I got some nice comments on my post a week ago where I outlined my personal experience with having the door slammed in my face by businesses. Five comments with five different ways that businesses diss their customers:
- “Run out” of advertised sale items. Reader MrsPost shared this one: “… Several stores I frequent (specialty ones, unfortunately) have a habit of not stocking the shelves again until after a weekend sale. So even though item X is 50% off through Sunday there’s none on the shelves. Actually all the shelves are looking pretty thin by Sunday. And then magically the delivery fairy shows up Sunday night and the shelves are full on Monday morning. The day when prices go back up…” Businesses can advertise loss leaders all they want, but it would be far better for their reputation if they paid the delivery fairy a little overtime to make sure a reasonable number of their customers could get the sale item.
- Limit the ways your customers can pay you. Ron from The Wisdom Journal has simple needs: donuts. Paying for them was more complicated, though: ” … I went to Daylight Donuts since we had some kids over to spend the night with my kids and donuts are always popular. At 6:30 AM on a Saturday morning I’m not to “with it†and I walked in to order 2 dozen. Mind you, this is a chain with several hundred locations … and they don’t take debit cards. Blows my mind …” Having a merchant account does cost money, but it usually more than pays for itself in increased sales. Oh well …
- Tell your customers that they really don't know what they want. Blogger Stephanie knows how she likes her sandwich, darn it: “I won’t go back to a particular Potbelly’s after an employee there repeatedly grilled me on why I didn’t want my sandwich heated. (Two reasons – I don’t like warm sandwiches very much, and secondarily I was going back to the office and throwing it in the fridge for a couple of hours before I ate, so the point was moot anyway.) At the point at which she asked if I’d ever eaten at Potbelly’s before, I told her that if she asked me to justify my sandwich choices one more time, I was walking out the door. She finally shut up and finished making the sandwich, and I’ve never been back.” She shouldn't be grilled about whether she wants her sandwich grilled. ‘Nuff said.
- Communicate with your customers — exclusively without words. Reader JM went to a NYPD Pizza, and “the manager/cashier guy kept jabbing his index finger in the air at the digital total on the cash register. This was his way of letting us know what we owed. And he did this twice, until we caught on to his special language.” (Rather pointed discussion, no?)
- Screw your customers over by not honoring a rebate. Mike from Guzzo the Contrarian got sick of dealing with Norton: “After using Norton AntiVirus for a couple of years, I upgraded my software using a rebate coupon they offered. It was a lengthy process to follow in order to get the rebate (i.e. jump thru hoops) and I followed it precisely. Having unfortunately learned the hard way over the years, I also photocopied everything “just in case.†Well, “just in case†happened. They declined my rebate and stated that I had to reapply again, even after I already sent them the original copies …” Yeah, that's a bit much. Besides, ClamWin is far less obtrusive. And free!
Enjoy the start of your weekend. May the businesses you visit welcome you with refreshing pleasance.
When did NYPD get into the pizza business?
NYPD Pizzeria is a chain.
I can totally relate to #1, “Run out†of advertised sale items.
Grocery stores do this all the time. One way I fight back is by getting a rain check. I then wait until I have a manufacturers coupon for the same product.
I then use the manufacturers coupon along with the rain check for an extra special deal.
Bad business practices could partly explain why half of all businesses fail within a year, and 80% fail within 5 years.
“Tell your customers that they really don’t know what they want.”
I can so relate to this. I sometimes do quilting. I have an old Singer sewing machine and I am happy with what it does.
I went into a “sewing center” to see if they knew anyone who could finish a quilt for me, (they do classes, etc, so its likely they would have a name) I used to have a lady down in WV that did it for me, but she died. I’m good at piecing, but want someone with skill for the finish work. These quilts are for gifts, not for sale.
Well she went off on me how terrible my quilts must look having been done on such an outdated machine, and proceeded to try to sell me an $800 machine in her store. I told her I was on lunch, had only a few minutes and was really only looking for someone to finish my quilt. She would not drop the subject of how bad my quilts must look, how unprofessional, how she could not understand how I could give such a gift to anyone with any sense of pride. I was so mad I will never go back there for any reason, even if I decide to buy a machine one day.