Customer had a problem with our service

Doc O'Leary wrote:

So you tend to laugh at people who actually need your services? That is
the oddest customer service I have ever heard of. It is even more
strange that you'd post your poor attitude, seemingly *bragging*, to
Usenet.

I've seen the proverbial Clueless Newbie many a time. During my
planetarium years we sometimes had people ask us if we closed during
cloudy weather. At Bryce Canyon NP we had people ask us (a) who carved
all those sculptures and (b) was the canyon lighted at night. At Grand
Canyon a guy I know tried and failed to convince one tourist (we called
them "dudes," with the old meaning, not the current one) that the canyon
does not fill with snow up to the rim in winter. Give me a little time,
and I'm sure I can think of more like these.
And yes, I'm sure I've asked dumb questions myself in computer shops,
at airline ticket counters, or somewhere.
To the inititated, things like this will always be funny. The only
thing you can do is keep a straight face and answer the newby's question
in terms s/he can understand. But if you don't laugh about it later, you
ain't human.


Bill


__________________________________________________ ________________
| Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, |
| and I'm not sure about the former. |
| -Albert Einstein |
------------------------------------------------------------------

Just heard about this one from my wife. We had a customer come in
for a flat tire, which she had someone take care of. He was then
telling her he's had some problems with our shop, specifically that
we had previously recommended his chain be replaced because it was
worn. She explained to him that we recommend replacing chains when
worn because if you let them go on too long, they wear out your
cassette.

He replied that wasn't a problem because he doesn't use cassettes
anymore, just CDs. And he was serious. He went on to say that he
planned to ride the same chain until it broke.

(This particular customer is playing with less than a full deck, so
we try to be nice, but it was very difficult to keep from cracking
up in this case)

I see the same problem here in this forum. When discussing mechanical
items on bicycles, especially with someone like the customer in
question, not using jargon is the best policy. I find using cassette
awkward because whether they are individual sprockets of a cassette is
immaterial. The sprockets wear to a point where they must all be
replaced when the chain is replaced. That's the problem.


No Jobst, that's not the problem. The customer honestly thought there was a
connection between his bike and a cassette player. The point of my
illustration, which you seem to want to avoid by pretending it's something
else that you're on a personal crusade about, is that this customer is not
to be taken literally about anything. The mis-communication doesn't occur
because we, as a shop, are using jargon. The mis-communication comes because
we, as a shop, hear a comment and think oh my, what did we do, when the
reality is that this particular customer is not to be taken literally for
just about anything.

The customer may discover his faux pas later and feel embarrassed,
choosing not to come back to this shop where he made these blunders.
Many people revel in assimilating as much bike-jargon as possible to
show they are part of the in group. I notice it while riding, where a
newbie seems to say to himself, now's my chance and shouts "on your
left", as if it made any difference on an empty road.

Just as someone in a newsgroup might feel when an experienced old hand comes
down on them with sarcastic remarks that could have been couched more
politely. One wonders if the desire of the experienced old hand is not to
help the person understand the err of his or her ways, but rather to rid
them from the newsgroup through such embarrassment. For good or bad, it
seems to be a tactic that rarely works in a newsgroup.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Just heard about this one from my wife. We had a customer come in for a
flat
tire, which she had someone take care of. He was then telling her he's
had
some problems with our shop, specifically that we had previously
recommended
his chain be replaced because it was worn. She explained to him that we
recommend replacing chains when worn because if you let them go on too
long,
they wear out your cassette.

He replied that wasn't a problem because he doesn't use cassettes
anymore,
just CDs. And he was serious.

Uh, why wouldn't he be? More to the point, why would you assume that
everyone who rides a bike also knows all the mechanical terminology?
While it might be common knowledge to you and most people here that a
(type of) rear cluster is also known as a cassette, we're probably also
more comfortable changing our own flats than this guy clearly was.

Uh... I see. So if you go to have your car repaired, and they tell you that
your antenna needs replacement, you would assume they're talking about the
television antenna you removed when you got cable 10 years ago? That's close
to a perfect analogy of this situation.

(This particular customer is playing with less than a full deck, so we
try
to be nice, but it was very difficult to keep from cracking up in this
case)

So you tend to laugh at people who actually need your services? That is
the oddest customer service I have ever heard of. It is even more
strange that you'd post your poor attitude, seemingly *bragging*, to
Usenet.

It was difficult to keep from cracking up, BUT WE DID NOT. My point,
entirely lost upon some, is that it's wrong to assume that someone's remark
about "having problems with your shop" is always an indication that there's
a "problem with your shop." Don't get defensive, hear the story out and see
where it leads. In this case, the person hearing the story (my wife) had no
prior experience with this particular customer, who has probably been thrown
out of every shop but ours. We try to find ways to take care of people who
are not dealing with a full deck (is that simply the wrong way to put it? Is
that where some people became offended? Am I not being "PC" enough here?).

The point is that you have to hear the whole story, not just react to a
simple statement ("I've had problems with your shop") that turns out to
illustrate something's quite wrong with the person when you find out what's
behind it. I obviously know more about this particular customer than I let
on, but the point wasn't supposed to be so much about the customer as it was
my wife's reaction to his initial statement, which caused concern until she
followed up and recognized that all is not quite right with this guy.
There's a lesson for many of us there. Don't assume that someone else's
world works quite the same as your own.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

On Feb 11, 7:28 pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:
Uh... I see. So if you go to have your car repaired, and they tell you that
your antenna needs replacement, you would assume they're talking about the
television antenna you removed when you got cable 10 years ago? That's close
to a perfect analogy of this situation.

And the best part is the person thinks the mechanic is the one off his
rocker!

Joseph

"Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote in message
. net...
Just heard about this one from my wife. We had a customer come in
for a flat tire, which she had someone take care of. He was then
telling her he's had some problems with our shop, specifically that
we had previously recommended his chain be replaced because it was
worn. She explained to him that we recommend replacing chains when
worn because if you let them go on too long, they wear out your
cassette.

He replied that wasn't a problem because he doesn't use cassettes
anymore, just CDs. And he was serious. He went on to say that he
planned to ride the same chain until it broke.

(This particular customer is playing with less than a full deck, so
we try to be nice, but it was very difficult to keep from cracking
up in this case)

I see the same problem here in this forum. When discussing mechanical
items on bicycles, especially with someone like the customer in
question, not using jargon is the best policy. I find using cassette
awkward because whether they are individual sprockets of a cassette is
immaterial. The sprockets wear to a point where they must all be
replaced when the chain is replaced. That's the problem.


No Jobst, that's not the problem. The customer honestly thought there was
a connection between his bike and a cassette player. The point of my
illustration, which you seem to want to avoid by pretending it's something
else that you're on a personal crusade about, is that this customer is not
to be taken literally about anything. The mis-communication doesn't occur
because we, as a shop, are using jargon. The mis-communication comes
because we, as a shop, hear a comment and think oh my, what did we do,
when the reality is that this particular customer is not to be taken
literally for just about anything.

The customer may discover his faux pas later and feel embarrassed,
choosing not to come back to this shop where he made these blunders.
Many people revel in assimilating as much bike-jargon as possible to
show they are part of the in group. I notice it while riding, where a
newbie seems to say to himself, now's my chance and shouts "on your
left", as if it made any difference on an empty road.

Just as someone in a newsgroup might feel when an experienced old hand
comes down on them with sarcastic remarks that could have been couched
more politely. One wonders if the desire of the experienced old hand is
not to help the person understand the err of his or her ways, but rather
to rid them from the newsgroup through such embarrassment. For good or
bad, it seems to be a tactic that rarely works in a newsgroup.

I've been biking a few years now. I'm the type of customer that if my
husband wasn't around I'd bring my bike in to get flats fixed. I spend a
ton of money on bikes, having one for my weekly short mountain climb with
the moms, a tandem for my weekly long mountain climb with my husband, one
with fenders and baskets for shopping and other errands, and an old hybrid I
should get rid of but only use for those too wet for skinny tire days when I
want to go climb hills anyway. My husband and daughter also have bikes,
plural. I do all my bike shopping at local bike shops, and have even been
into your store a few times. I wouldn't have known what a cassette is. I
believe that is the jargon the other posters are alluding to. (And by the
way, lately, as the bike business has slowed, I seldom run into a jargon
spewing sales guy anymore.)

Just as someone in a newsgroup might feel when an experienced old hand
comes down on them with sarcastic remarks that could have been couched
more politely. One wonders if the desire of the experienced old hand is
not to help the person understand the err of his or her ways, but rather
to rid them from the newsgroup through such embarrassment. For good or
bad, it seems to be a tactic that rarely works in a newsgroup.

I've been biking a few years now. I'm the type of customer that if my
husband wasn't around I'd bring my bike in to get flats fixed. I spend a
ton of money on bikes, having one for my weekly short mountain climb with
the moms, a tandem for my weekly long mountain climb with my husband, one
with fenders and baskets for shopping and other errands, and an old hybrid
I should get rid of but only use for those too wet for skinny tire days
when I want to go climb hills anyway. My husband and daughter also have
bikes, plural. I do all my bike shopping at local bike shops, and have
even been into your store a few times. I wouldn't have known what a
cassette is. I believe that is the jargon the other posters are alluding
to. (And by the way, lately, as the bike business has slowed, I seldom
run into a jargon spewing sales guy anymore.)

Kathy: Had you had even the slightest quizzical look on your face when
somebody said "cassette", any of us in the shop would have deftly switched
gears, so to speak, and explained that we're talking about the cogs in the
rear. There would have been no assumption whatsoever that somebody is a
lesser person because they don't know we call the rear gears a "cassette"
(when that's what they actually are). Most of us probably call them the
"rear cogs" anyway. My wife calls it the "cassette" because she knows that's
what it's called when we sell one, to differentiate it from a freewheel.

But no matter how confused someone might have been over the jargon involved,
that was never the unintentionally funny part. That came from the customer
believing we were talking about something entirely unrelated. As I explained
in a different reply, it would be like you taking your car in for a repair,
and they told you that you needed a new antenna, and your reply was that you
don't use an antenna anymore, you had cable installed years ago.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote: (clip) Uh... I see. So if you go to have your car
repaired, and they tell you that your antenna needs replacement, you would
assume they're talking about the television antenna you removed when you
got cable 10 years ago? That's close to a perfect analogy of this
situation. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
No, because in your analogy, both items are antennae in function--not just
in name. A better analogy might be mistaking pants cuffs for fisticuffs.
Obviously, this needs to be argued out fully, and couldn't I bear to let
that pass. (I mean bear as: endure--not bear as: a wild animal. And,
"pass" as in go by, not....oh well.)

In article . com,
" writes:
On Feb 11, 7:28 pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:
Uh... I see. So if you go to have your car repaired, and they tell you that
your antenna needs replacement, you would assume they're talking about the
television antenna you removed when you got cable 10 years ago? That's close
to a perfect analogy of this situation.

And the best part is the person thinks the mechanic is the one off his
rocker!

I can full well relate to Mike's experience.

Customer service is something one must really
enjoy, in order to do it well. That means
providing an even-handed level of service to
/all/ comers. And there's a number of categories
of them. There are the Chiselers who want to
make more of a profit out of the transaction
than the service provider, going to extreme
lengths to haggle for every measly freebie and
discount they think they might be able to get.

There are the Lonely Forsaken who want to yack
for hours on end because you're the only human
contact they've had in the last month.

There are the Perpetually Irate Customers who
come into the shop already primed & loaded to
complain, before they're even served.

There are the Desperately Impatient who must have
their exotic-import-that-needs-parts-ordered-in
fixed within the next 5 minutes, even if there's
a cueue of other customers behind them.

Bless 'em all. Most of those folks are actually
downright nice people. In fact, the majority of
customers are courteous, friendly, and come in with
reasonable expectations of the service they seek.

I did a stint in a TV repair shop back in the 80's.
So many customers, when returning to pick up their
repaired set would ask the fatal question: "What
was wrong with it?" If you explain it in technical
English (/not/ jargon,) their eyes would glaze over.
If you dumb it down for them, they think you're
BS'ing them. You can't win. Oh, well.

Providing that even-handed level of service doesn't
necessarily mean dealing with everyone in the same,
formulated way. A good Customer Service agent
"feels out" the best way to relate to, and interact
with each individual. /Nobody/ can pull that off
100% of the time, but it's the goal one shoots for.
While I've listed a number of general categories of
_customers_, the _individuals_ within those categories
represent as diverse a range of characters as any group
of people.

To do customer service for any length of time (such
as Mike has done) really takes truly liking people.


cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

On Feb 11, 9:06 pm, "Leo Lichtman"
wrote:
"Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote: (clip) Uh... I see. So if you go to have your car

repaired, and they tell you that your antenna needs replacement, you would
assume they're talking about the television antenna you removed when you
got cable 10 years ago? That's close to a perfect analogy of this
situation. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
No, because in your analogy, both items are antennae in function--not just
in name. A better analogy might be mistaking pants cuffs for fisticuffs.
Obviously, this needs to be argued out fully, and couldn't I bear to let
that pass. (I mean bear as: endure--not bear as: a wild animal. And,
"pass" as in go by, not....oh well.)

Ok, the guy comes into the garage with a non-functional clutch. The
mechanic says, "The cable has broken." the customer says, "That's ok,
I use satellite."

Joseph

Pat wrote:
He replied that wasn't a problem because he doesn't use cassettes
anymore,
just CDs. And he was serious.
Uh, why wouldn't he be? More to the point, why would you assume that
everyone who rides a bike also knows all the mechanical terminology?
While it might be common knowledge to you and most people here that a
(type of) rear cluster is also known as a cassette, we're probably also
more comfortable changing our own flats than this guy clearly was.

Now, think about what you just wrote for a second. Why would the guy think
his CD player would have anything to do with his bicycle chain? If she was
talking about the chain wearing out something---anything---it would have to
be something the chain touches!


You are bending over backward to be contentious. Get a grip, man!


Too funny. I only wish there was a video. Laughing mode.
Bill Baka