Talking Turkey And Hamming It Up
At our deli, we have a wide variety of lunchmeats and cheeses. The prices of the current sales are displayed with yellow stickers with the current price on them over the regular prices, in large font. All of the products are displayed prominently in the front of our case. A seasoned regular will ask for [amount] of [flavor] [lunchmeat], please. Some people need a bit more hand-holding when it comes to ordering.
And some people… Well, I had this ridiculous level of neediness twice in one day.
Me: “Hello, how may I help you?”
Customer #1: “Ham.”
Me: “Is there a particular brand you would like?”
Customer #1: “What do you have on sale?”
Me: “[Store Brand].”
Customer #1: “I want [Store Brand] ham.”
She stares at me expectantly instead of providing any more information.
Me: “Did you want something smokier or sweeter?”
I finally get it narrowed down to a couple of options. She chooses one and I pull out a chub of it that was opened yesterday. It is only half gone. Think of a piece of meat that a deli clerk cuts on the slicer; that is a “chub”.
Customer #1: “Do you have anything fresher?”
Our boss, rightly, doesn’t like when we have multiple chubs open as that winds up costing us a lot of waste. So, instead of opening another one or arguing, I just show her the other ham option and she accepts that. She also finally tells me the amount she wants, and we go on our way.
A few hours later, I step up to another customer.
Me: “Hello, how may I help you?”
Customer #2: “Turkey.”
I stutter for a second and stare at her as my brain has short-circuited.
Customer #2: “I said I want turkey.”
Me: “Ah… we… ah…”
I gesture my arms wide to show we have a lot of options.
Me: “Can you, ah… narrow it down a little?”
Customer #2: “What do you have on sale?”
My brain finally fully reengages.
Me: “[Store Brand].”
Customer #2: “No, I don’t want that. I will have [flavor] [different brand].”
Me: *Internally* “And you couldn’t have said that to begin with?” *Outwardly* “And how much would you like?”
And we were finally able to get her meat cut.
Question of the Week
Have you ever served a bad customer who got what they deserved?
