Am I doing customer service wrong?

Post Reply New Topic

See, I have no idea how I'm supposed to do that when 1. the customer is already pissed off, and 2. they're complaining about something incredibly stupid that is 99% chance of not working out the way they want. For instance, last week I got a call from a (African American) woman who's local store was selling the My Life As dolls. One of the dolls, a black skinned girl, was one of the most popular, so all but one of them was sold out. This is idiot interprets the situation as "The store only has one black doll and, like, a hundred white ones! This can only be racism!" She didn't want to talk to me, she only wanted to speak to the Walmart CEO Doug McMillan, and she demanded that I give her his number. I couldn't do that because I didn't know the number. Of course, she doesn't believe that, I just "didn't want to bother the white man upstairs 'cuz he's too good to talk to me." She hung up the phone saying she was going to go on the news and get Walmart shut down.

Now, how was I supposed to "thrill" that customer? Not only was she pissed off beyond all logic and reason, the reason she was pissed off was utterly nonsensical. The only thing I could have done was file a complaint to the store, for all the good it would have done, but the only solution she's interested in was one I couldn't have possibly done, even if I'd wanted to. There are some calls you just can't win, and telling myself otherwise will just make me think I'm even worse at my job than I am.

I used to work at Walmart as well. In the electronics area. There were very specific rules for returns and refunds in that department.

There are always people who just want to harass people because they are miserable, or feel entitled to things. In electronics it wasn't as bad as for cashiers, or other floor staff because we had a sense of knowledge that many customers lacked (or they would go somewhere else for their electronics needs). One older man wanted me to explain details about an alarm clock. I just flipped the box (to the English side) and read the info to him. Some people are lonely and bored and need attention.

In some cases it helps to just feel for them. Pretend you understand what they are going through. "I understand why you feel frustrated, I would feel the same way. I wish I was able to help you, but I am limited in what I can do."

In the case of the woman wanting to talk to the manager you could say something about how your power is limited, but recommend she come down to the store because they prioritize people in the store over people on the phone.

Customer service is really like being in a horrible situation and you can't get out. Even for social people it is draining. Humans are just so awful, and getting worse.