of retail, everything was about giving as much discount as necessary to make the sale, often giving things away to sweeten the deal, and making a fair amount of commission. A lot of customers still have this mindset, unfortunately.

I had a customer wanting a washing machine, a Dyson vacuum, a forty-inch LED TV, cables, and delivery. He was not taking the cover (extended warranty) on any product. To the bosses, this meant a less desirable sale as there was not much profit in it.

At the end of the sale, the customer came to me.

Customer: “So, what price are you going to give me for all of this?”

I looked at him and openly said:

Me: “I may be able to get you about £15 off, but that is about all.”

The man looked shocked.

Customer: “What?! I expect at least £100 to £150 off. If not, just give me the Dyson for free!”

In that moment, most people in customer service would do everything to help the customer. I, however, just laughed in his face. He acted confused, and I explained that I didn’t get commission, just a salary and bonus on performance. He walked out, saying he could get a better deal at a now-defunct retail chain.

Two weeks later, he came back in, saw me, and said he wanted those products. I did the order again and he scoffed at the price.

Customer: “Why has it gone up £35?”

Me: “Some of those items were previously on a deal that has now ended.”

Of course, he complained, but he was told to pay or just go away. I happily took the sale with the classic customer service smile.