I did it again. I turned into a raging lunatic foaming at the mouth at the sound of those detested words:
“We cannot give you a reason; that’s just our policy.”
I consider myself a patient and accepting person, but being told to follow the rules without logic or reason is one thing that makes me go blind with fury.
I used a $20 coupon at a store last week, which could be used on any two printer cartridge packs. I won’t tell you which store it was in order to protect their reputation… but let me just say that the name of the store rhymes with the word Bosco and you can buy items in bulk with a membership. :) (And please note that I generally LOVE this store - I'm not trying to bash it.)
Anyway, with the coupon, I purchased two different cartridges for my two printers at home. I will refer to them as P1 and P2 for the sake of this post. Upon arriving home, I realized I should have purchased P3 instead of P2. I decided to return the unopened P2 package and exchange it for P3 and either pay or get a refund for the difference in price. The $20 coupon would still apply. Simple enough, right? Apparently not.
I arrived at the return counter with the P2 and my receipt, upon which the following ensued:
Clerk 1: “Ma’am, you need to bring back P1 along with P2 in order for us to give you a refund.”
Me (voice level 1): “uh… I don’t want a refund. I just want to exchange P2 for P3. The coupon would still apply.”
Clerk 1: “You cannot get P3 in place of P2, because the price may be different.”
Me (voice level 1.5): “I understand that. So tell me what the difference is, and we’ll go from there.”
Clerk 2: “We need the P1 before we can do any kind of a transaction.”
Me (voice level 2): “I want to keep the P1. In fact, I’ve already opened the package and the cartridge is in my printer. I just need to exchange P2.”
Clerk 1: “We cannot do that, ma’am.”
Me (voice level 2.5): “Why not?”
Clerk 1: “It’s our policy.”
Me (voice level 3): “The coupon said ‘any two cartridges,’ and I just want to exchange this particular one.”
Clerk 2: “We need to see the other one. You need to bring that one back as well.”
Me (voice level 3.5): “Okay… the receipt shows that I purchased the other one with this one, so if it’s the bar code you need, you can take another one exactly like it off the shelf and use it for the transaction, then put it back.”
Clerk 1: “No, we can’t do that. That would throw off our stock.”
Me (voice level 4): “WHAT?!? That doesn’t even make sense.”
Clerk 2: “Sorry ma’am. That’s our policy.”
Me (voice level 4.5): “No it’s not. It doesn’t make any sense. Let me explain this to you. The coupon applied to any two. I got A and B. B doesn’t work. I return B and get the C. I would end up with A and C. I just pay the difference or get a refund for the difference between B and C. You don’t need to see A to do this transaction.”
Clerk 2: “It’s our policy. If you don’t have the P1 package, then take the cartridge out of your printer and bring it.”
Me (voice level 5): “WHY? I DON’T WANT TO RETURN THAT ONE! I JUST WANT TO RETURN THIS ONE! Do you have a brain? Can’t you see the logic? Can’t you see that you’re not making sense?”
Clerk 1: “There are rules that don’t make sense to us either, but we have to follow them because they are the rules. There’s nothing we can do.”
Me (with my veins ready to pop): “NO! That will not do. You have to produce better explanation than that! I’m not leaving here without getting this resolved. USE YOUR HEAD, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!”
Clerk 1 (with defiance): “There’s nothing we can do!”
Me (now through clenched teeth): “This is crazy… Let me talk to a manager.”
By this time, my frustration level was almost beyond human capacity, and I was practically having an out-of-body experience.
The manager appeared, and he was much more reasonable (thank God! otherwise I might have internally combusted.) He found a way to complete the transaction without much effort, to the clerks’ chagrin.
I’m not proud of the way I behaved. I knew I was right, but I could have handled it a little more diplomatically. I feel like I have a Mr. Hyde side of me that emerges at the push of the right buttons. It makes me cringe. I’ll have to keep a low profile for a while and wear a disguise when I go back to the store…
My point for this post, besides admitting my shortcomings, is that the customer service personnel should be trained in being flexible and being able to look at issues on a case-by-case basis rather than parroting the words “those are the rules.” If you don’t have a good reason for those rules, I will call you out every time.
When I was in Customer Service we weren't allowed to give refunds on things you would get a refund for immediately if you just asked for a manager. Seriously, pissed us off too because we end up looking like a jerk.
ReplyDeleteEntry level employees are told not to do any thinking.
While I understand your frustration, I do have some sympathy for the clerk.
ReplyDeleteYou're told the rules and have to stick to them. You've got no wiggle room. And if you go to the manager every time there's a problem you soon get a reputation for being unable to deal with things yourself.
Companies want to keep it that way because it's cheaper -- they can pay clerks less and fewer people end up getting refunds.
HI MATT!!!!! :-) Good to see you!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, as far as the rules, they should at the very least be able to explain the reason for the rules if not able to be flexible with them. Otherwise, they will have to deal with dissatisfied customers who cannot understand. I know... I was one of the irate customers that we never want to end up being... but that wasn't really me. It was my evil twin who stays hidden 90 percent of the time. (well, okay... 80 percent) ;-) And whose side are you on anyway??? Grrrr... :-)
Krist,
I thought the people behind the customer service counter were the more experienced employees who could be sensible when needed.
It just so happens that ENTPs tend to be the worst at following rules for the sake of following the rules. I suppose it's too much to ask for everyone to see my view, especially when I lose my temper.
I still think there must be a way to teach a little bit of logic to even the entry level employees.
The more capable an employee is, the harder it is to replace them. The harder it is to replace them, the more you have to pay them.
ReplyDeleteSo what you lose in dissatisfied customers, you make up with paying your employees less.
Cynical Economics 101.
Besides, you're assuming that the rules make sense. :-)
I COMPLETELY agree - I hate having to follow rules most of the time, but if there is a good reason for them - fine, I will grudgingly accept it. If there is no logical reason behind it . . . watch out!
ReplyDeleteMatt,
ReplyDeleteHaha. You're funny. Remind me to never work for you. ;-) But I guess it is true that not all positions within a company require thinking. And as mind-boggling as it is, some people actually prefer those types of positions... go figure!
Fat Al,
Thanks for your comment!