So, I made a grown man cry today.

Johnny · Post by **Johnny** » 7/31/2007, 3:21 pm

The story thus far:

Johnny says:
i got a nice story to tell you aboot my shiney new ps3
Screaming vocal javelin says:
you found one?
Screaming vocal javelin says:
tell me!
Johnny says:
yeah
Johnny says:
at futureshop
Screaming vocal javelin says:
cool
Johnny says:
one sec
Screaming vocal javelin says:
k
Johnny says:
aight
Johnny says:
well, I made a dude cry today!
Screaming vocal javelin says:
hahaha how?
Johnny says:
I made a scene at the store
Johnny says:
insulted him
Johnny says:
and whatnot
Johnny says:
he wasnt very helpful
Johnny says:
he was giving me the run around
Johnny says:
because he wasnt going to refund my console
Johnny says:
he was going to take it and ship it to microsoft
Johnny says:
and at that point, I lost my lid

(because this was my third system in the span of one year)

Johnny says:
then he made a fuss about the games being opened, since they came with the system
Johnny says:
he practially accused me of software piracy
Johnny says:
hey!
Johnny says:
thats when I told him off
Johnny says:
and I demanded to speak with the manager
Johnny says:
then I ended up telling the guys to piss off and that I didnt want to speak with him anymore
Johnny says:
so he went to get the manager
Johnny says:
and when they came back, he stuck around
Johnny says:
and then I told him to piss off and I wasnt happy with him
Johnny says:
and at that point, I saw his eyes well up
Johnny says:
and when I saw that, I told him to snap on a pair of testicles since he seemed not to have any
Johnny says:
so he finally went away
Johnny says:
and thats my story.

Did I go too far with that dude? Btw, I got my money back and I got a ps3 now.

Lando · Post by **Lando** » 7/31/2007, 4:09 pm

myownsatellite · Post by **myownsatellite** » 7/31/2007, 6:08 pm

Wow, sounds like you have a temper on you. I've had people say some really nasty shit to me before that made me cry when I worked at Fashion Bug, but I think that last comment almost takes the cake.

half jill · Post by **half jill** » 7/31/2007, 7:40 pm

yeah, that's not cool dude. i don't care if you were upset about your console breaking; it's not the guys fault, and you have no right to throw insults at him. you're making fun of him for crying? at my old job there were countless people who brought me close to tears. you have no idea what that man had dealt with that day, and people in customer service should be treated with as much respect as anyone else. grow the fuck up.

Axtech · Post by **Axtech** » 7/31/2007, 8:05 pm

half jill wrote:yeah, that's not cool dude. i don't care if you were upset about your console breaking; it's not the guys fault, and you have no right to throw insults at him. you're making fun of him for crying? at my old job there were countless people who brought me close to tears. you have no idea what that man had dealt with that day, and people in customer service should be treated with as much respect as anyone else. grow the fuck up.

agreed

Lando · Post by **Lando** » 7/31/2007, 8:22 pm

half jill wrote:yeah, that's not cool dude. i don't care if you were upset about your console breaking; it's not the guys fault, and you have no right to throw insults at him. you're making fun of him for crying? at my old job there were countless people who brought me close to tears. you have no idea what that man had dealt with that day, and people in customer service should be treated with as much respect as anyone else. grow the fuck up.

get off your fucking pedestal. sure he was out of line with what he said, but where do you see anywhere that he's making fun of the guy for crying? He posted the story of what happened on here and clearly asked if he went too far. did you even consider that johnny might feel kind of bad about what he said and that's why he posted it asking if people thought he went too far?

I would've been pissed at the guy too, but I wouldn't have been as verbal about it.

Seriously, comments like "grow the fuck up" when someone had a bad day and is here asking for advice... really mature.

luckily he has grown ups like this to take advice from.

laurel · Post by **laurel** » 7/31/2007, 8:41 pm

having been in both the customer service position, and the customer's position, i can see both sides of this argument.

as a sales associate, customers can be increasingly difficult to deal with. however, as an associate, you must also know that the customer's satisfaction is the most important thing. the worst thing you can do is get the customer upset. if they come in upset, it's your job to calm them down and fix the problem. it's your job to give the best customer service possible, something the associate johnny dealt with apparently didn't do. you NEVER accuse the customer of doing something wrong. that's pretty much the golden rule in retail, i've found in my many years experience.

granted, johnny may have been rude to him, but by the sounds of it, it was after the associate was rude to johnny. the manager also should have taken johnny's dissatisfaction into account, and asked the associate to leave, so the situation could be dealt with in the proper manner. when i've been in a supervisory position over other staff when they upset customers, i've removed the staff member and dealt with the customer myself.

so there was fault on the associate's fault. granted, johnny wasn't the nicest, but he had reason not to be. i understand customers almost bringing the associate to tears, cause i've been there. there are just naturally mean, rude customers that are horribly stressful to deal with. but once the associate has put the customer in the wrong, the customer is fully allowed to retaliate if they've been unfairly accused of something.

now, from the customer's point of view, dealing with sales associates like johnny dealt with drives me insane. the customer service level he experienced is very low. asking to talk to the manger was the right thing to do...however, different language could have definitely been used. it's much easier to treat people in the customer service industry with respect, since you are more likely to get your what you want to achieve.

so uh. this is long. essentially - johnny had the right to go to the manager, and he was also treated incorrectly by the initial associate. when johnny made his displeasure clear, the associate should have left. the associate also should have had control of his emotions...you must be even tempered and pleasant with customers at all times...you can't let anger, or tears, show.

johnny, you probably could have used better language, and a bit of a different way to deal with the situation. but, as lando said, you obviously feel bad about it. next time, be a bit less verbal, and things might go a bit smoother. however, i know it's hard to deal with crappy customer service, but trust me...you'll have a much better experience the more respectful and pleasant you are...just don't back down, like you didn't do today.

oh, and i also must say...the title of this thread ends in a period. not an exclamation mark. i think that the period changes the entire intonation of the sentence. if it were an exclamation mark, it would be making fun of the guy. the period changes it entirely.

Lando · Post by **Lando** » 7/31/2007, 8:47 pm

well said.

I like how you finish off with something that would basically relate to linguistics. nerd.

laurel · Post by **laurel** » 7/31/2007, 8:53 pm

meanie.

Post by **xjsb125** » 7/31/2007, 9:36 pm

I kick people out when they cuss me. Power = fun.

Good for you Johnny for sticking to your guns, but telling the guy to snap on a set of testicles when he was starting to get upset was probably uncalled for. You don't know what the people on the other side of the counter have to go through on a daily basis. As for being accused of piracy, how so? If the games came with the console, then I wouldn't see it as an issue. Many US retailers will not give refunds for opened software, DVD's, and CD's because of copyright laws and such. Normally I try to put myself in their shoes and make a determination based on their story and what I am supposed to do, but I always try to send them home happy. It's not worth it to send someone home pissed off over 15 dollars. If it was your third console, then I would probably refunded your money and wished you luck shopping for a new one elsewhere. Or I might have took it out of the box, pissed on it, and handed it back to you. One or the other *shrugs*

Just kidding!

Random Name · Post by **Random Name** » 8/1/2007, 7:51 am

Yeah, I have a horrible POV of Futureshop. I know they have horrible customer service policies, but I also know that the guy was following policy and you were being a jerk about it.
(I could go into detail but its unnecessary and I wont)
On the plus side, if you were my customer and made that much of a scene with the name calling and the such, I would have un-kindly asked you to leave because we did not want your business.

My store would have my back.

Kicker774 · Post by **Kicker774** » 8/1/2007, 9:48 am

Unfortunatley sometimes you have to throw a fit to get what you want.

If you play the nice guy card when they say "There's nothing we can do" then you'll get taken advantage of.

If the nice guy card doesn't work then you have to step up to the plate and start voiceing your displeasure.

I've never gone to the extreme of telling a person to grow some balls but sometimes it takes a little of that to get things to go your way.

myownsatellite · Post by **myownsatellite** » 8/1/2007, 3:01 pm

I still think it was a disgusting way to talk to someone. From Johnny's story, I don't see how the person was being a shitty sales associate. He was probably following policy. For all we know, the guy could have been new and didn't know that he was allowed to bend policy for certain things.

Whether or not you feel bad about what you said to him, I'm surprised you said anything like that. It was absolutely inappropriate and I can't believe that people are sticking up for that.

There are better ways to deal with shitty customer service. Cussing at a sales associate and telling him to grow some balls is really shitty.

Yes, sometimes you need to be disgruntled when you are being treated unfairly. But namecalling and insults and the like = REALLY SHITTY JOHNNY.

I've had customers cuss me out and call me horrible names for things that weren't even my fault, and that were easily fixed if they'd just ask me to fix them instead of getting all pissed off. I've cried over it before. You have no idea how difficult it is to work in customer service until you've done it. I recommend you get a job in retail, Johnny, and then maybe you'll stop and think before you say shit like that to another person.

myownsatellite · Post by **myownsatellite** » 8/1/2007, 3:04 pm

Random Name wrote:Yeah, I have a horrible POV of Futureshop. I know they have horrible customer service policies, but I also know that the guy was following policy and you were being a jerk about it.
(I could go into detail but its unnecessary and I wont)
On the plus side, if you were my customer and made that much of a scene with the name calling and the such, I would have un-kindly asked you to leave because we did not want your business. My store would have my back.

I like and agree with your comment

Lando · Post by **Lando** » 8/1/2007, 3:07 pm

myownsatellite wrote:I still think it was a disgusting way to talk to someone. From Johnny's story, I don't see how the person was being a shitty sales associate. He was probably following policy. For all we know, the guy could have been new and didn't know that he was allowed to bend policy for certain things.

Whether or not you feel bad about what you said to him, I'm surprised you said anything like that. It was absolutely inappropriate and I can't believe that people are sticking up for that.

There are better ways to deal with shitty customer service. Cussing at a sales associate and telling him to grow some balls is really shitty.

Yes, sometimes you need to be disgruntled when you are being treated unfairly. But namecalling and insults and the like = REALLY SHITTY JOHNNY.

I've had customers cuss me out and call me horrible names for things that weren't even my fault, and that were easily fixed if they'd just ask me to fix them instead of getting all pissed off. I've cried over it before. You have no idea how difficult it is to work in customer service until you've done it. I recommend you get a job in retail, Johnny, and then maybe you'll stop and think before you say shit like that to another person.

Johnny did say that the guy accused him of software piracy and Laurel followed up with why that was wrong. That's why people see his side of the story too. The employee was at fault and yes Johnny's language was out of line.

myownsatellite · Post by **myownsatellite** » 8/1/2007, 3:15 pm

He said that the guy PRACTICALLY accused him of software piracy. That means he didn't come out and say it, and what seems more likely is that the guy said he couldn't take things back when they're opened because of copyright laws and to prevent piracy. If Johnny comes back here and tells us all the details instead of just posting them in a vague message like "he was giving me the runaround" and "he practically accused me of software piracy" maybe we'd have more of an idea.

I see his side too, he's entitled to better service, but it was still shitty. And the way you responded to Dom made it sound like you were sticking up for him.

Lando · Post by **Lando** » 8/1/2007, 3:20 pm

Dom was out of line. Johnny came and asked if he was too harsh, he wasn't making fun of the guy and she tells him to grow the fuck up? That's the most immature comment in this thread. Bar none.

Real mature answer when someone comes posting how they've had a bad day, tells everyone the details and asks for advice because they feel bad about it.

laurel · Post by **laurel** » 8/1/2007, 3:28 pm

myownsatellite wrote:I still think it was a disgusting way to talk to someone. From Johnny's story, I don't see how the person was being a shitty sales associate. He was probably following policy. For all we know, the guy could have been new and didn't know that he was allowed to bend policy for certain things.

Whether or not you feel bad about what you said to him, I'm surprised you said anything like that. It was absolutely inappropriate and I can't believe that people are sticking up for that.

There are better ways to deal with shitty customer service. Cussing at a sales associate and telling him to grow some balls is really shitty.

Yes, sometimes you need to be disgruntled when you are being treated unfairly. But namecalling and insults and the like = REALLY SHITTY JOHNNY.

I've had customers cuss me out and call me horrible names for things that weren't even my fault, and that were easily fixed if they'd just ask me to fix them instead of getting all pissed off. I've cried over it before. You have no idea how difficult it is to work in customer service until you've done it. I recommend you get a job in retail, Johnny, and then maybe you'll stop and think before you say shit like that to another person.

yes, it's not the right way to talk to someone. but, as lando just pointed out above, johnny was being accused of something he did not do. i don't know what kind of customer service jobs you've been working, but the last thing you do, as i've said previously, is put the customer in the wrong.

there's a reason we're sticking up johnny...he had a bad experience with a crappy sales associate. we've all been there trying to deal with bad customer service, and sometimes, it's just hard to keep your cool. yes, what he said wasn't the best thing he could have said, we've determined that. you don't have to reiterate it, while shouting how shitty it is of him. i'm sure you've dealt with things badly before. hell, i'm sure you've written many things on here about what you've done that other people don't agree with. but, you don't see them going, REALLY SHITTY, MEGAN! that's because on this board, most of us have a level of respect for the other people, and don't need to attack them by yelling. you stated that you thought what johnny said was wrong. fine. no need to start yelling about it. he feels bad as it is. you, someone who's always come across as friendly to johnny, should not be treating him that way. do you like yelling at your friends in person like that when they do something wrong?

and you say you've been cussed out for stuff that wasn't your fault....you know, nothing in customer service should be taken personally. if it's a fault with the company, it's not your fault. you should know better than to get hurt and cry over it. customer service is the wrong industry for you if you can't handle a pissed off customer. i've been confronted with many. i know when the issue isn't my fault, but something with the company, or another person. so, there's no reason to cry over it. you fix it, you make the customer happy, and hopefully, they thank you. sure, they may say hurtful things, but you should be able to brush it off. there's no other way to survive dealing with people on a daily basis, a good percentage who will be mad in some way.

if you fucked up and handled the situation wrong, as the sales associate in this situation did, then it is your fault. sure, the customer by all means shouldn't talk to you in the way johnny did, but it's very hard to be calm when someone's accusing you of something you didn't do, and making your experience a bad one. it's the associate's job to ensure you have a good experience, and your needs are met. why the heck else is it called customer service? if you suck at your job, you're going to get negative feedback from customers.

and maybe you should stop and think before you say shit like you did to johnny. the entire tone of your post was very disrespectful to him. we're all friends on this board, so try to at least try to consider his side before retaliating against him.

myownsatellite · Post by **myownsatellite** » 8/1/2007, 3:41 pm

I don't think my post was disrespectful at all.

He asked if he was in the wrong. I told him it was shitty. I don't even see anywhere he says that he was having a bad day before this.

I thought about my comment a lot before I posted it. I said how I felt. I'm not going to apologize for it.

When a customer is calling you a fucking bitch, and telling you how stupid you are and how horrible you are and fuck this and fuck that and you can't get your manager to come to the register to help you out, yeah, you lose your cool. Yeah, you cry. God forbid something upsets you that much. Not everyone has nerves of steel. I was 16, it was my first job, and I've been in the business for 7 years now and can handle it much better. Quite frankly, once IN the retail business it's a hell of a lot harder to break out of it than it is to find another retail job. I've been trying for years and have gotten nowhere. Quite frankly, I think telling me that just because I get rattled by people cussing me out for shit that isn't my fault I shouldn't be in retail was disrespectful.

I'm not going to argue anymore. If you guys think I was horrible to Johnny because I went by what he posted instead of inferring things, then fine. If he comes back into the thread and explains a little more, sure, I'll apologize. I don't have enough of this story to know that Johnny was having a bad day, that he was actually accused of doing something as opposed to something being inferred that maybe he took the wrong way.

I think both parties here are in the wrong, and it was shitty. And that's what I said, and that's what I meant.

And I'm going to shut up now before everyone on the board hates me.

Lando · Post by **Lando** » 8/1/2007, 3:41 pm

myownsatellite wrote: I don't have enough of this story to know that Johnny was having a bad day, that he was actually accused of doing something as opposed to something being inferred that maybe he took the wrong way.

I think both parties here are in the wrong, and it was shitty. And that's what I said, and that's what I meant.

And I'm going to shut up now before everyone on the board hates me.

By Johnny having a bad day, I mean he clearly had a bad experience during the course of his day that he was upset about(the issue at hand), which in turn made his day bad, hence the reason he posted about it here on the cm asking for advice, not to be told immature comments like "grow the fuck up"

I didn't mean he was having a bad day before he went into the store.

ClumsyMonkey.net

ClumsyMonkey.net

So, I made a grown man cry today.

So, I made a grown man cry today.