In Dealing With Difficult Retail Customers (Support Your Workers As A Boss, Be Polite As A Customer!)

Had a nightmare customer today. Shouting and ranting because I wouldn’t hook up a $30 sound bar for him. Drawing every other customer in (and they were all quietly giving me thumbs-up behind his back.) So on. So forth.

Folks, I will never have a job I am 100% happy with. But there’s an awful lot to be said for a company where management have your back in telling you that you have the right to refuse service to anyone who makes you feel unsafe, for any reason.

The other customers took the time to praise my handling later. I was shaky, I was upset, and it really meant a lot.

Safe workplaces, folks. It matters.

I’m going to expand on that, because it’s cathartic, and a teachable moment.

Before we go any further, I want to state that this guy set off my warning bells; he walked into my store and asked for $500 in prepaid cards. For a friend.

Nobody does this. He was refused (we don’t actually carry that sort of prepaid card.)

So he was on his way out, and then he remembered that he’d been intending to buy a sound bar for his TV. I showed him what we had on display — which isn’t much — and he asked if he could hear it. So I took a look at the bar, and remarked that it wasn’t currently hooked up. This was mostly me talking to myself.

This caused an explosion. He had a credit card in his pocket — did my employer want him to walk out without buying something? He trains guys like me, and what I’m doing is WRONG — I should be JUMPING to say, yes sir, right away sir, I’ll hook that up for you immediately sir. This is, apparently, why people shop online.

I was responding politely enough, albeit I’d already chilled somewhat. This wasn’t satisfactory; he escalated. He explained how incredibly angry he was, that he was going to call head office, that he was raising his voice so every customer in the store could hear how bad a salesperson I was (this is where the thumbs-up came into play. The ladies at the counter were unamused to be drawn into his rage.)

Finally, I overrode him, told him that his concerns would be escalated, and suggested that it was time for him to leave the store.

Here’s the thing. I get to deal with some incredible people every day; not every customer is wonderful, but most of them are almost unbelievably polite. Many customers, when I’m not immediately able to show something off, take it out of its case, its packaging, will instantly say, “Oh, you don’t have to, it’s ok!” And I do it anyway. It’s not just my job; I, and my coworkers, genuinely enjoy helping people and showing off our toys. Providing customers with a great experience is the best part of the job, and I’ll bend over backwards for it!

Getting angry, shouting at me, insulting me, and upsetting the other customers? That’s going to get you booted out with all due speed. It’s certainly not going to inspire me to go out of my way.

There are absolutely times in life where anger and impoliteness are warranted. I would never claim otherwise.

This was emphatically not one of them.

The remaining customers in the store got my best performance. They got exactly what they needed, at the speed that they needed it. I was absolutely touched by their concern and their praise.

Retail workers are people. Service workers are people. We’re not punching bags.

And if you can’t comport yourself with a modicum of reasonable politeness? Then, no, we actually don’t want your business, and you can feel free to shop online where others don’t have to deal with you face-to-face.