As the woman approached Mary, she asked, "Is my check ready?"
Mary murmured something to the woman and she walked out. And so Mary went back to serving the three customers waiting for her.
Thirty minutes later, the same woman came back and asked Mary in a rude tone, "Where is my check?" In less than a split second, the woman turned raged and started scolding her.
"Don't try to push your responsibility. It's your mistake, you better admit it. When take money so fast, but when it comes to refund, you takes years. Stop giving me excuses. I'm wasting my time here....." and on and on and on about Mary's fault.
Mary tried to explain to her that the refund is handled by the accounting department and they need sometimes to process it.
The woman raised her voice and said, "It's been so long. My money stuck here. You should be paying me interest during this period, you know, you know." Mary felt the woman was being unreasonable to demand for interest and said "We also incurred interest when you paid by credit card."
She then demanded that Mary gets her check ready by Tuesday or else she will go make complain to CASE (Consumer Association of Singapore).
As she stomped out of the shop, she was literally cursing and swearing and said, "I don't even want to step into this place. Wasting my time."
Mary was in the verge of in tears as she swallowed the lashing she just received in front of other customers.
Out of curiosity, I asked her how much did the company owe this woman. Mary replied, "$1,000."
Hmmmm... how much interest can $1,000 earns if left in the bank. With interest rate at all time low, it'll probably amount to peanuts.
Of course, the woman said all kinds of things especially she is in anger.
Mary went on to explain the cause of the whole issue. Apparently, this woman ordered a bath tub and it could only be fitted by removing the glass partition (ceiling to wall), which she refused to. Probably another case of miscommunication and oversight.
So who's at fault?
Was it the woman's fault for not informing the staff of the glass partition in her house? Was it the shop's mistake for not taking into account the limitation which made it impossible for them to install the bath tub without removing the glass partition when they sent a staff to her house?
Mary said the woman just ordered it last week. So why did the woman fly into a rage wanting to get her money back as soon as possible? How long has she been chasing for the refund? Did the shop refused to refund her initially? If not, why can't she just give them another week? Was the $1,000 the actual amount Mary said owed to the woman accurate? Was Mary at fault for not expediting the refund?
As an outsider, I looked at the woman's behavior as rather uncultured and uncivilized. However, that's how everyone behaves when we are angry.
And no matter what happens, very few customers are going to admit it's their fault, even if it's true.
So what you can do when dealing with clients?
- Preempt all the limitations that a client will encounter when considering your product or service.
Do your product requires minimum space? If you are selling piano, it's not just about the make, quality and budget. You also have to consider whether the model can fit into the lift. If not, you have to let the client knows the cost of moving the piano up the stairs.
- Make sure they have all the required conditions to use your product or service.
Do clients need to install additional socket? Do they need higher voltage? Do they need a backup system?
- Do not surprise your clients. Let them know of any possible problems when considering your product or service, no matter how remote it may be.
What can cause unexpected delay in delivery of your product or service? Will there be any charges involved? What are the possibilities of additional work required? How will unexpected cases be handled?
Even with all these preparations, you will still encounter miscommunication problems because the clients do not hear what you say, hear what you say but do not understand what you say, hear what you say but misunderstand what you say, or understand what you say but pretend not to hear what you say.
As with every problem, there is an opportunity. Angry clients are the best source of feedback you can get about your business, processes, operations and services. Find out what makes them angry and if the reasons are valid, change the way you conduct business.
Recognize also that there are clients who will never be satisfied with whatever you do. With these, fire them.