This is about as mundane and pointless as they come but I had to share. A little while ago, one of my employees came in and asked me a general question about a situation that was upsetting a customer. While we were speaking, my phone rang, I answered it, ask the person if they would hold. They choose to hang up.
My employee told me she was speaking to a customer that insisted on speaking to me regarding this issue. I explained how to handle it and said if she isn’t satisfied, I will speak to her. We spoke in only general terms.
She was gone about ten seconds when my phone rang again.
“Hello, this is Foxy40, may I help you?”
“Yes, I was the one that just called and that your employee was just talking to you about.”
“Okay…can I get your name,”
“…” silence.
“Hello, can I have your name please?”
YOU KNOW MY NAME, YOU WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT ME.
“Ma’am, I really don’t and will need your name to look your information up in my system.”
“…”
“Ma’am, are you kidding me? You really won’t give me your name?” Yes that was obnoxious but it was getting surreal at that point.
“YOU’LL BE HEARING FROM MY LAWYER”
What. The. Heck.?
I do believe this person has delusions of grandeur.
She sounds like one of those people who refuse to hand over ID when buying alcohol or cigarettes because “it’s a violation of their rights.” :rolleyes:
… so this person was already talking to your employee, who came to you for advice on how to handle it, and she got on the phone on a different line and called you, interrupting your conversation with your employee on how to solve the issue?
Man, it’s things like that that cause a temporal rift in Star Trek plotlines.
IMO, it’s not so much a case of delusions of grandeur, as it is a case of delusional self-entitlement. Customers (or in my case, end users) are becoming increasingly aggressive to the point of being violent.
A couple of examples:
End user buys one of our widgets. It’s marked down; the box isn’t sealed, and some parts are missing. He calls me to ask about the warranty card. I ask him if the box was sealed. “It doesn’t matter.” Well yes, it does, as the warranty is not transferrable. “I brought your product in good faith!” Well no, you didn’t. if you’d of wanted to have demonstrated good faith, you’d have paid the list price to an authorized dealer, instead of trying to save money (and screw us) after seeing the widget for a hundred bucks less on eBay.*
B) End user has a history of special ordering widgets, then canceling at the last minute. Store involved is tired of this, and has the end user pay up front. End user contacts the factory direct, and demands that we ship his widget immediately. When informed that he’ll have to wait for the widgets to be made (just like everyone else), he promptly tries to drive over with a Sherriff’s Deputy, to have me arrested.
I’m not sure if this attitude is becoming more prevalent in all areas of the consumer industry; this is just my observation.
Yes, I know that times are hard, and we all need a break, and why shouldn’t someone be able to save some money, and how come is it that I don’t know that the customer is always right, and if it wasn’t for customers I wouldn’t have a job in the first place, and frankly, if I were your boss I’d fire you, and if you were my waiter I’d never tip you and if it were me, I’d have no hesitation in contacing your supervisor, and then I’d write a letter to the president of the company…
