https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Tue, 28 Apr 2026 01:20:24 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380844 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 18:18:17 +0000 Jjsloane 380844@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I try to be a good customer and my pet peeve is rudeness in general. I've worked retail and waitressed and that shows you a broad spectrum of bad behaviors not to emulate. There is a faction of people who have learned that ranting and raving will get them appeased and they continue to use these tactics regardless of the situation (sounds like it applies to your Towel Lady). People on other boards actually pride themselves on the discounts they are able to achieve with complaints and repeated calls. I find very few of these circumstances to warrant this and it just ends up raising prices elsewhere for the rest of us. I do get angry when I feel something has been done poorly or in error and nobody seems to care, but like others I always preface that I am mad at the situation, not the person receiving my complaint.<br /> I find talking on cell phones while someone is ringing you up equally rude, but I digress. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380834 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 17:59:26 +0000 rute 380834@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh.. I'm the perfect costumer! I know that! I'm always in a good mood, always smiling and I'm not picky, everything is fine for me!</p> <p>I go everyday to my gym and saw awful things already, some people are always complaing other seem to have pleasure when hurting other.</p> <p>Move on! You love your job and I'm sure not oll clients are like that! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380767 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:42:56 +0000 Irene 380767@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I try to be nice with everybody, including SA. Always. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380718 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:07:25 +0000 lynne 380718@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>QM, my husband and I were just in Trader Joe's yesterday and did exactly that. He always does in stores. KtK, what a horrible woman! I'm glad you stood your ground and didn't reward a tantrum.<br /> When I was a teacher I got to see and experience customer service type rants from parents. One was "With the amount of taxes I pay for my home on X Drive (a pricey area) I expect this kind of service." She wanted me to pack her son's backpack. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380620 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 13:46:18 +0000 Queen Mum 380620@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>wow! it is incredible how rude some people can be. Even if I'm frustrated with a situation, the most I do is get a bit quiet.... the thought of making a scene in public is just so far out of my realm. I think I can honestly say the only people I have ever yelled at is my kids or hubby.<br /> I really do try to be a good customer. One thing I often do is start to bag my groceries at Trader Joes' while the checker is ringing up my cart. There isn't always a bagger there, and it always annoys me just a little bit when I'm standing in line and the customer is standing there doing nothing waiting for the checker to finish ringing and then the checker has to bag everything. I usually start bagging unless a bagger comes over to take over. And the checker always thanks me for helping out. I figure it helps everyone get through the line more quickly.<br /> I try to leave dressing rooms neat, although I must confess I don't try to hang bras up the neat and tidy way that they always have them. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380535 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 07:44:27 +0000 Aunty 380535@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Many years ago I worked as a SA in clothes shop. I think in my time there I had every kind of rudeness you can think of. So when I am shopping or out for a meal I am super polite as long as the service has been good. If the service is bad I tend to vote with my feet, walk away and never return.<br /> I do have a very long fuse, but once I was behind a lady paying for her shopping and she let rip at the SA for no good reason that I could see. I am afraid I stepped forward and pointed out that the SA could not answer her back, but I could. She left!! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380521 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 05:31:11 +0000 rachylou 380521@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I worked as a cashier in a grocery once. Had this one customer who was just chomping at the bit to make things difficult and call me stupid. I was half suspicious she was trying to pull a con. Did the whole rigamarole of wanting to change the denomination of bills she was paying me with, after I'd already rung her purchase up and made change. Anyways, she was so worked up she left without her groceries.</p> <p>But I will say this: It's something of a setup. The way all these systems and processes work is really frustrating for customers. I once went to Burger King and asked for a burger, fries, and coke. The girl behind the counter said, "Can I help you?" I repeated the whole order, and she says, "Would you like fries with that?" We did it again for the coke. She had to read through this inane script. I can't count how many times I've called a customer service with no services to offer, simply because the person on the other side is so totally bound by, and lost in, a system. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380519 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 05:24:27 +0000 lyn* 380519@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I try to be a good customer, but I think I'm just sort of weird and quirky - so I usually stick to online shopping </p> <p>I remember that once I got in "trouble" for asking a physician to place move 2" to the left so that a housekeeper could reach a garbage can (she was sitting in a rolling chair)... and I helped a housekeeper grab a water cup once at a patient bed and hand it over (so that they wouldn't be tripping over everything at the end of the bed, takes 0.2 seconds) and a nurse saw and told me that I shouldn't be "doing other people's jobs" for them ... it's unfortunate how different it is in the way that people treat you when they find out that you are house staff (in the physician "stream") versus being a nursing student too... I generally try to ignore it.</p> <p>I have been refused service before, and I respect the right of service staff to refuse me service. It's okay, you move on and go eat somewhere else. ((I think I was smelly and post-call and very tired and in scrubs and wanted to eat lunch at my favorite place which had a bit of a more office-clientele feel)). </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380514 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 04:59:45 +0000 RandomThoughts (Andrea) 380514@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I make an extra effort to treat people in the service industry with respect. I have worked in "lowly" positions much of my life. I owned a dog walking business for a while and while my clients were absolute gems, others often treated me with total disregard. To the point where I had a friend comment that she was looking forward to her son turning 5 so that he could do my job. Uhm... No. </p> <p>When I managed a kennel we had one particular client who was always rude, and always, ALWAYS found fault with what we did. If it wasn't one thing it was another. Then, one day, one of my co-workers ran into her stocking shelves at Wal-Mart. We were surprised that she would treat others with such lack of respect and could only surmise that she was deeply unhappy. Needless to say she was quick to disengage. She was eventually "fired" as a client for being so rude to us.</p> <p>Even now, very occasionally, I get treated as a non-professional by people who seek me out for my advice and expertise. They don't get very far, which is one of the perks of being your own boss.</p> <p>Edit: I will admit once getting rather short with my (ex) accountant's office assistant. We had gone in to have our personal taxes done in late Jan or early Feb. Several weeks later I called to check the status. Not done yet. Repeat twice more. So then it's April 14th. I call. Still not done. I got angry. I did my best not to be rude (certainly no yelling) and acknowledged that it was not her fault, but I know it was clear how angry I was. </p> <p>I'm not sure whose mistake it was but our tax return had been there for some time, ready, at the bottom of someone's basket. Had I not gotten firm we might've had a problem!!! Needless to say we have a new accountant now. I still feel badly about getting ticked off but what would've happened if I hadn't? *sigh* </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380511 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 04:52:23 +0000 Aziraphale 380511@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Gee, I hope I am. I've never had a tantrum at the front desk, anyway. :-)</p> <p>Seriously though, there's no excuse for bad manners in front of anyone, service personnel or not. We all have moments of exasperation, but how we handle it shows the world who we really are. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380498 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 04:12:29 +0000 Kyle 380498@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Do unto others...it's a great tool for living. I do try to be kind and appreciative, to tip generously and act in a considerate way. No excuses for this customer's behavior. It is quite possible to raise a concern while still being respectful. Employees at the gym should be coached about how to enforce the rules so there is a single standard that applies to everyone. Inconsistent enforcement is not customer friendly and will inevitably lead to conflict and customer dissatisfaction. I think all of us, whatever our jobs, feel under appreciated from time to time. I have had clients push us with a short deadline, then not pay on time, and get indignant when we remind them the account is overdue. Others have become treasured confidantes and caring friends. I like to think it all evens out one way or another. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380491 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 03:58:13 +0000 catgirl 380491@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I always try to be nice to people whatever they are doing, as long as they have not done anything awful to me or a loved one. </p> <p>A bit off-topic, but tonight I actually got into an altercation with another customer as I was ordering from a take-out place with my son. He had been hanging back and when I asked if he was waiting to order, he said nothing. Then, after I stepped up to the cashier and was placing my order, he came up and yelled at me for cutting in front of him. I apologized and offtered him my place, but he continued to rant that he had said something and I hadn't listened. He kept ranting on while I kept saying sorry, until I finally said, "It doesn't look like there's anything more I can say or do. Happy Fourth of July..." and turned away from him.</p> <p>At that point the manager stepped in and offered to buy him his meal, AND later the same manager came up to me and asked if I was okay, which I was. I am pretty sure the guy was actually mentally ill from his other behaviors, and I felt sorry for him. </p> <p>Anyway, I am going to write a letter to the manager telling him how much I appreciated the way he handled the situation. He went above and beyond the call of duty when he did not have to do so. The food service industry has to be a stressful place to work! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380484 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 03:48:25 +0000 taylor 380484@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Good grief...just when I think I have heard or seen the worst rude behaviour humanity has to offer something like this tops it!! Just unbelievable how uncivilized people can be!! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380402 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 02:11:36 +0000 Beth 380402@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I've never yelled at someone in a service position and I'd be terribly embarrassed if I was ever with someone who did. Tacky. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380395 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 01:56:36 +0000 MNsara 380395@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I always try to be a good customer too! I don't know why it seems important to me that I am on the good side of a service person. I'm not doing it with any ulterior motives for better service or anything.</p> <p>What rotten customers, Keepthekey and Mo!! I do figure it's their problem -- not me. Although I've been known to replay situations in my head to see if I *did* anything. . .</p> <p>Keep your calm, serve them like KeeptheKey did, or refuse to serve them like Mo did, either way maintaining your cool and dignity will never be regretted </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380393 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 01:51:17 +0000 Janet 380393@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh my, I cringe when workers are subjected to rude behavior when they're just trying to do their job. I've been on the receiving end and it's no fun.</p> <p>When something is wrong enough that I am visibly (or audibly if its on the phone) upset or angry, I always tell the employee that the frustration they're hearing from me is not directed at them but at the situation. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380388 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 01:44:32 +0000 Kristine 380388@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I definitely make an effort to be a good customer and I always say hello and make eye contact with people who are working. I've had every service position imaginable- busser, cashier, restaurant server, telemarketer, gas station clerk. I can't imagine ever yelling at someone unless they yelled at me first! But with that said, I also realize everyone has a bad day so I try not to take it too personally if someone is crabby. I'm crabby too sometimes. Your example was quite a bit beyond that though! </p> <p>You did the right thing. I always feel so much better if I can maintain my own temper and dignity and not rise to someone else getting upset. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380372 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 01:12:54 +0000 Kari 380372@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I don't think this is right, and I'm not saying that I behave this way, but I think there is a tendency to treat those in service positions (whether a CSR on the phone, or an attendant at a gas station, or a receptionist at a gym, or a sales associate at a retail store) as faceless and anonymous, and kind of depersonalizing the whole process. And when you are thinking of someone you are interacting with as a faceless, anonymous automaton, I think it's a lot easier to treat someone rudely without feeling guilty.</p> <p>I don't think I've ever been a *bad* customer and have always tried to be courteous and pleasant, but in recent years (especially after seeing my sister's experience in working retail - I haven't worked retail myself) I have really tried to step it up - making conversation with the receptionist at the laser hair treatment (and actually asking her some real questions, not just asking the rote "how are you?" questions, making sure to really say thank you when I receive stellar service (and tipping well when appropriate), making an effort to remember of the name of the sales associate who is helping me out, trying not to leave a mess behind in a retail store... that sort of thing. And based on the reactions I receive when I consciously try to step up my game, my impression is that most people in service positions are used to being treated as pretty faceless and seem to appreciate a little extra effort - just as I'm sure I would in the same position. One thing I've also tried to remember - if I receive really amazing service, one of the best compliments is to let the employee's manager know how greatly it was appreciated. I'm trying to do better at that, now.</p> <p>I'm sorry that you received such horrible treatment from one of your customers, and I am sure that (even if your customers aren't saying it) your efforts to be very knowledgeable and courteous do not go unappreciated. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380365 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 00:38:35 +0000 Di 380365@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I don't yell at *anyone,* that's completely ridiculous behavior. I try hard to be friendly to everyone. It's always been important to me, but it became even more so after I worked for a summer as a (very, very bad) waitress in DC. </p> <p>Back when I was still dating (several eons ago), one of my major tests was watching to see how my date treated waiters/grocery store clerks/etc. Because the truth is, when the shine wears off, that's how he'd treat me, too.</p> <p>My husband is an absolute doll to grocery store clerks. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380355 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 00:05:52 +0000 Mo 380355@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I do make an effort to be a good customer. I think those that treat service people badly or with contempt have trouble elsewhere in their lives and feel it's a safe way to let out the agressions and frustrations they can't otherwise. A boss that's micromanaging them, a spouse that won't tolerate dissent of any form, etc. It in no way excuses their behavior. I am lucky to have worked in a place that allows us the dignity to know that the customer isn't always right and it's okay to tell them to take a hike if they are abusive to the staff. I once took back a beer (and refunded his money) from a man on 4th of July weekend a few years ago. He was gruff to me when ordering (while still on his cellphone the whole time) and told the hostess she was a bitch when she asked him to not sit at a table for 6, etc. It got to where he got up in my face saying f---- y--- and my BF who was thankfully working the floor actually had to get in a shoving match physically with the guy. He called back later that night with a death threat. Serious roid rage guy. He couldn't believe that he couldn't just stay and do whatever he wanted however he wanted. A**hole! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ot-are-you-a-good-customer#post-380349 Thu, 07 Jul 2011 23:55:45 +0000 KeepTheKey 380349@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Some may see this as a rant, and it sort of is, but I'm also posting this so we can more closely examine our behaviors as customers in various environments.</p> <p>I work in a gym in the operations department. What does that mean? Well, yes, it means that I check you in, I give you a towel and I relay messages to your personal trainer when he or she can't come to the phone. This also means that I re-rack the weight plates you don't put away, I take care of the billing errors and update information for your membership (as well for hundreds of other members across the country), I do the laundry and I have a smile and a friendly greeting for you when you arrive. I love my job. I love the members at my gym who appreciate what I do for them. What I do not love are the people who let tiny, ultimately insignificant things bother them and proceed to take their anger out on me.</p> <p>Just the other day, I was working at the front desk when a member asked for a towel. I inquired as to whether or not she had towel service. She explained to me that she did not, but that she was always given a towel as long as she handed over her keys. When I explained that this wasn't proper procedure, and that I would not be able to provide a towel under the circumstances, she became livid. She yelled, she bargained, she threatened to cancel her membership. Towards the end of the conversation, she called me a Nazi. I'm Jewish and I take great personal offense to comments like that. But the whole time I stayed calm. Should I have given her a towel to shut her up and give her satisfaction? Perhaps. Though, I don't feel that a tantrum should be rewarded.</p> <p>I understand that many of us are much better customers than this particular woman. I would never, ever in my life, yell at a sales associate, but since this event I’ve become more aware of the way I treat people. I make damn sure I say please and thank you. I’m even more careful to watch my tone of voice. I think many misunderstandings stem from simple, harmless things said in a tone that is a little cranky or mean. Basically, it’s not just what you say, but how you say it. I know it means more to me when someone gives me a genuine “thanks” than those that are saying it because they know they’re expected to.</p> <p>So why are some people so awful to others in service positions? Do they see us as less important than them because we aren’t lawyers, doctors or celebrities? Do people lack appreciation for the job that we do because they think we don’t work very hard, or have to be particularly smart to do it? I know that my job is both physically and mentally taxing in ways that you wouldn’t expect. I have to know the ins and outs of a complicated billing and membership system that could make a grown man cry. I lift a few thousand pounds of weights every day. I deal with broken equipment and scheduling the repairs. I also deal with those rude customers, who sometimes say very hurtful things.</p> <p>So what about you? Do you make an effort to be a good customer? Do you have a job that you feel people don’t appreciate? And why are we such terrible customers sometimes? </p>