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oddspot
Location: Small Town Alberta Gender: Male Total Likes: 1 like
| | | Stupid Customers < on 2/17/2010 12:34 AM > | Reply with Quote
| | | Those of us working in or running shops, come across idiots on a fairly regular basis. People with no concept of anything. I had one today, hence my venting thread. Three stories come to mind 1. A lady stops at my shop to have four new tires installed. We were taking a bit longer then expected for the job. She fires into my office to complain. She MUST be somewhere important and she's going to be late. I inquire as to why/where. Turns out she was on her way from Kitchener, Ont (where the shop was/is) to Sarnia about two hours away for her sons surgery. She stopped to get the tires on the way LOL her explanation was....well they weren't road worthy for a highway trip! Guess what.... they were bald yesterday, last week and the week before.
2. We had a ladies car on the hoist waiting for a part from the Dealer. The dealer had sent the part on the normal run, stop at a couple of shops, and drop ours along the run. She sent me a lawyers letter threating a full lawsuit because I intentionally delayed her service because she was of African American descent hahaha She claims she heard me call the Dealer and say don't hurry with the part, she's black LOL 3. A lady with a Suzuki Sidekick comes in for a suspension check. The coil spring was broken... and when we lifted it up on the hoist, it fell out in two peices. She declined any repair. She filed a complaint with home office saying that she couldn't drive the vehicle and had to have it towed and we should pay the tow bill and the repair bill she ended up paying.
I get that auto repairs suck, sometimes shops fuck up, techs fuck up etc.... but some people are just complete ass hats your turn
| Even A Genius Has Questions!?! I do things because I choose to, not because I have to. My Life, My Rules - No Exceptions! |
| bandi Lippy Mechanic Bastard
Location: Trent Hills, ON Gender: Male Total Likes: 734 likes
A liminal mind is all I've ever known.
| | | | Re: Stupid Customers < Reply # 1 on 2/17/2010 12:39 AM > | Reply with Quote
| | | Friday: Customer comes in and asks the parts guy what we'd charge to take the locking wheels nuts off of his car that he lost the "key" for. Parts guy says it'd be straight time, but probably no more than half an hour. The guy goes ballistic, and proceeds to argue about it for half an hour, saying he could do it in 5 minutes. We suggested he does that a few times. An hour later he comes back, and asks what we can do for $15. So I removed one for him. THEN he wanted to know if I had "any old lug nuts kicking around that I didn't want"... fuck off. I can't fix stupid, but I can certainly charge accordingly for it. Also, a few weeks ago I put a new ignition lock cylinder in a Daewoo Epicrap (err... Chevy Epica). The tumblers wear out and the cylinder can't turn. A week later, the owner comes in going absolutely insane because her heater blower only works on high speed, and her washer pump won't work. Told me I was an asshole, I was a crook, and her "certified" mechanic friend said these problems were obviously caused by the new lock cylinder. RIGHT. The car needed a blower resistor, and the washer pump was rusted through. Thanks, you dumb bitch. The best part was, the car sat in the lot waiting for parts to come in for a week, which finished the (original) battery off. I charged it up so she could get home and didn't say a word. Apparently she was in tears on the phone when her car wouldn't start the next morning. Sorry, but I don't want you as a return customer.
[last edit 2/17/2010 12:45 AM by bandi - edited 1 times]
| hi i like cars |
| steponmebbbboom
Total Likes: 0 likes
*NSFW*
| | | Re: Stupid Customers < Reply # 2 on 2/17/2010 1:12 AM > | Reply with Quote
| | | stories like these make me so glad i made the career choice that i did, All my customers over the years have been businesses and the only front-line customer interface is with the service manager, between myself and the service manager i cant recall a time ive had to lock horns with a customer over anything. She fires into my office to complain. She MUST be somewhere important and she's going to be late. I inquire as to why/where. Turns out she was on her way from Kitchener, Ont (where the shop was/is) to Sarnia about two hours away for her sons surgery. She stopped to get the tires on the way LOL her explanation was....well they weren't road worthy for a highway trip! Guess what.... they were bald yesterday, last week and the week before. | i really cant see how a discussion like this is going to accomplish anything useful from a service standpoint even if you are in the right; no one likes to lose face and there's always a way to defuse a satisfaction issue with a customer that doesnt involve embarrassing them. don't fight; manage expectations and show youre doing your best, if the customer gets weird just politely invite them to seek satisfaction elsewhere. remember, your other, more reasonable customers are watching this exchange, and if you lose your temper or get snarky it's going to leave a bad taste in their mouth and theyll be spreading word of it as soon as they get home. if you handle the situation with grace and professionalism youll score confidence points with everyone who sees it. this is the kind of thing that draws quality customers and keeps them coming back, if you constantly have to deal with this kind of shit and cant figure out why, try to imagine how a resonable customer would feel having to sit in a waiting room where jerry springer is playing itself out in your office every day and youll soon see why they arent sticking around... its stressful enough having to sit there while their car is being fixed without having to watch arguments escalate at your counter.
| Mentos... The Freshmaker |
| oddspot
Location: Small Town Alberta Gender: Male Total Likes: 1 like
| | | Re: Stupid Customers < Reply # 5 on 2/17/2010 2:08 AM > | Reply with Quote
| | | Posted by steponmebbbboom stories like these make me so glad i made the career choice that i did, All my customers over the years have been businesses and the only front-line customer interface is with the service manager, between myself and the service manager i cant recall a time ive had to lock horns with a customer over anything.
i really cant see how a discussion like this is going to accomplish anything useful from a service standpoint even if you are in the right; no one likes to lose face and there's always a way to defuse a satisfaction issue with a customer that doesnt involve embarrassing them. don't fight; manage expectations and show youre doing your best, if the customer gets weird just politely invite them to seek satisfaction elsewhere. remember, your other, more reasonable customers are watching this exchange, and if you lose your temper or get snarky it's going to leave a bad taste in their mouth and theyll be spreading word of it as soon as they get home. if you handle the situation with grace and professionalism youll score confidence points with everyone who sees it. this is the kind of thing that draws quality customers and keeps them coming back, if you constantly have to deal with this kind of shit and cant figure out why, try to imagine how a resonable customer would feel having to sit in a waiting room where jerry springer is playing itself out in your office every day and youll soon see why they arent sticking around... its stressful enough having to sit there while their car is being fixed without having to watch arguments escalate at your counter.
| Ummmm what? Nowhere did I say i lost my temper or embarassed them. In fact if there is one thing i've been accused of throughout my career, it's not being harsh enough!! I am highly trained and experienced in customer service and leadership, am certified to teach both AND am a certified public speaking trainer. If there's one thing i'm REALLY good at, it's using words to guide and direct conversations and exchanges into a direction that I want it to go! But thanks for the customer service lesson coach.
| Even A Genius Has Questions!?! I do things because I choose to, not because I have to. My Life, My Rules - No Exceptions! |
| nostra-YOUPPI! Umpire
Location: Shahre:'on Kaybec Total Likes: 166 likes
Bonsoir et cest partie
| | | Re: Stupid Customers < Reply # 7 on 2/17/2010 2:10 AM > | Reply with Quote
| | | never worked in the car repair buziness but... as a computer geek and phone guy and former sous chef we had to deal with this crap all the time. tonight for example. I get a call from a local business. they got my name from a friends friend. Lady says she heard i can install a phone for a reasonable price. I tell her i only do Meridian/Norstar phone systems. She says fine, hers is a norstar. I go to my supply house pick up a t7316 set and go on over. When i get there i find a 1A2 keyset setup in there. Nothing i can do with that, only place to get parts for these setups are from EBAY. I inform her and she goes nuts. "MY SYSTEM SAYS NORTHERN TELECOM, YOU TOLD ME YOU COULD ADD A PHONE TO A NORTHERN TELECOM". she was almost in tears. Anyways, it was late, i wanted to get out of there with my good name, so i said i will have a look at the system anyways, turns out she didnt want a new phone, just a move. Now lets put this in context, on a meridian system i only have to pull some JKT or cat3 since they only use a single pair for all the functions. This system is 1A2, they have a 25 pair cable feedimg em, each key uses 3 pairs!!!
Anyways, 4 hours later ive pulled a 25 pair cable from the riser to the location(yes i still stock 25 pair cus it makes great trunk cable) Dug out the amhenol tool i havnt used since the dawn of time, and hooked up her phone. I submitted my bill and showed her how my labor has cost more than the cost of a phone on a newer system. I told her if she upgrades to a meridian ill give her a rebate of the cost of tonights install. Next week doing a cutover to a new system. I could have easily fired this customer, but in the long run, treating her with kid gloves will get me a new customer and hell, i will have a historic phone system to play with!
| Montreal Expos 1969-2004 Forever Proud Lets Keep The Dream Alive |
| oddspot
Location: Small Town Alberta Gender: Male Total Likes: 1 like
| | | Re: Stupid Customers < Reply # 9 on 2/17/2010 2:55 AM > | Reply with Quote
| | | Posted by steponmebbbboom you know oddspot, if i really wanted to press your buttons, i would. i suppose i could have taken "you" and "your" out of that blurb to de-personalise it a bit, and for that i'm sorry; but you seem to have a habit of taking my posts way too personally whenever i get into a discussion with you, so if you really have the leadership credentials you say you do, i'm not seeing them. you tend to escalate discussions into arguments way more often than not, and your example of rubbing your customer's nose in her bad planning is textbook. so if that's really where you intend to lead discussions, then i guess your leadership training is working, but the bigger question is why you would think that is useful? i don't give a shit why my customers are impatient and neither should you. it gets you NOWHERE. Show them you respect them for a change, you might be surprised how much easier it is to get them out of your face. Or give me a hard time over this for the next five pages and prove me right. Go ahead...
| Trust me sir when I say nothing you or anyone could do on an internet forum gets me riled up or pushes my buttons! I take nothing personally from someone who has never met me and knows little about me. That will be all
| Even A Genius Has Questions!?! I do things because I choose to, not because I have to. My Life, My Rules - No Exceptions! |
| gambino
Location: Toronto, ON Gender: Male Total Likes: 27 likes
| | | Re: Stupid Customers < Reply # 17 on 2/17/2010 8:10 PM > | Reply with Quote
| | | We had a woman come into the exotic car dealership I worked at. We had gotten a vw jetta on a trade. So she bought it, and she came in a week later telling of off our tech guy. Our tech is a real nice guy, very quiet, hard working, and really knows his stuff. She complained about a sound coming from the rear of her car. So the tech jumps in the trunk, closes it behind him, and we go for a spin. This not being the first time he's done this, typically the car has to be moving for most sounds to come up again. He yells after a minute "ok!! go back!!" he was laughing. I pulled over on a side street to get him out. He had found a dildo, on, and vibrating away. We pulled back into the garage, and she was still yelling at him. He was calm as always, even though being yelled at, and berated, she even called him a stupid chink. He motioned her to come to the trunk. She was still yelling, he held it up in the air, in her face. He said to her " Ma'am I fink this you problem!?" She shut up, turned red, grabbed it, and she was gone. Never to be seen again. He was giggling away at her, and for awhile after.
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