TOPIC: A good article about annoying customers

However in this article the companies did not plan on annoying people, they just had stupid policies that their employees followed which angered their customers.<br /><br /> www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=100207B <br /><br />Moral of the story, don't shop at Kmart, don't take an Amazon credit card and a personal similar example, why I hang up on a telemarketer whenever they say the word "Citibank".  The stories about US Air running around the internet also have me avoiding that company.

Ugh.  Bad customer service seems to be spreading throughout the economy.<br />

I didn't really think the K-Mart story was indicative of bad policy, just a security guard on a power trip.  I mean, I'm sure that K-Mart has policies in place for dealing with potential fraud, but the measures they describe seem extreme, and no retail establishment I've ever worked in went that far.  Admittedly, we don't have any K-Marts left around here, and I don't have an Amazon credit card, so I can't speak from personal experience.  But I also thought the article was poorly argued and written.  It seems to end very abruptly, and without further support, the examples given could just be isolated incidents.  Bad service happens, but in my experience, it's rarely because of bad policy.

it's not the bad policy.  it is the customer's fault in each case.<br /><br />for example the shoes: When purchasing shoes don't you usually try them on first?  How did she miss that the box said not what she tried on...<br /><br />for the credit card: learn to use online bill pay.  You are using an online retailer.  If you received the card and there was a balance transfer, well yeah you are going to get a late fee if you don't pay the original card before the transfer happens.  learn to use credit cards better or not at all.

The first rule of customer service is the customer is always right.  Even if the customer is wrong, as zoycite thinks, the customer is always right.<br />

Sorry, I disagree.  I've had too many customers make completely unreasonable or impossible demands to believe that.  Usually, it's a sense of entitlement brought on by the "customer is always right" attitude that leads to the demands, too.

I agree with Ashley & Kalen...<br />That "customer is always right" thing leads to more problems than it solves.  If someone goes in there with that attitude, they just make it worse for themselves by not actually trying to help find a solution in most cases.<br />I did plenty of customer service work - the nicer their attitude, the more I gave them in return.  If they whined and gave me all the "c.i.a.r." crap, I gave them the bare minimum to get them to go away.<br />(and by the way, I was given customer service awards several times.... the bad customers are a rarity)

The long version of the Kmart story.<br /><br /> online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119024912866933218.html <br /><br />

i think that the kmart definitely could have been more accommodating, but the credit card with amazon is just lack of payment to the previous credit card when they knew they had a balance due before the balance transfer took place to their new card.<br /><br />if someone is sitting there buying $800 worth of stuff the chance of them getting the wrong box is pretty low, but inform the customer that this is the incorrect item in the box and that they need to get a new box, easily solved.  It's not like they took a blender box, removed the blender and stuffed it full of dvd movies or something.  this problem is easily solved, but the customer could have prevented the situation entirely.

I'm not saying the customer is actually always right, but the places that always have the highest customer satisfaction follow that policy.  They give in to selfish demands to the 1% of their customers who are jerks or are out to take advantage of the system, but they make up for that in positive relations with the rest of their customers.<br />

some customers can not be pleased no matter what policies the company has in place.  some people walk into a store with a bad attitude and they are going to spill blood no matter what.

<br />some customers can not be pleased no matter what policies the company has in place.  some people walk into a store with a bad attitude and they are going to spill blood no matter what.<br />

<br /><br />One of the most interesting parts of my business is recognizing these folks.  <br /><br />The lady who accused me of fraud before we had even completed the sales is my favorite example.  I was half way through taking her order when she started ranting about how I was ripping her off.  I politely inquired that if she was unhappy, why was buying from us.  After a little more abuse from her, I explained that I was not willing to take her order and recommended that she shop elsewhere.  I then hung up.  She called back and demanded to talk to my boss.  I explained that I was the owner and she really needed to deal with another website.  To this day I am glad I ended that sale.  <br />