Which do you hate more stupid coworkers or stupid customers? Feel free to elaborate on your answer.
For me, it’s stupid coworkers. Here’s why – stupid customers come and go. The stupider, the less likely to stay in business and annoy me. Stupid coworkers cost us business. The current example that’s pissing me off today is that while we don’t get commission, we are judged on our sales average. We have a code that can give a customer free shipping on orders over $300 (normally it’s at $500) – we have been told to only use it when a customer complains about freight and already has at least $300 in merchandise, but I have noticed several people using it – as in giving the code to the customer – as an upsell tool. Sure, it makes your numbers better today, but it shits on the whole company the rest of the year. Idiots.
Well, it’s the management that’s idiots. But you didn’t have “stupid management” in your multiple choice answers If you give your people incentive to make your numbers better today but shit on the company the rest of the year, then that is exactly what they’ll do.
Anyway my answer is stupid customers. I am an IT contractor, much different than sales. If I have a stupid coworker I can get them fired, work around them, tell them off, whatever. If I have a stupid customer I still have to kiss his ass, and the working relationship can be a lot closer than for a sales relationship.
As much as I’d like to bag on management, it’s just laziness – the employees have been expressly told (by the owner of the company, no less) to only use the code in extreme circumstances. Two of the three managers are lazy and let their employees pull whatever bullshit they can, only my manager (apparently) expects her employees to follow the rules.
I find that stupid coworkers are sometimes normal, but stupid customers are always stupid. I can also expect the stupid coworkers to act in predictable ways, and I can maneuver around their stupidity, but I can’t avoid a customer that way.
If you give your people incentive to make your numbers better today but shit on the company the rest of the year, then that is exactly what they’ll do.