My Anger Meltdown over Service Dept.

[SusanDallas]

Today,I had a nice leisurely drive to the dealership where I purchased my travel trailer. I was just taking it to have the antifreeze flushed out of the water lines.

All went well until I got home. I parked the travel trailer on my land and went to my house to eat lunch. Several hours later, I went back out to unhook from my tow vehicle and level the trailer.

After unhooking, I went into my travel trailer to get my level. Just out of curiosity, I went to the monitor to check my battery. I immediately noticed that the water pump red light was on. Also, my grey tank and fresh water tank were both completely full. I never fill the water tank and always use city water.

The lever to empty the fresh water tank is extremely hard to get to and is located under the bottom bunk.

I was very worried about the water pump being left on for over six hours with no water. I called the service department to ask if the pump would be okay. This is my first travel trailer and I never have used the water pump.

This is where things turned ugly. I asked the service department manager why they filled my water tanks and then did not tell me. I also said that the serviceman should have checked to make sure he turned the pump off. I only travel in the fall and winter months. If I had not by chance checked my meters, the pump would have been left on all summer.

The service manager told me that my tanks couldn't be full of water because the serviceman only used about a gallon of water. I told her that my tanks were full. She then replied that they must have been full when I brought the trailer in this morning. I had driven to Port Aransas in December and emptied the tanks before leaving. I am frequently going in my trailer to check the battery level and always check the tanks and knew they were empty. My water lines are not hooked up at home.

After telling the service manager that my tanks had been empty, she then replied that my meters were not functioning correctly. I told her that I have never had a problem with the meters. It was at this point that she hung up on me.

I went out to my yard and attached my sewer hose and pulled the lever for the grey tank. The water gushed out and took the normal length of time to empty the tank. The meter then read empty.

I called the dealership back and told them this. I again asked if there was another way to empty the fresh water tank without taking the lower bunk apart. She told me to turn on the water pump and open all my faucets. This would drain all the water out of the fresh water tank and go to the grey tank. Then all I would have to do is empty the grey tank again.

The service manager was still insisting that my fresh tank was not full and that I was mistaken. I went and turned on the water pump and opened all the faucets while I had her on the phone. I held the phone where she could hear the water gushing full blast out of the sink and tub.

She never apologized to me except for saying that the serviceman must have misjudged the amount of water that he ran through the system. In the meantime, I had apologized for getting angry but who wouldn't under these circumstances.

I hate to play the elderly female card, but do any of you men get treated like this? She hung up on me because she said I was getting loud on the phone. Who wouldn't get angry when she tells me that my tanks must have been full when I got there?

I took it in for a simple flush and I don't believe I should have spent a couple of hours emptying tanks and being abused on the phone. I was also told to hook up my fresh water hose to the city water connection to make sure it wasn't filling up my fresh water tank. It was not so all is well.

I very rarely drink but after stowing all my sewer and water lines back up, I had had it. I went inside and drank a full glass of wine. What ever happened to customer service and believing what the customer is telling you? The rudeness of their behavior just astonished me yet I was the one apologizing for getting angry.

I will never go back there because of this even though the sales and parts department are great.

Another day, another lesson learned. I am putting it behind me and going to enjoy the rest of my day. Thanks for listening to my rant. It helps to get it off my chest.

[lakeside013104]

toedtoes wrote:

joshuajim wrote:

toedtoes wrote:

joshuajim wrote:
First off, I find a lot of the responses on this post to be condesending. Too many have implied that it’s a simple process and if you don’t know how to do it yourself “you are an idiot”. I don’t know the OP’s age or physical ability so this is a totally wrong premise.

Second, what ever happened to “the customer is always right”, the tenant for good customer relations and increased business. I used to own and operate a transmission shop. We would get customers that were very “angry” about their situation which could be costing them thousands of dollars and that they felt was not their fault. Sometimes it was and sometimes it wasn’t. BUT in any case, it was the service writers REQUIREMENT in my shop to calm the situation, explain to the customer what may have caused the situation, assure them that we would be doing everything possible to remedy the situation and move forward. In most cases just letting the customer vent and not responding until they are done calms the situation. Most people calm down after they have had an uninterrupted vent.

Finally, if one of my service writers hung up on a customer, that service writer would receive a day off without pay and I would cover their job for a day.

I had many repeat customers and referrals.

The customer is NOT always right. Yes, it is best if the company employee can "hold out" while the customer vents and then find a way to appease the customer while protecting the business. But employees are people too. Sometimes the customer is simply too abusive, violent, whatever. Sometimes the employee is too sensitive. But for whatever reason that one interaction doesn't go smoothly. And sometimes the customer has learned that if they b!tch enough and make a scene they are likely to get extra. Abuse is abuse and should not be tolerated. A bad day can be brought down.

I have a co-worker who argues the "customer is always right". Every week she has a tale of how a business tried to rip her off and she had to get in their face to protect herself. But, if you let her keep talking, you will find out that she knew they weren't "ripping her off" - she just purposely misread the signage/agreement in order to get a better price. She has no concern about the person at the other end of her tirade - she just goes off on them "because when she worked retail, people did that to her all the time". She's even had her boyfriend come and argue with her for a buck. This is someone who has learned that customers must be bullies.

Yes, the customer is always right. That does not mean that the customer always gets what they want, but you have to listen, analyze and determine the best compromise in order to both satisfy that customer and retain them as a customer. Sometimes as a last resort you just have to say, I'm sorry but we can't do that.

Transmission business is probably one of the worst businesses for unhappy customers. Very few customers leave the shop "happy" about their purchase as they would in an appliance store. They car is a necessity and being without it is a hardship.

Apparently you have never owned a customer service business.

You are confusing "the customer is always right" with "the customer deserves respect".

The policy of the customer is always right is one that always gives the customer what they want.

The policy of the customer deserves respect is one that does everything REASONABLE to find a solution that will satisfy the customer while not hurting the business.

Simply by stating "I'm sorry, we just cannot do that", you are telling the customer (s)he is wrong but treating the with respect.

That line "the customer is always right" has turned into a policy of allowing customers to bully businesses and employees. The "loudest squeak gets the oil" is another that does that. Bullying is not acceptable at any time by any person. Any business that allows or encourages customer bullying of its employees deserves to go under.

Respect is a two way street. It's not just about how I am treated, but about how I treat others. You don't get it if you don't show it - regardless of what "special group" you belong to (i.e., respect your elders, the customer is always right, I'm the boss, etc.).

Toedtoes... Your statement was very well written and meaningful.

Thanks for sharing.

Lakeside

[lakeside013104]

Mike LeClair wrote:
Well, I'm gonna slide into my flame proof tighty whities on this one. Normally I just ignore this kind of sideways drivel. HOWEVER, as someone who just came within a whiskers breadth of getting his arse tased in the lobby of an RCMP detachment office over the snot nosed attitude of an arrogant bureaucratic entry level clerk, I, for one, can empathize with the OP. I am old, tired, pissed off, and worn out. If I am paying someone to do a job they had better do it right or own up to their mistakes when they make them. I guess that's why I do most of my own work and the work that I can't I farm out goes to trusted confidants and friends.

As always boys and girls - YMMV.

Mike

PS: The only thing that stopped the Mountie from launching the barbs was that I had just buried my eldest daughter two days earlier and he took compassion on me.

Mike, your story is really funny. I needed a laugh today for the local RV dealer's shop foreman is a madman on steroids today.

Lots of folks on here suggested to OP that she learn how to winterize / de-winterize herself. How about someone from her area offering to show he how it is done and save her the aggravation of going back to an un -cooperative dealer.

Just a thought.

Lakeside

[winnietrey]

Took me years to learn this, only people, cheap, crazy, mean people ( bullies if you want to use that term) will refer to you, are people exactly like them. I do not in anyway imply that is the case with the OP, as I know nothing about her

Pretty soon you have a business full of them. They will run you into the ground and suck you dry. THAT IS WHAT WILL KILL A BUSINESS.
If you get rid of those types in the first place, it prevents so much long term grief. That is how to run a successful business. As I said took me years to learn that

[toedtoes]

Grit dog wrote:
Maybe we can agree that both parties should have handled it better, but what we don't know is the "rest of the story". Always 3 sides and we've heard 1 side.
Maybe water needed to be in FW tank for disinfection and OP didn't know that or understand it or it wasn't properly explained at the dealer.
Maybe grey tank didn't get dumped because dealer wanted $10 dump fee and OP declined (she apparently does have a home dump station).....and I'm speculating.
Switch left on is so benign, I can't see having issue with it. It's like this tech was the first person to ever leave a switch on when it could/should be turned off!
There are things that are worth getting upset over and there are poor excuses for being upset. This is the latter.
And YES, an owner of anything, camper, house, coffee maker....has the responsibility to not be totally ignorant of its basic workings or the blame falls on them.
Stick your hand under the mower while it's running, not the mower mfgs fault. Didn't read the owners many,a for your camper? Not the dealers fault.

I agree. I don't think that means the owner must do winterizing/dewinterizing themself, but that they need to understand how it works enough to know that water left in the tanks or the water pump left on is not a major mistake, but a minor one.

[toedtoes]

joshuajim wrote:

toedtoes wrote:

joshuajim wrote:
First off, I find a lot of the responses on this post to be condesending. Too many have implied that it’s a simple process and if you don’t know how to do it yourself “you are an idiot”. I don’t know the OP’s age or physical ability so this is a totally wrong premise.

Second, what ever happened to “the customer is always right”, the tenant for good customer relations and increased business. I used to own and operate a transmission shop. We would get customers that were very “angry” about their situation which could be costing them thousands of dollars and that they felt was not their fault. Sometimes it was and sometimes it wasn’t. BUT in any case, it was the service writers REQUIREMENT in my shop to calm the situation, explain to the customer what may have caused the situation, assure them that we would be doing everything possible to remedy the situation and move forward. In most cases just letting the customer vent and not responding until they are done calms the situation. Most people calm down after they have had an uninterrupted vent.

Finally, if one of my service writers hung up on a customer, that service writer would receive a day off without pay and I would cover their job for a day.

I had many repeat customers and referrals.

The customer is NOT always right. Yes, it is best if the company employee can "hold out" while the customer vents and then find a way to appease the customer while protecting the business. But employees are people too. Sometimes the customer is simply too abusive, violent, whatever. Sometimes the employee is too sensitive. But for whatever reason that one interaction doesn't go smoothly. And sometimes the customer has learned that if they b!tch enough and make a scene they are likely to get extra. Abuse is abuse and should not be tolerated. A bad day can be brought down.

I have a co-worker who argues the "customer is always right". Every week she has a tale of how a business tried to rip her off and she had to get in their face to protect herself. But, if you let her keep talking, you will find out that she knew they weren't "ripping her off" - she just purposely misread the signage/agreement in order to get a better price. She has no concern about the person at the other end of her tirade - she just goes off on them "because when she worked retail, people did that to her all the time". She's even had her boyfriend come and argue with her for a buck. This is someone who has learned that customers must be bullies.

Yes, the customer is always right. That does not mean that the customer always gets what they want, but you have to listen, analyze and determine the best compromise in order to both satisfy that customer and retain them as a customer. Sometimes as a last resort you just have to say, I'm sorry but we can't do that.

Transmission business is probably one of the worst businesses for unhappy customers. Very few customers leave the shop "happy" about their purchase as they would in an appliance store. They car is a necessity and being without it is a hardship.

Apparently you have never owned a customer service business.

You are confusing "the customer is always right" with "the customer deserves respect".

The policy of the customer is always right is one that always gives the customer what they want.

The policy of the customer deserves respect is one that does everything REASONABLE to find a solution that will satisfy the customer while not hurting the business.

Simply by stating "I'm sorry, we just cannot do that", you are telling the customer (s)he is wrong but treating the with respect.

That line "the customer is always right" has turned into a policy of allowing customers to bully businesses and employees. The "loudest squeak gets the oil" is another that does that. Bullying is not acceptable at any time by any person. Any business that allows or encourages customer bullying of its employees deserves to go under.

Respect is a two way street. It's not just about how I am treated, but about how I treat others. You don't get it if you don't show it - regardless of what "special group" you belong to (i.e., respect your elders, the customer is always right, I'm the boss, etc.).

[Grit_dog]

Maybe we can agree that both parties should have handled it better, but what we don't know is the "rest of the story". Always 3 sides and we've heard 1 side.
Maybe water needed to be in FW tank for disinfection and OP didn't know that or understand it or it wasn't properly explained at the dealer.
Maybe grey tank didn't get dumped because dealer wanted $10 dump fee and OP declined (she apparently does have a home dump station).....and I'm speculating.
Switch left on is so benign, I can't see having issue with it. It's like this tech was the first person to ever leave a switch on when it could/should be turned off!
There are things that are worth getting upset over and there are poor excuses for being upset. This is the latter.
And YES, an owner of anything, camper, house, coffee maker....has the responsibility to not be totally ignorant of its basic workings or the blame falls on them.
Stick your hand under the mower while it's running, not the mower mfgs fault. Didn't read the owners many,a for your camper? Not the dealers fault.

[winnietrey]

I would also add in passing, that if your employees are good people and well trained. If you do not back them up, when they get abused. You are sending a terrible message to your people. Won't take long for their job performance to nose dive. And what they are to say to themselves is, they don't pay me enough to take this kind of (insert four letter word) And the boss only cares about his money, not me. Won't take them to long to find another job. And you just lost a skilled loyal employee. Which is going to cost you a ton more than getting rid of a crazy customer. That's how I see it anyway

[Lantley]

A business needs to take care of their customers however the customer is not always right. There are some people that do not make good customers.
Social media has changed the game somewhat, nevertheless you can find the reviews written by unreasonable complainers that simply are not right.

[Kavoom]

Customer service is key to any business's success. I used to work at SEars back in the mid to late 70's back when they were King and had a no questions asked on returns. I worked in paint and hardware and couldn't tell you how many people would buy things for one project and bring them back unsellable, paint pots, air compressors, lawn mowers, DeVilbus paint sprayers and on and on. Gave you a lot of faith in people... as the price was incrementally increased for everyone else to cover the losses. I would get so mad sometimes I'd make a store manager come and give them their money back... Most people of that type, however, don't care what you think. I did have one store manager who liked doing that and would tell them his title and how he felt he should personally come and give them their money back since they were obviously such good loyal customers. We would stand around and grin while he made them fully aware we all thought they were POS's. They likely at least went to another Sears next time... He was fun and put a Pong machine in break room for the employees. For awhile there people were hanging around at nights after work playing little tournaments. It was a great atmosphere to work...back in the day... And then I went into the Marines and college and the world began to suck hard.

And then there were the people who would have broken stuff at home and come in for things or a replacement and NOT seek the return. I had one guy who had a good size year old air compressor that cost quite a bit and the tank had lost its integrity and he was coming in to BUY a new one. He mentioned the old one was the same one he was buying, in passing while buying the new one. I asked if he bought it from Sears and he said yes about a year earlier but he used it daily. I asked him if he could go get it and bring it to the back dock and he said yes, why... I was about done with the paperwork on the new one and picked it up and tore it up. He sort of looked at me strangely and I told him if he went and brought the old one back I'd have a new one ready and we could give him the new one free. He was shocked. I felt great getting to help people like that.

[winnietrey]

joshuajim wrote:

toedtoes wrote:

joshuajim wrote:
First off, I find a lot of the responses on this post to be condesending. Too many have implied that it’s a simple process and if you don’t know how to do it yourself “you are an idiot”. I don’t know the OP’s age or physical ability so this is a totally wrong premise.

Second, what ever happened to “the customer is always right”, the tenant for good customer relations and increased business. I used to own and operate a transmission shop. We would get customers that were very “angry” about their situation which could be costing them thousands of dollars and that they felt was not their fault. Sometimes it was and sometimes it wasn’t. BUT in any case, it was the service writers REQUIREMENT in my shop to calm the situation, explain to the customer what may have caused the situation, assure them that we would be doing everything possible to remedy the situation and move forward. In most cases just letting the customer vent and not responding until they are done calms the situation. Most people calm down after they have had an uninterrupted vent.

Finally, if one of my service writers hung up on a customer, that service writer would receive a day off without pay and I would cover their job for a day.

I had many repeat customers and referrals.

The customer is NOT always right. Yes, it is best if the company employee can "hold out" while the customer vents and then find a way to appease the customer while protecting the business. But employees are people too. Sometimes the customer is simply too abusive, violent, whatever. Sometimes the employee is too sensitive. But for whatever reason that one interaction doesn't go smoothly. And sometimes the customer has learned that if they b!tch enough and make a scene they are likely to get extra. Abuse is abuse and should not be tolerated. A bad day can be brought down.

I have a co-worker who argues the "customer is always right". Every week she has a tale of how a business tried to rip her off and she had to get in their face to protect herself. But, if you let her keep talking, you will find out that she knew they weren't "ripping her off" - she just purposely misread the signage/agreement in order to get a better price. She has no concern about the person at the other end of her tirade - she just goes off on them "because when she worked retail, people did that to her all the time". She's even had her boyfriend come and argue with her for a buck. This is someone who has learned that customers must be bullies.

Yes, the customer is always right. That does not mean that the customer always gets what they want, but you have to listen, analyze and determine the best compromise in order to both satisfy that customer and retain them as a customer. Sometimes as a last resort you just have to say, I'm sorry but we can't do that.

Transmission business is probably one of the worst businesses for unhappy customers. Very few customers leave the shop "happy" about their purchase as they would in an appliance store. They car is a necessity and being without it is a hardship.

Apparently you have never owned a customer service business.

I have owned a successful customer service business for almost 40 years. I doubt at the end of the day, you and I would have much disagreement, as to customer relations. And I would guess you would agree, there comes a point where it is just best to fire the customer.

A certain percent of the human race, is just wack job crazy and mean. We draw the line at someone being verbally abusive, using foul language, calling our people names. We are going to fire them.

Folks seem to be under the mistaken impression, that any business is so desperate for customers, they can say and do what they want and abuse us. What they miss is this, not only do we not want you as a customer we would pay you not to come back.

I have no idea, what the OP said or did not say, or how the dealership talked to her. But like I said, if people get abusive, we will hang up on them as well. Happens maybe once every two or three years.

[joshuajim]

toedtoes wrote:

joshuajim wrote:
First off, I find a lot of the responses on this post to be condesending. Too many have implied that it’s a simple process and if you don’t know how to do it yourself “you are an idiot”. I don’t know the OP’s age or physical ability so this is a totally wrong premise.

Second, what ever happened to “the customer is always right”, the tenant for good customer relations and increased business. I used to own and operate a transmission shop. We would get customers that were very “angry” about their situation which could be costing them thousands of dollars and that they felt was not their fault. Sometimes it was and sometimes it wasn’t. BUT in any case, it was the service writers REQUIREMENT in my shop to calm the situation, explain to the customer what may have caused the situation, assure them that we would be doing everything possible to remedy the situation and move forward. In most cases just letting the customer vent and not responding until they are done calms the situation. Most people calm down after they have had an uninterrupted vent.

Finally, if one of my service writers hung up on a customer, that service writer would receive a day off without pay and I would cover their job for a day.

I had many repeat customers and referrals.

The customer is NOT always right. Yes, it is best if the company employee can "hold out" while the customer vents and then find a way to appease the customer while protecting the business. But employees are people too. Sometimes the customer is simply too abusive, violent, whatever. Sometimes the employee is too sensitive. But for whatever reason that one interaction doesn't go smoothly. And sometimes the customer has learned that if they b!tch enough and make a scene they are likely to get extra. Abuse is abuse and should not be tolerated. A bad day can be brought down.

I have a co-worker who argues the "customer is always right". Every week she has a tale of how a business tried to rip her off and she had to get in their face to protect herself. But, if you let her keep talking, you will find out that she knew they weren't "ripping her off" - she just purposely misread the signage/agreement in order to get a better price. She has no concern about the person at the other end of her tirade - she just goes off on them "because when she worked retail, people did that to her all the time". She's even had her boyfriend come and argue with her for a buck. This is someone who has learned that customers must be bullies.

Yes, the customer is always right. That does not mean that the customer always gets what they want, but you have to listen, analyze and determine the best compromise in order to both satisfy that customer and retain them as a customer. Sometimes as a last resort you just have to say, I'm sorry but we can't do that.

Transmission business is probably one of the worst businesses for unhappy customers. Very few customers leave the shop "happy" about their purchase as they would in an appliance store. They car is a necessity and being without it is a hardship.

Apparently you have never owned a customer service business.

[FunnyCamper]

yes I have to agree the customer is always right but it is 'per incident' obviously and how abusive a situation gets.

it would never be a rule to live by in any manner......I mean we are dealing with people here, some can go ape**** real fast. Not everyone is a 'great customer' to 'work with' in any way.

People can go whacko crazy very fast in all situations. No telling what kind of customer you are dealing with til it goes into down and dirty sometimes 🙂

[toedtoes]

joshuajim wrote:
First off, I find a lot of the responses on this post to be condesending. Too many have implied that it’s a simple process and if you don’t know how to do it yourself “you are an idiot”. I don’t know the OP’s age or physical ability so this is a totally wrong premise.

Second, what ever happened to “the customer is always right”, the tenant for good customer relations and increased business. I used to own and operate a transmission shop. We would get customers that were very “angry” about their situation which could be costing them thousands of dollars and that they felt was not their fault. Sometimes it was and sometimes it wasn’t. BUT in any case, it was the service writers REQUIREMENT in my shop to calm the situation, explain to the customer what may have caused the situation, assure them that we would be doing everything possible to remedy the situation and move forward. In most cases just letting the customer vent and not responding until they are done calms the situation. Most people calm down after they have had an uninterrupted vent.

Finally, if one of my service writers hung up on a customer, that service writer would receive a day off without pay and I would cover their job for a day.

I had many repeat customers and referrals.

The customer is NOT always right. Yes, it is best if the company employee can "hold out" while the customer vents and then find a way to appease the customer while protecting the business. But employees are people too. Sometimes the customer is simply too abusive, violent, whatever. Sometimes the employee is too sensitive. But for whatever reason that one interaction doesn't go smoothly. And sometimes the customer has learned that if they b!tch enough and make a scene they are likely to get extra. Abuse is abuse and should not be tolerated. A bad day can be brought down.

I have a co-worker who argues the "customer is always right". Every week she has a tale of how a business tried to rip her off and she had to get in their face to protect herself. But, if you let her keep talking, you will find out that she knew they weren't "ripping her off" - she just purposely misread the signage/agreement in order to get a better price. She has no concern about the person at the other end of her tirade - she just goes off on them "because when she worked retail, people did that to her all the time". She's even had her boyfriend come and argue with her for a buck. This is someone who has learned that customers must be bullies.

[toedtoes]

am1958 wrote:

toedtoes wrote:

am1958 wrote:

toedtoes wrote:

It's OK to be angry. It's not OK to take that anger out on someone.

Unless, of course, they are the ones who generated the anger in you - at which point they are fair game...

Actually, no. The point of not letting your emotions dictate your actions is because you then lose control of yourself.

I didn't say it was OK to lose control but it is just fine to be angry and it is just fine to let it show to the person who generated that anger.

There isn't a single emotion that should be allowed to manifest itself unfettered but all should be allowed to show.

That's what I said from the very beginning.