Irate customer anyone?

[gregga41]

Whatever happened to " The customer is always right!"???.....Best of luck Glenn!

[studiotwosession]

The seller received the bass back months ago. So yes, he has it, has had it for a while. And had he given it back to me yesterday, I'd have not had to make accusations. But let's face it, if you're locked in a dispute involving a card company, you better have something to say about why you think you were dealt with unfairly. If you can do that without making accusations, more power to you.

No, he's not a Rick dealer. But here's why your scenario may well be wrong. The only other minus he advertised other than the changed tuners was a rout under the pickguard. So it's a fair bet he was in there checking it out (though he could have been told of it. But even if you were told about it, wouldn't you see for yourself?)

Well, he knew enough that the tuners weren't original. The funny thing is, of all of the replacement parts there are on it the tuners were head and shoulders above in quality over the other parts. The switch was so cheap it arrived DOA.

But really, if a store is so unwilling to unsell something to someone who is not happy with it, that tells me that the store knows the item, if advertised honestly, isn't going to be wanted by someone. They may have found this out after the fact. But their reaction to it was not seemingly on the up and up.

I do feel bad for legit dealers when it comes to court. Because it's like when people sue landlords who keep security deposits unfairly. The judge knows only half of the people who don't get their money back bother to go to court, as they need a day to file, and a day for an appearance. So they're really hard on landlords as they know some landlords wind up way ahead by doing this.

[lyle_from_minneapolis]

My years dealing with customer complaints (restaurants, in my case) have taught me that if someone comes into your store angry, you immediately attempt to defuse the emotion and rectify the situation. You pay attention to Glenn, you take him aside for a serious conversation, you try to understand him, you make every effort to right what is wrong. If nothing is wrong then you do your best to explain your position and work out the next step.

Or maybe you do even just one of those things...?

What you don't do: decide he's rude, clam up, keep the money, keep the bass, call the cops.

[johnhall]

That's funny- I thought you restaurant guys just always gave a free drink or dessert- something that cost a dime or so- to shut the customer up!

[studiotwosession]

The puzzling thing is, all along I have asked him about the integrity of his ad and he won't defend it. To me that's weird. You know? It's not like he has to admit fault to defend it.

Anyway, I've never so much as sent a meal back to the kitchen. I did work as a waiter once and saw the manager and a customer get into it pretty good. The customer didn't pay. But left with the food.

I didn't tell the seller that the bass was actually being bought by me for someone else. I felt bad because I let them down.

[lyle_from_minneapolis]

Oh, John, God no.

The serious ones don't sweat the cost of a complimentary meal or whatever. They go all out to keep that guest in the loop. I'll buy the table if it means keeping them coming back. Lose $100 if necessary to keep the thousands coming back over time.

Although I will admit it is lovely when they do shut up.

[teb]

Court may not be the option you're looking for. The percentage of small claims judgements that actually ever get paid in alarmingly small - small enough to wonder why the system even bothers with small claims court if it's not going to enforce the decisions. You will often get the standard "We aren't a collection agency" from the courts and/or the police, leaving you on your own with no good options (I was in retail for nearly 20 years).

I think your best option is with the credit card company. You may need to go up the customer service ladder a bit and it would be better to be cool as a cucumber, but somewhat less cocky about it. In a nutshell: You bought an expensive, collectable guitar from a misleading ad, found out that many of the parts were fake and not mentioned in the ad as such (which greatly lowers both the guitars quality and value) you returned it to the retailer xx days ago in the same condition that it was when you got it and he still has your money and has not issued a refund. This is not fair to you - the credit card holder and the card company's loyal customer.

Your value as a current and future, 18% interest-paying customer is far more valuable to them than the 2.5%-3% that they stand to make on a single sale. If they're smart, they will contact the merchant and request that he refund your money. If he doesn't, they will do a charge-back, refund your money themselves and charge him a fee in addition to the refunded amount (this is how they get leverage over retailers). If they decide you deserve a refund, you'll get a refund. I'd call customer service and work through this (with a supervisor if you don't get the answers you want from the regular operators) and then follow their directions about mailing in a written request for a refund. Credit card companies are a dime a dozen. If they don't bend over backwards to help you, change companies. Luckily most of them know they're a dime a dozen and that they have to bend over backwards or customers will switch.

...and no, the customer is not always right. A certain portion of the time they're totally full of it and it's up to the retailer to set his own limits of how much of it he's willing to put up with. In this case though, the customer has a valid complaint and it would be best for everyone involved to square-up and walk away.

[studiotwosession]

I hear you. Thanks, Todd. For the record, I know that stores that carry used stuff don't necessarily have it easy. There's a lot of stuff people try to pull off with them as well.

As per the customer is always right; I worked in a software store once that had a return policy. There was a guy there who used to buy software every week, copy it and return it. But he wouldn't just return it. He'd come into the store and throw the stuff down, scream and yell, really put on a show. Yet the policy was no questions asked. It was like a sitcom when he would come in.

I wonder what the dollar amount was that he caused the manufacturer and the retailer. After a while, the policy was changed company wide.

[lyle_from_minneapolis]

The customer is often wrong. But you have to treat them with the assumption that they're right...until proven wrong. Then you still need to take the high ground somehow, because negative stories about a business spread like a gasoline fire, but good stories get around slowly. Owners know this, and they do what they can to retain as many customers as they can.

Employees want, deep down, to tell annoying customers to take a hike. Employers want a better revenge: their money.

[studiotwosession]

I worked in customer service. I found the easiest thing was to say "I'm sorry", or "sorry you're not satisfied," or "sorry you're not happy about this," or "I'm sorry you feel this way. I've felt that way before." Sorry was the magic word.

Then I read a story in some business pub that said the fact that businesses don't teach their people to do this costs them millions of dollars a year. And saying "I'm sorry" doesn't mean "I'm at fault," or "we're at fault." So I don't know why some people in the biz seem to have a hard time saying it. It is effortless.

But being uncooperative in general, well, there are good businesses and poorly-run businesses. Sorry, and quality, is basically what made Nordstrom what it is.

[charlyg]

For one, they have to mean it.....