I know that I know. . . The customer is always right. . . or at least they should be treated as if they are always right. But when and where do you draw the line?
The question comes up after talking to a frontline salesman, Ted. A few days ago, he had problems with a client. The client was being vague and Ted simply asked for clarification. From then on, the customer was rude and kept attacking Ted. He even received a phone call on his cell phone and proceeded to talk about Ted and how “rude” HE was to the person he called. Then when Ted had to interrupt their conversation for payment, he was even worse than rude, according to her. When she asked the customer to sign her credit card, a company requirement, she became a “jerk” and an “a_____e.” Ted says, “I don’t know what his problem was, but I certainly didn’t like being insulted. I couldn’t think of anything I could do to make the situation better. I felt so helpless.”
There are two elements in this scenario. First, cell phones: what are sales and service people doing about cell phone calls? She was buying stamps the other day at the post office and the person directly across from me was having a chat while the clerk behind the counter was trying to help her with a purchase. He didn’t say anything to her, but he did apologize to me after she left her because he took longer to help her than she should.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has signs posted at their information desk that read, “Please turn off your cell phone so we can better serve you.” I asked an employee about the need for the sign and he told me, “People were driving us crazy.” When people talk on the phone, they seem to be in their own little world. “The problem wasn’t just people at the counter talking on the phones. Phones also cause an increase in general noise, making it more difficult to have meaningful conversations at the counter.”
Let’s hang up the cell phones for a while and get back to the rude customers. I personally believe that once a customer engages in abusive behavior, they no longer deserve the service. I don’t like being insulted (even when they say it to a third party and not directly like with Ted) and I wouldn’t subject any employee to this treatment either.
I think Ted handled the situation very well. He kept his cool and got through the transaction. His next step should be to discuss the situation with his manager and let the manager draw the line and provide alternatives for dealing with rude customers. That way Ted is protected.
For rude cell phone users, I really like the simple touch of the sign. The sign says it all. It is polite with a “please”. It tells the customer that we want to serve them. It’s not threatening. . . and draw the line. . . someone has to
