Let me share some real-life customer service experiences with you. Wow! Have these salesperson experiences ever happened to you?
Experience 1
This past weekend, we went to a big box store to buy an iPod. The salesman, without being asked, continually insisted he doesn’t work on commission and was so aggressive that he had our heads spinning within minutes. We talked to him about the Shuffle, a smaller and less expensive version of the traditional iPod, yet he insisted we needed all sorts of accessories for it. His logic for the extended warranty made no sense at all, and he had us thinking one of us was from another planet. He had us open a credit account with promises of grandeur, and in the end pulled a bait and switch on us and rang up an iPod rather than the Shuffle. The clincher was after he rang up the CORRECT sale and gave us our receipt, he told us to go online and fill out the customer service survey—and repeatedly told us to give him, Andy L., all 10s! I have never had such a disappointing experience at Best Buy and will think twice before returning.
Experience 2
I went to another big box store the other day to do some shopping. When I was finished, I went to the register to pay. The cashier didn’t acknowledge me with a “hello” or “how are you” until I said hello to her. I’m very used to that with retailers these days, so it didn’t surprise me. My purchases came to $46.97. I proceeded to give the cashier $50. She gave me back $3.00 and closed the register. I stood there for a few seconds, not sure if I should say anything. I decided to speak up and told her nicely that she had forgotten to give me my change. In a very irritated voice, she told me she would have to get a supervisor to open the register. I said O.K. She yelled over to someone to find out where the supervisor was, and was told she was on break. She turned back to me and actually said, “Do you really need your change back?” I calmly said yes. She rolled her eyes at me, proceeded to take 3 cents out of her own wallet and slammed it on the counter. I thanked her and walked out. Unfortunately, this store won’t lose my business because the prices are so cheap, but boy, did that make my day!
Learning experiences are all around us. Next time you go shopping, pay attention to the way salespeople treat you. You might learn something NOT to do in your own business!
Chris Mullins’ The Phone Sales Doctor™
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