The customer isn't always right. Sometimes the customer is mean and stupid.

I often wonder, when people call me to request a sales call or some service work, and I go through the process step by step with them, why they feel compelled to try and change the rules by which we do business.   Every business is in the business of making a profit, but every business has rules they must follow.  And I'm always amazed when someone calls and gets combative and simply won't listen when I try and explain how we operate as a business.

In my position as a customer service person for a bath installation business, I get my share of abusive phone calls.  Most of the time, though, I'm able to calm the irrational down to a mild roar and charm them with my calm demeanor and wisdom.  (Yes, I am completely different at work than I am in real life.) This week, however, I took a call from a man who simply was not interested in my explanation of how we did business.  He wanted o talk to someone who was going to let him have his own way...preferably someone with boy bits.

This is how this went:

Man:  I want a picture of the display you have displayed at the mall.  I can't find it on your website and I want a picture of the exact display you have at the mall.

Sarah:  (Wondering why he didn't just TAKE A PICTURE of the display)  Well, I'm not sure which of our displays we have at the mall, but...

Man:  Well, can you find someone who does know?  Surely there's someone who knows what you have displayed at the mall, if you can't tell me.  (Imagine this said just dripping with condescension.)

Sarah:  I was going to say, I'm not sure which of our many examples of our work we have on display at that mall, but I'll be happy to check with my events coordinator and see if SHE can tell me.  Meanwhile, if you'd like to come and see what we have in the showroom...

MAN:  I don't want to see what you have in the showroom, I want a picture of the display you have at the mall because that's the one I want.

Sarah:  Well I'll be happy to have a consultant come out and give you a price for just that set up.  Where are you located?

Man:  I live here in town, but I want this for my cabin way up north.

Sarah:  I'm sorry, we don't service that area.

Man:  I want to buy it from you , put it in my car and take it to my cabin and install it myself.

Sarah:  I'm sorry, we don't do that.  We install all of our products.

Man:  Really.  Well that's very interesting.  So you're not in the business of making money?  I would think you would want to make money, and I have money I want to spend.  (Again, liberally smear condescension on this statement.)

Sarah: I'm sorry, sir, we have a specific process we go through from meeting the customer for the first time to installing the products in one day.

Man:  So you're telling me you're turning down a sale and you won't sell these items to me?

Sarah:  I'd be happy to send a consultant to you to do a free in home estimate for the items you selected, but no we are not going to sell the products to you to install yourself.

And then he hung up on me.  Seriously...where did manners go?  I get hung up on a lot.  Did we banish the word "Good-bye" from our collective vocabulary and I missed it?


By the way, want to check out my real passion, what I really want to do with my life?  Head on over to Amazon by clicking here and check out my three books!  The more you buy, the more you read, the closer I get to my dream of leaving abusive phone calls and condescending strangers behind forever!

Think of is as my own take on "Two Broke Girls"  but in real life, and without the cupcakes.

Oh man...now I want cupcakes.