This is a departure for me. Most people are used to seeing me on one side of the table advocating excellent customer service. And the impression is that the customers’ rights trump the employees’ rights. Right? (pun intended).
Well, it doesn’t. In my mind the table does not exist. And excellence can only happen when both parties to the business transaction work together.
There are numerous stories about experiences with ‘the customer from hell’; I’m sure you have your own experience as well. These experiences are as diverse as we have industries from restaurant clients who make serving them a pain rather than a joy; to bank customers who all but put the cashiers job at risk. Do you have a story about a customer from hell? Please share your story in the comments.
Related Reading: Is Every Customer A Good Customer?
Here is a story I read online a while ago… (I cannot include a link sorry… I forgot to save it )
It’s 9:34pm on a Tuesday night and a group of 6 teenage girls come into the restaurant.
“What time do you guys close?” they asked.
I say, “We close at 10:00pm”
A lady in the group replies, “Table for six please”
A little frustrated, I seat them and inform them that a waiter will be with them shortly.
I have to go to the back and retrieve a waiter who just got her tips from the day and is packing up to go home.
“Julia, we have a table of six for you…”
Obviously she’s angry, and it shows, because she had been here since we OPENED that morning (11am) and had been on her feet all day. But she’s still attentive to the young ladies…as much as she can be; because they are noisy, disruptive and disrespectful to her
They don’t get up from the table until almost 11:00 and come to the front to pay.
As they waited for the payment to go through on the machine, one of them reports to me as I am processing the payment …“Our waiter was mean” “She didn’t like us” “She didn’t smile or make us feel welcome” “She was slow serving us that’s why we are leaving so late”
“Your waiter just wanted to go home an hour ago, she stayed back to wait on you” I say.
“It’s her job, she’s getting paid, so what?”
I let them know that she’s been on her feet for over 10 hours, and we all stayed back to serve them. .
They roll their eyes, collect their receipt, leave no tip for her, and leave the building.
Related Reading: Customer Stories – Customers from Hell
What do you think of Julia’s experience with her teenage customers? What could these customers have done differently? Would you say they were difficult? 
What could the manager (the chap telling the story) have done or said to make the experience better for all parties?
What is your opinion?
I teach a class on handling difficult customers, if you are interested in attending this class and equiping yourself or your team to manage difficult customers when they show up contact Lizspire for more details.
Next week I will share my opinion of what makes a good customer. In the meantime, I’d like to here what you think makes a good customer.
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