WHY are the customers ALWAYS right???

[jonnyGURU]

This guy emailed me, simply asking if the power supply he bought from us was AMD approved.

I told him it was supposed to be.

He told me he was getting wacky 12V readings and if I was SURE if it was AMD approved.

I told him that we only sell the case, and not build them and that if he could tell me the brand of the power supply that I'd check.

He never told me the brand of the power supply, but told me that he has another case that he can check so he doesn't have to tear open his PC.

I say, "Fine. You got them at the same time. Tell me what kind of power supply it is and I'll check. We make every effort that every case that leaves here that has an AMD approved power supply in it, does in fact have an AMD approved power supply."

He emails me back saying "I doubt that these are AMD approved power supplies because they are both the same brand."

I responded, reminding him that they WOULD BE both the same brand because they were shipped at the same time. I merely wanted to know the brand to conclude if they were the AMD approved units he was promised. After we got over this hump, we would address the wacky voltage.

He responds the next day saying, "I doubt that this Topower 300W power supply is AMD approved." This is his first mention of the actual brand of the power supply. "I tested the other power supply and I get wacky 12V readings in the BIOS with it as well." So he's taken the liberty to proceed with troubleshooting without me before finding out if the power supply was AMD approved or not. "I would like a refund for both of these cases and expect your company to pay for shipping to pick them up." Really?

Of course I answered this email with a very bad attitude. I admit that my response was unprofessional and that I should have taken a "cool off period" before responding. "Sir, the Topower power supplies in question are in fact AMD approved so there is absolutely no way that I am going to RMA these cases for you. Now that I know what these power supplies are, and the fact that you have discovered that both power supplies are giving you the same 12V reading, I would be inclined to think that the problem is the motherboard. A motherboard, may I remind you, that you had never purchased from us, nor do we even sell."

Of course this completely caught the customer off guard. He doesn't understand where the hostility came from.

I calmed down by this point and stated that I was sorry, but proceeded to point out that he accused the company I work for of misrepresenting product and, in a round about way, accused me of lying and this was not something I normally take lying down.

He realized that he had overstepped his bounds and accepted my apology. I confirmed that I was indeed sorry for overstepping my bounds and apologized once again.

Everything seemed cool.... until......

I got called into my manager's office because of a complaint he received about me FROM THIS CUSTOMER CONCERNING MY TONE AND BAD ATTITUDE!!!!! What the hell! The guy sent EDITED EMAILS to the boss and of course left off all of the final emails where I explained my issue and we apologized to each other.

SON OF A BITCH! People can be back stabbing bastards sometimes.

 

[mundania]

Well...did you show him the apologies and what not?

 

[konichiwa]

Hunt him down and tear his throat out. Then you'll feel better.

 

[Adul]

Now where is that login for that secrete spy satilite with the space laser

 

[KameLeon]

What a prick!

 

[Killbat]

jonny, you might be interested to know that I am almost finished on the final design for my Cyber Ninja Assassins, you might want to place an order.

 

[Sundog]

Show your boss your copies of the emails.

 

[Viperoni]

The customer isn't always right.
Except when I'm the customer
Jonny, I think this aluminium base-ball bat would fit his head just fine

 

[jonnyGURU]

I didn't save any emails because I didn't think anything would come of the situation. Like I said: We made peace and moved on to more productive things. I never thought the guy would turn around and email my manager.

 

[Emulex]

sometimes eating your pride and profits are the best route.

good customer service goes a long way. I'll return anything i damn well please, and if you don't accept it, i'll probably bad mouth you all over and never buy again. However those who go out of their small way to do me a favor even when i'm a little wrong, they'll get my business, and my recommendations, etc. In the long run, they will profit.

I use to purchase $20K a month in hardware at any distributor i felt like. Those companies which kissed my butt and went out of their ways, got my business. Those that didn't lost business. in the clone hardware days, markup was substantial. Nobody in their right mind would trash $50k/year in profits over a $100 loss.

I see your point of view too, been on both sides of the street dude.

 

[sharkeeper]

Wacky readings in the BIOS are mostly attributable to the mainboard itself! I've had one board show 12.33 volts and another show 11.66 on the SAME POWER SUPPLY.

Some people need to relax, smoke something, get jellied, southern chicken stretch or whatever!

Cheers!

 

[Tripleshot]

WHY are the customers ALWAYS right???



Because they are ALWAYS the customer!




If you own the business,thats the first rule you learn.

 

[jonnyGURU]

I'm constantly replacing parts that customers fry. But the first thing is to get the customer to see eye to eye. Like for instance: "Sir, I think you fried the CPU." Of course, the customer is now FREAKING OUT, but then I say, "Don't sweat it. I've done it once too and I've learned from my mistake. This is how we do it... I'll replace the CPU, we just want to make sure it doesn't happen again." and then everything's cool and we move on.

This guys major problem was

1. Doesn't know squat to start with and thinks automatically that the problem is the power supply. I am willing to say, "OK, let's go with that assumption for now, but this may change."

2. Doesn't give me the information I need to help him. Can't troubleshoot something I can't see (even virtually).

3. Jumps to a conclusion without waiting for my response so we can come to a more "logical" conclusion.

4. Apparently has an inherit mistrust for the company. Sure it is natural for a company to have a distrust of a customer, but that is because most customers are ignorant, but for a customer to assume that a large company that has been in business for "how many years" that IS willing to admit they could have made a mistake (I did imply that there was the possibility that the power supply shipped was NOT the one he thought he bought) has INTENTIONALLY misrepresented product and is now lying to cover it up is completely insane.

Anyone want to hire a bike mechanic that knows about computers?

 

[Mule]

Because they provide the cashflow.

 

[GL]

The customer comes first. But the customer is not always right.

-GL

 

[SuperSix]

<wringinghands> Names, Jonny.. I need names. </wringinghands>

Muhahahahahaa!!!!!!!!!!!

I had a customer do the same thing, but I saved the emails, and it was decided he was an unreasonable person, and I got off the hook..


What about that nice Biostar M7VKA/ATI combo? The one with the fried/cracked/broken AGP slot? And the fried video card?

 

[Whitedog]

THey're NOT, they are IDIOTS!

hehe

WHy do you think? Uhmmm, would it be because they have MONEY in their pockets? perhaps.

 

[Whitedog]

If I were your Boss, I'd be like... Screw him, we already got His money! hehe

 

[fir3wir3]

problem is the customer is an idiot...he doesnt know what he's talking about...so he cant possibly understand he's wrong

 

[jonnyGURU]

Now SuperSix, how was that person supposed to know that you don't have to break off the back side of the AGP slot so you can stick the video card in wrong? It was the only way one could install a video card in the machine since they weren't using any stand offs un the case.

Think I'll bring in my camera for that one. That's worth a few pictures.

For those of you who are insisting that because the customer has the monry, that makes them right: At least read my post and not just the title before you comment. This customer was arrogant, unreasable, ignorant and jumped to conclusions and in the end turned out to be a liar.

Someone set us up the bomb.

 

[pamchenko]

&quot;the customer is always right&quot; is something prolly preached by managers who have idea what it is like to deal with stupid customers who whine and whine. as a customer, I try to remain very fair to ppl but there have been times i have been taken advantage of

 

[warcleric]

The point is, the customer has to be right. As a business owner, no matter what a customer does or says, you dont know exactly who this is. Any customer you come across could be a potentially huge client, so why risk it just because of your stupid pride. Just because someone implies that you misrepresented an item, dont take it personally. That is just something everyone does in order to gain some sort of leverage over whoever they are dealing with. You did act inexcusably, now face the consequences.

 

[LadyNiniane]

Consultant's house rules:

1. The customer is always right.
2. If customer is wrong, refer to #1.

Consultant's absolute gospel:

Always save the evidence.

Yes, the customer is a jerk and wrong - but you must still follow the house rules. But also follow the gospel, especially if you offer any sort of warranty on anything.

If your boss believes you when you tell him/her that you did apologize and thought that things were settled, that's great. Otherwise, take the heat (this one time) and never, ever delete the evidence again. The message you save may save your neck one day soon.

Lady Niniane

 

[Missus]

... Because they are the money...

Also... I believe that phrase was written by a customer...

 

[Feisters]

Bull! The customer is frequently wrong and I let them know it! Tactfully, of course. And I don't care if they run around like Chicken Little, screaming that my service sucks. Knowledgeable customers, the ones I'd rather deal with anyhow, know this person is a buffoon.