The Customer is a Jerk and a Liar. Lets Reward Them!!

I recognize the face that customers are the life's blood of a company, but thanks to moochers and takers that have become prevalent in our society today, the term "The customer is always right" has been taken way out of hand. Quite frankly, it has been abused to the point that it needs emergency reconstructive surgery.

What am I talking about? Well, go into any chain retail store. They will let you walk all over them, and get whatever you want. All you have to do is say the dreaded magic threat: "I'm gonna call corporate!"

I used to work in the rent to own field. You will never see a more pathetic display of humanity than a large percentage of customers in that field. Some of them would be more than happy to shoot you over a 27 inch TV rather than turn it back in because they can't make the payment. I know this because I was shot at over a 27 inch TV. Others will rent things, and not make the payment, and disappear for 6 weeks, then finally get in touch with the store, and apologize. The merchandise is then picked up, and a week later, they come back and re rent the same item, and the process starts again. They do pay into principal, and eventually, they will pay it off...several years later. But, in that field, there are no customers who are blacklisted. They can walk all over the employees, threaten, and belittle the employees all they want, but corporate will not let a store ban a customer. The person I mentioned who shot at me? After the TV was recovered with a police escort, we were delivering the same TV back to them a week later.

As a rent to own employee, I dreaded the "preferred customer" mailers. They were mailed out to every person in the store's database, yet for some reason, only the worst of the worst came in with them. And, they would always come in with an attitude. "I'm a PREFERRED customer, so I deserve this or that!" And, that is the problem. These pathetic people are rewarded for their poor (and sometimes criminal) behavior, and of course they will keep coming back.

Think that guy learned his lesson?

True story: One customer had a rather nice dinette set, and had been paying on it for several years. As far as the company was concerned, they had gotten all the money they needed out of it, so if the customer decided to steal it, they could charge it off, and no one would lose any sleep over it. In fact, the customer only had maybe 3 more payments on it until they owned it. But, they would disappear like I mentioned before, and the set would have to be picked up, then redelivered. In a year, I picked up and redelivered that set 6 times. So, I got tired of it, and the last time I picked it up, I asked the manager how much value the set had to the store. He checked, and that was when we found out that it was paid for as far as the company was concerned, but the customer had a few payments left to go. I offered the manager the total of the 3 payments for the set, and he sold it to me. This was in 2006, and I still have it to this day. I bought it to be a desk. In fact, I am typing this post on it right now. The customer had to start all over with a different piece. I bet he never missed a payment again!

But this type of behavior getting rewarded by businesses is not limited to retail, or rent to own. There is a pizza chain that has a policy that states "If the customer complains, give them what they want, and something extra." As a result, they are delivering food to low lives who will order a pizza, call up, complain, and get another pizza and wings delivered for free that same day. And, these people never tip the drivers either. The chain thinks it is good customer service, but all it is doing is sending the free food beacon to low lives who find out about it, and tell their friends. Before too long, they are delivering free food to an entire neighborhood on a regular basis.

These people are the lowest scum on the planet. They are the people who do not work, yet eat better than I do because the government has no cap or term limit to the free (taxpayer) money they shovel out to them. And, it gets worse as the time goes by. Today, its a pizza. Next thing you know, they are stealing from stores, and threatening the store's employees for trying to stop them. And, corporate will actually reprimand the employees for trying to prevent theft. Trading customer service for emboldened thieves. Also, these people would gladly cost a hard working employee their job in order to get something that costs 5 bucks for free! Don't you see a problem with that?

The problem is not going to get better. In fact, its going to get worse. I could not work in a retail store. I would likely wind up getting fired for beating the crap out of someone who threatened me. And, they will come over the counter and threaten violence if they don't get their way!

Basically, the customer is NOT always right, and if a company wants good employees, they need to start standing up for THEM, and not the leeches who would just as soon stab someone over a pair of shoes or shoot at someone over a 27 inch TV.

 If I had a business of my own, I would have a blacklist. And, all it would take would be banning just a couple people, and the word would be out that my business is not one that can be walked all over. As a result, my cost goes down because I wouldn't be paying for these jerks to rob me, AND the good employees would find their way to my store.

And, you'd better believe that sign to the left here would be hanging in my store's front window!

Its just common sense. Although, fewer and fewer people seem to be born with it these days.