This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at VCU chapter.
Ah yes, as I share a post about how it’s possible you’re getting bad customer service because you are a bad customer, you kindly share the same post stating “There’s no such thing as a bad customer. If I’m giving you money I’m expecting good customer service. There’s no excuse to be rude to customers”
I get it, you’re one of the many the customer service industry has tricked into believing you’re entitled to be a piece of sh*t to service workers simply because you’re giving “us” money. You’re one of those who swears “the customer is always right.” You’re also one of those that’s never had to work a customer service job because mommy and daddy have paid for everything you own, meaning you’ve never had to go through ye ol’ saying “I do not get paid enough to deal with this.” I get the ignorant, overly-privileged bliss you’re living in. However, most of us trying to get by don’t appreciate that mindset. So after three years of working customer service, let me show you what a “bad customer” looks like.
A bad customer is one that threatens to slap the young cashier accross the counter after she states that the return total is no longer on her screen but can be easily placed on the receipt. I’m sure you’re becoming an excellent example to your children trailing behind you.
A bad customer is the one that screams at the cashier when they can’t make a return without receipt, when they paid with cash and have no rewards card that tracks their purchases. “Well where does it say that?!” Well, if you’d kept your receipt you would know, but let me kindly and patiently show you our board that also states our return policy.
A bad customer is the one that screams at the sales associate when they don’t have a certain item in stock… Because through their minimum wage earnings they clearly control what gets through their inventory or not. But sure, have them check in the back for the tenth time.
A bad customer is one that returns clearly used and washed items, while we have to fake a smile and return the item anyway because, 8 washes and six months later, you changed your mind and conveniently kept your receipt and the tags.
A bad customer is one that tries to return an expensive, worn and stained skirt, only to be told by three people that it cannot be returned. I’m sorry that my key holder saw you wearing it at a party a few nights ago. No, asking your mom to try to return it 20 minutes after you were denied was not going to change the fact that it’s stained and worn. No, we’re not sorry we had to call security when you started throwing a tantrum.
A bad customer is one that screams “racism!” when denied a return of a jacket that reeks of cigarette smoke. We kindly explained why we couldn’t take it back, and I’m sorry you don’t “f*ck with white” as a color, but our return policy states “original condition” and that’s not it. No, we’re again not sorry we had to call security.
A bad customer is one that gets angry at us having to check your ID when writing us a check. Yes, you’re giving us your money. Yes we still have to go through the slow, and prehistoric process of validating your check.
A bad customer is one that claims she’s in rush while making six different returns, on a Saturday, in the middle of the day, during holiday season. Everyone is also in a rush, but in order to do things right certain steps have to be followed. I will tell you and the other customers in a rush behind you that I thank them for their patience, even when you’re showing me none.
A bad customer is one that does not understand the concept of human error. We will try to find a solution to your problem, but please be as courteous to us as we’re trying to be for you.