I love working on Sundays.The 'tiny hands' get a chance to bond with 'he who pays the mortgage'. We have dinner with my parents and the Sunday Crew in the Hall of Plenty are always relaxed. So when something deeply unpleasant happens, we all get a bit miffed.
Late afternoon and a couple turn up on a counter, not saying which, but it was not ours.They wish to return products bought from the company the counter represents, however they have no receipt, the products are not in the right boxes and whilst saying they were a present they insist they were from our particular Hall of Plenty.
It has happened to us all, but what made this so odious, yes ODIOUS was that in an effort to get what they wanted, they reduced a Cosmetics Consultant to tears. Bad move! Whilst more laid back on Sundays, we are no pushovers.
Unfortunately, the nasty little man who insisted he knew someone, who was someone high up, in something to do with our Hall of Plenty, got his knickers in a bit of a twist when confronted by several nylon clad consultants. Smiling and reassuring sir that,
'There was nothing anyone in this store could do without proof of purchase.'
It is amazing what customers will say.
'Do you know who I am?'
'I am a very good customer here,'
'I will complain to your superior.'
'It is in your stores bag.'
'Don't patronise me.'
'Of course you can do something for me, I know you can, there is a lot you can do for me to make up for this bad service.'
'I know I don't have a receipt but this was bought from your store and this counter, I know because it was a gift to us.'
So okay,
A) No we don't know who you are , but we do know you are shouting so you must be unsure of your story. Real and genuine returns are not accompanied by shouty, sweaty top lips.
B) If you were a good customer, we would know who you were. You would be that really nice man who buys loads of stuff and we would get a floor manager to ring you in the week, to talk to you about the particular company's returns policy.
C) Complain away , we will not get into trouble because we are doing what the 'Hall of Plenty' requires us to do, refusing to take a return without proof of purchase!
D) It could be lodged in the front bumper of the Overseers car and parked neatly in the front door, but if you don't have a receipt it is not coming back. Oh yes, the bag in question did not belong to our floor and the store hadn't used those since Christmas and it is APRIL.
E) Patronise - assume a air of superiority toward, condescend. - Simply explaining store policy and apologising is not patronising. Attempting to get your own way by saying you know someone high up in the company is.
F) If you know so much, then surely you know it is not bad service you are receiving but a no and you don't like it. Shouting is rude, saying I'm sorry but there is nothing we can do, isn't.
G) If it was a gift, how do you know where it was bought from and if you know somebody well enough to buy you two hundred pounds worth of cosmetics then surely you can ask for the gift receipt that is supplied with every gift that is gift wrapped from our store.
Dear Sir, we are aware of most of the tricks and scams out there . From buying stuff on E-bay, not being happy then trying to get the full price back from a retailer, to customers purchasing stuff, realising they have spent too much and taking it back. Once being the recipient of a return that was used then refilled with baby lotion, I can tell you NO means NO!
We have been screamed at, had stuff thrown at us. Watched customers flip out and blame us for not having the stock they wanted. Been poked, had people click their fingers at us for service. Tell us we are inadequate because we informed them that the product they were describing was made by another company and been threatened many times, by many customers that in our opinion need chemical help.
Yet, to reduce a grown Cosmetics Consultant to tears because you were not getting what you wanted was deeply unpleasant.
You sir and your overmade up, tangerine wife are DEEPLY UNPLEASANT.
