www.CostaRicaTicas.com

After the United thread, I thought I would see what stories anybody has concerning "How you were poorly treated as a customer" or "A customer of yours that was completely full of it".

My brother and I own sandwich/pizza restaurants. So, I had a customer one time order over the phone a philly chicken sandwich and was asking me about the cost of extra meat. So, I told her, $2.50. She said she didn't want it. So, I was suspicious and made the sandwich with the cook (I even wrapped it). She picks it up about 11:45 am but I was busy in the kitchen so I didn't see her. Noon, line 3 rings and I notice the number, tell the girl upfront that I got it, so I answer it.

Lady yelling "There's NO chicken on my philly chicken"

Me "Excuse me, what restaurant are you calling?"

Lady "Phillys Best, let me speak to the manager"

Me "Can you hold on a minute, let me see if I can find him"

Me altered voice "Hello, how can I help you, really, REALLY, you mean the cooks just gave you a loaf of bread, this I have to see"

She comes into the store at 12:15 PM, we are packed, and slams down the sandwich. So I look at it and see only half a sandwich and ask what happened to the other half.

Lady "I had to eat something"

Me "I see, I know exactly what happened, you are right. There is no meat here. Can I explain what happened? You wanted extra meat but didn't want to pay for it. So, you decided to double up the meat on one half of the sandwich then bring this empty half back and spouting off with accusations and slamming things around like it is going to make a difference. You see, I took your phone call and made your sandwich, complaint, rejected."

Lady "Well you can't talk to me like that I'm a customer"

Me "Two things lady, first I can, it is called a lease, and I own from that front door to the back. Second, you were a customer, rejected complaint and no more service"

Lady "I am going to tell all my friends not to come here"

Me "Please do, because friends tend to think alike"

Lady "Well I know the owner and the owners mother"

Me "I don't care if you know Jesus Christ on a personal level, you are officially banned. And, when you talk to my brother or mother, tell them I said Hi , not get out"

She left and I started apologizing to customers in line, they started clapping. I still gave them all free sodas.

Dean

_________________
my first wingman sent me this, how true

" most of the girls down here, lie as a self defense mechanism and to not have to face the truth, thinking most men couldn't accept them knowing the whole truth. Simpler, they may just want men to think they are as perfect as they want to appear to them, trying to hide what they consider to be the ugly truth about themselves. And I may be reading more into it than is there, but I do believe they consider the basis of the lies to be justified."

I was at a seminar in downtown Seattle a couple years ago, I was in line at Starbucks when the 20 year old manager kicked out a very polite homeless guy trying to get warm. For some reason It offended me.

I get to place my order and ask for 20 $5.00 dollar coffee cards, I take my drink give 2 cards to the guy who got kicked out and spent the rest of the lunch hour passing out the cards to the rest of the homeless people freezing and pointed to the Starbucks I just left.

For some reason i got a kick out of that.

Good job by you doing something for the homeless guys Smelvis.....BUT let me play devil's advocate just for conversation's sake.

How do you know that the Starbucks doesn't give those guys something either early in the morning or when they close? Once you let 1 guy in to warm up, guess what, here come the rest. Now you have a store full of homeless guys sitting around. Good for business? You know the answer to that....

As a business owner, you have to walk a thin line between caring for the homeless and making profit.

At least you paid for the cards and sent them in there so it was win/ 1/2 win....

_________________
In honor of Jimmy V week, "Don't give up, don't ever give up!"

Dean;
You should have just asked her to call back and placed her on hold for the next 30 minutes listening to useless marketing dribble about how fantastic your customer service is, with the occasional please visit our web site for more information just for good luck.
Either that or when she called back have her select 1 for customer service, 2 for sales, 3 for service and then after her selection select 1 to listen to our automated help line, 2 for sales, 3 for service and then select what ever to speak with an Indian national whose accent is so thick you can barely understand them.

And BTW she would never speak to anyone about it by following these simple rules.

Better yet, call her cell phone and play an automated recording asking her to wait for the next available representative, and make sure no one picks up.

If you did this you would make the Forbes 500 best customer service outfits.

_________________
Patriot: Ice Road Trucking through the Bearing Sea to recovery

I played my hand a little differently with my customers, and I had plenty of them.

When something was wrong or not to their liking I bent over backwards to keep them happy and keep their business....almost to a fault.

I offered them the product over again ...free of course, apologized profusely when a hair was found and gave them back their money and sometimes when the Phucker just wanted to rail I gave them both their money and another produck....

I always felt that in the long run that that customer has value to me and my employees and that I DO want their business .......it may have cost me a few bucksand I had to eat a little Humble Pie but in the long run we came out on top.