Dumb Customers

Speaking to somebody today brought back strange memories of this guy I had to serve in my old job. He was the kind of guy who actually clicked his fingers to attract my attention while I was still with another customer. Despite this, I’m a friendly guy, and made the right sounds. He was after a file folder, which is simple enough, but not just anyone for after all he had his decor to worry about.

So he explained the situation. He brought some files a while back and needed some more. Problem is, his idea of a while is five years, and not really surprisingly things have moved on. We no longer carried the exact same budget 49p folders that we carried 5 years ago. Oh, they were clear alright, with the same number of pockets, but the spine and binding… Well that’s a different matter…

So he was pretty adamant and not so understanding of the whole idea of changing suppliers so I said I’ll see what the computer says we have left in the warehouse. At this point he expressed his surprise that staff nowadays didn’t know what stock the company kept. Despite the hundred of thousands of products he dismissed this as just another excuse…

So well, to get a discontinued product tracked down via the old suppliers and to place a special order at a cost to the store which would far exceed the three pounds he was going to spend would take a month. Did he really want to go ahead with this?

Yes… But he was outraged. In fact he had to spend a good five minutes explaining to me how when he ordered his new BMW with custom paintwork and interior, he had it shipped to the UK, and delivered to his house for only eighty odd grand how we as such a large company couldn’t do the same for a 49p file folder…

For fifty pence exactly how much customization can you expect to buy on a BMW?