Striking back at customers - where do we draw the line?

[Peppergirl]

This is picking up where the thread that got closed over in CS left off.

The OP defended himself pretty strongly, and some people thought he/she went over the line and said so, which we're not supposed to do over there. Let me rephrase: I know we're allowed to disagree with one another, as long as it's done respectfully and not in a 'well if *I* was your manager, I'd have.....' kind of way. A few of the responses were in this vein, and the thread was rightfully closed.

Moving on!

My question is: do you think the OP went too far?

My personal opinion, as was MOST of the people who responded and weren't attacking, is that he was fully in the right for saying what he said, but went a bit too far in shouting it. Granted, I know how tempting it can be - but shouting it was a bit much. He could have defended himself without resorting to shouting.

What does everyone else think?

[DesignFox]

Can you link to the thread in question please? I spend more time over here than CS, and I since I don't know which thread you are referencing, it's hard for me to chime in.

[Peppergirl]

I'm not sure if we're allowed to link it, so I'll tell you the title:

"How to talk back to a SC without being fired"

Its in the 'Sucky Customers' section, currently on the front page, and is locked.

Hope that helps

[the_std]

I think he took it way too far with the shouting. What he said was perfectly acceptable as a response, but shouting goes so far beyond professional, especially over something that is relatively minor in the retail industry.

Being in the retail industry does not mean that you have to be a pushover, or let people walk all over you, but it's your job, and it means that you still have to remain composed until it warrants completely letting go.

I would not have fired the worker in question, but he would have been told that that kind of volume was unacceptable. That's what it boils down to: the problem wasn't the content, it was the yelling.

[powerboy]

He should not have yelled it. But at the same time, but you cannot always think in every situation.

[anriana]

His (going to go with his since he refers to himself as a guy) response was completely inappropriate. He should have just kept walking away. Rolled his eyes, gone to the break room and ranted, whatever, but he was already exiting the scene. It was entirely unprofessional to turn around and begin yelling at the customer.

Frankly he doesn't sound like the type of person who should be working in a face-to-face customer service environment from some of his phrasing. "I won't let you get away with this" "Cashier: 1 Customer: 0"

If you can't handle an insult from a customer without screaming at them, you probably shouldn't work face-to-face with customers. It's the nature of customer service that you are going to have asshats who say mean things to you or tell you that you aren't doing your job correctly when you can't make the magic they think they're entitled to have happen. If you're going to take that as a "great personal insult" every time it comes up, go somewhere else.

Oh and bonus points to him for unnecessarily using a gendered word just to comment on how the customer didn't act feminine enough!

[guywithashovel]

If I had been the manager, I probably would have asked him to handle such situations a little more quietly in the future. But all things considered, I can't find much fault in what he did.

Here is a link to the CS thread.

http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...+without+fired

A while ago, someone else posted a link to a CS thread that she wanted to expound upon here at Fratching, so I'm going to assume it's okay. If it's not, then a mod can just edit this post accordingly.

[pile of monkeys]

I wouldn't yell. I've been in some exceptionally bad customer service situations, with me on the receiving end of some truly atrocious behavior, and I don't think I've ever yelled. I will tell people that we can continue the interaction after they've calmed down, I've asked them to leave the store, I've told people that swearing at me is unacceptable, and I've called security on a whole bunch of occasions. I've certainly lost my temper, and said things that weren't as professional as they should have been, but I said them, not yelled them. You really can't work in customer service with an anger management problem. Save it for when you're off the clock.

[Greenday]

Without being able to read the thread (CS is blocked by the firewall, but not fratching?), I don't think I can make too good a judgement call. But I don't agree with bring yourself down to the asshole's level and ranting and waving. It's not worth losing your job over, unless it's a matter of life or death.

[protege]

I always try to be polite to customers, no matter how much they piss me off. For one, they can't really complain that I was "rude." Two, if they get ruder, I simply get more polite. Reason? Simply because it not only torques them off, but makes *them* look like the asshole instead of me.

Besides, there are always subtle ways of getting even...

Like what I used to do with "J" in the office. I've posted about this asshole on CS before. J had an ego bigger than this planet. As such, he felt that everyone had to kiss his ass, and that he was our boss. Reality? He wasn't. J and I never got along, because I refused to play his games or kiss his ass. Sorry, I don't get paid enough for that, and he was *not* my boss.

At least I could get even--funny how his paperwork to the main office always got "delayed" somehow, or that he was always getting into trouble over it

[Boozy]

That "incompetent" remark of that SC would definitely have had me seeing red. I also would have had trouble controlling my anger. But I've been there before, and have managed to explain why a comment is hurtful without yelling.

I don't have a problem with what the OP said to the woman. She insulted him, and she needed to be told that was unacceptable. I've told customers not to insult me before, too. And I won't work for a company that tells me to roll over and take it with a smile on my face.

But the shouting was out of order. Like I said, the poor OP was probably angry and couldn't modulate the volume of his voice. But in cases like that, it's probably best to bite your tongue unless/until you can deliver what you're trying to say in a calm manner.

[goldaries13]

The shouting was out of order. Also, I may be making too much of this, but in his post, he refers to the customer as "an aggressive and impatient Polish lady." I'm just wondering how he knew she was Polish, and if it was really necessary to mention that in the first place.

[anriana]

The shouting was out of order. Also, I may be making too much of this, but in his post, he refers to the customer as "an aggressive and impatient Polish lady." I'm just wondering how he knew she was Polish, and if it was really necessary to mention that in the first place.

Maybe he recognized her accent or lived in a Polish area? I can tell when Armenian people call based on accent/where they call from (Glendale).

And some people think their stories are enhanced by pointing out when the customer is not completely whitebread American.

[Rapscallion]

And some people think their stories are enhanced by pointing out when the customer is not completely whitebread American.

We used to have a blanket rule of not mentioning race unless it was important to the tale. We've modified it to allowing a mention if it adds some description to the tale.

However, we do take notice of when certain races are mentioned by certain posters regularly, and why.

Rapscallion

[Super Cashier]

Hi, this is Super Cashier. I was the one who posted the story about me yelling at the customer. I would like to clear up a few things.

First off, allow me to acknowledge that I was indeed out of line when I started yelling. I lost my temper that time, and I was unprofessional for doing so. I usually just tell the customer not to talk to me in such a manner, and if they do not listen, I will just walk away and get a manager. For some reason, this particuler person got to me, and I lost control. Idiots like this lady are not worth my job.

@ anriana: I pointed out her ethnic background simply because she had a noticable accent. I certainly wasn't being derogatory about it, but now that I look back, it was mildly inappropriate for me to do so, since it had nothing to do with the story. Going forward, I will not bring up race or ethnicity unless it's relevant. I also made that remark about her barely qualifying as a lady because she was a bitch, not because she was masculine or non-feminine.

I hope this clears everything up, and I look forward to posting more stories in the future.