Dealing with the public as part of your job (1 Viewer)

[Anarchy99]

I am assuming that murdering potential customers is frowned upon in most states. But had this interaction this afternoon.

CUSTOMER: You came highly recommended. A couple of people told me not to even call anyone else.
ME: That's great. How can I help you?
CUSTOMER: I want this service. How much is that going to run?
ME: $X amount.
CUSTOMER: What does that include?
ME: That includes ABC, 123, LMNOP.
CUSTOMER: Wow. That's great. How much was that again?
ME: $X amount.
CUSTOMER: Great, Let's get started. Just making sure . . . the cost will be $X, right?
ME: Yes, sir.
(Lots or administrative stuff and information gone over to get things started and get the custom order written up.)
ME: Great. You're all set. I just need payment for $X amount.
CUSTOMER: I know you said $X amount several times. But I was thinking more like $X less 40%.
ME: We went over this, you agreed to $X and had me put everything together for that price. The price is $X.
CUSTOMER: Well, if I had known it would cost $X, I probably wouldn't have called you and may not have been interested. Let me think about it and get back to you.
(Wasted over an hour that I could easily have wasted posting here.)

 

[gianmarco]

Tell him you'll give him DEFGHIJK for free.

 

[Chemical X]

“Accidently” back over the customer with your vehicle.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Just about any young person would benefit from working in a public service job for a while. It would inspire them to stay in school until they are qualified enough for a job where they would no longer have to deal with the public.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

I hate the public. deal with them daily and in public hearings every month, and have done so for 24 years. Extremely ill-informed, yet they know your job and everyone elses.

 

[Jayrod]

Just about any young person would benefit from working in a public service job for a while. It would inspire them to stay in school until they are qualified enough for a job where they would no longer have to deal with the public.

I say the same thing about physical labor.

Climbed telephone poles in the Summer and nothing motivated me more to stay in school and get my degree than the memory of falling off of a telephone pole in the middle of nowhere on a 100 degree day.

 

[belljr]

Just about any young person would benefit from working in a public service job for a while. It would inspire them to stay in school until they are qualified enough for a job where they would no longer have to deal with the public.

I say the same thing about physical labor.

Climbed telephone poles in the Summer and nothing motivated me more to stay in school and get my degree than the memory of falling off of a telephone pole in the middle of nowhere on a 100 degree day.

I picked up road kill for part of a summer .....eek

 

[wlwiles]

People are awesome, but the general public sucks. And people that use "The Customer is Always Right" as a shield for their crappy behavior are some of the worst.

 

[El Floppo]

Tell him you'll give him DEFGHIJK for free.

tell him he'll get it PDQ

 

[DaVinci]

I already told you: I deal with the ******** customers so the engineers don't have to. I have people skills; I am good at dealing with people. Can't you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Just about any young person would benefit from working in a public service job for a while. It would inspire them to stay in school until they are qualified enough for a job where they would no longer have to deal with the public.

I say the same thing about physical labor.

Climbed telephone poles in the Summer and nothing motivated me more to stay in school and get my degree than the memory of falling off of a telephone pole in the middle of nowhere on a 100 degree day.

A couple of months ago I saw somebody suggest that elite universities should place more weight on a summer job working the Customer Service desk at a big box store than on an unpaid internship. They weren't joking, and I agree with his point. This sort of thing is good for character-building purposes, but also it forces you to work with and around people who are not in the top quarter of the IQ distribution. I think people who do the prep school - unpaid internships - gap year at NGO - Ivy League pipeline come out with a grossly distorted view of what human beings are like.

 

[El Floppo]

Just about any young person would benefit from working in a public service job for a while. It would inspire them to stay in school until they are qualified enough for a job where they would no longer have to deal with the public.

I say the same thing about physical labor.

Climbed telephone poles in the Summer and nothing motivated me more to stay in school and get my degree than the memory of falling off of a telephone pole in the middle of nowhere on a 100 degree day.

A couple of months ago I saw somebody suggest that elite universities should place more weight on a summer job working the Customer Service desk at a big box store than on an unpaid internship. They weren't joking, and I agree with his point. This sort of thing is good for character-building purposes, but also it forces you to work with and around people who are not in the top quarter of the IQ distribution. I think people who do the prep school - unpaid internships - gap year at NGO - Ivy League pipeline come out with a grossly distorted view of what human beings are like.

my oldest (and my wife) are looking at all these things now... and hearing a lot about working for mcdonalds or similar instead of making copies at uncle joe's law firm for exactly those reasons.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

To quote George Carlin
“imagine how stupid the average person is then realize half of all people are stupider than that”

 

[Ilov80s]

All my job is is dealing with the public. Teaching is not easy, I promise.

 

[TLEF316]

See this in my job as well. (commercial insurance) Lots of people think that once you've spent enough time on them, you'll give them anything they want last minute just so the time you spent doesn't become a pointless sunk cost.

And sadly.....if the payoff is big enough, they're often right. Lots of "well, we're already wasted 2 weeks working on this, lets just cut 15% off the price to close" in my world. Better to get the credit for writing the big deal even if you know its under-funded up front (you can always raise rates down the road if the claims put you in the red)

 

[jvdesigns2002]

I’ve said this in this forum many times. Dealing with the public is not easy. There is a reason why a lot of customer service/sales positions are unfilled. I’ve been in an industry where I’ve been dealing with the public for nearly 30 years. Over the past 5-10 years it has gotten progressively tougher (and especially so from the pandemic to the current time). Most people are very nice to deal with and work with—but there are lots of people out there that are just miserable. I definitely empathize with the OP and can understand his frustration.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I’ve been considering opening a business for a few years…

Plumbing = Too “messy”
Electrician = Could die
HVAC = perfect!

Whats stopping me? I don’t want to deal with customers.

 

[snellman]

I am the Service Manager at an Auto dealership and the public has changed since the pandemic. They are a lot more demanding now and crabbier in general.

Me: "I am sorry sir, I can't get your car in for a week because my schedule is full"
Cust: "That is not good enough, I need my car now!"
Me: Ok sir, who would you like me to bump back in my schedule because you are "more important" than they are? I will give you their phone number and you can call them and explain to them that you are more important and therefore will get your car fixed before they do.

 

[Hastur]

Backround:
Retail work - Many, many, many years
Waiting tables - 5 years

The public is ok for the most part. There are some clods who think it is their mission in life to be jerks though. It's an ego trip. As soon as you realize they are small minded individuals whose parents didn't show them enough love as a child, dealing with those fools becomes much easier.

 

[northern exposure]

I am the Service Manager at an Auto dealership and the public has changed since the pandemic. They are a lot more demanding now and crabbier in general.

Me: "I am sorry sir, I can't get your car in for a week because my schedule is full"
Cust: "That is not good enough, I need my car now!"
Me: Ok sir, who would you like me to bump back in my schedule because you are "more important" than they are? I will give you their phone number and you can call them and explain to them that you are more important and therefore will get your car fixed before they do.

The problem is some places do follow the "squeaky wheel gets the grease. He who yells loudest, wins" principle. So these customers try this approach everywhere.
The last time I had my car in for servicing, I made an appointment a week ahead of time and told them I would wait for my vehicle. They said it would be ready by Noon.
As I'm sitting in the waiting area I hear Mr. Loud come in and start yelling because he needs his car fixed today! He bought his vehicle and his wife's vehicle at this dealership, etc. They tell Mr. Loud not to worry they'll get it done. A short while later my Service Tech comes to find me and says my vehicle won't be ready by Noon now. I ask does it need more work or what's the reason? All she would say is "something came up" and now my vehicle will be ready by the end of the day. They offer me an Uber ride to wherever I need to go. But, I tell them I need my vehicle for the afternoon because I have to make sales calls. They tell me there is nothing they can do and I can take my vehicle to another dealership if I like, but end of day is the best they can offer me.

So, do you think Mr.Loud will continue this type of behavior in the future?

 

[massraider]

The public is ok for the most part.

I think the public is OK for the most part, because for the most part most interactions with the public go well. They get what they expect.

When things go wrong (whatever that entails in your industry) are people understanding and patient 'for the most part'? A mistake, a delay, something that tries your patience, is the public's first instinct to be understanding?

Evidence in my little corner of the world is no, not really.