Poll of the Day > Do you think that being an asshole to a retail store usually gets you better

(+) Yeah! (+)

....results? Say you're a customer that wants something and the retail or customer service place doesn't want to give it to you. Do you think that going in very aggressive usually helps or hurts the situation?
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Sadly it often does, I would never act like that though
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Depends how desperate they are to retain you as a customer.

I work in retail banking and being an asshole is going to guarantee that not only am I not refunding your fees, but I'm going to take my sweet time 'reviewing your account' before telling you no.
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I would say it probably does, at the very least in the short term. If you have a history of throwing fits, you'll likely see diminishing returns though.
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Yeah. I give them what they want, that's the attitude they promote.

DoubleOSnake posted...

....results? Say you're a customer that wants something and the retail or customer service place doesn't want to give it to you. Do you think that going in very aggressive usually helps or hurts the situation?

From experience hurts. When I worked in retail this young lad came in with a broken watch. It looked like he had found it on the street or something so I said we can't do anything without a receipt. He then got hot and bothered about it and tried to argue his case. At that point I got board and said "There is no point arguing the situation as it doesn't change anything. Come back with a receipt or move on as this is a waste of our time" and I then walked away. Low and behold he came back later with a receipt and calmly said "see I told you I had a receipt at home" I then said "Then now I can help you sir" with a smile on my face and I gave him his refund and wished him a good day.

I'm much more inclined to help folk who are nice to talk to. This doesn't change just because I'm paid to do a job as if the guy was nice to begin with it would have saved a lot of time and hell I may have even tried to figure something out for him. Due to his attitude though at first I certainly wasn't going to interact with him all that much.
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It might help at times, but it likely doesnt get you anything that you wouldnt have received anyway by simply being assertive without being a jerk.
I was a price checker for a retail store when I was a bit younger, and while we didnt withhold service from disrespectful customers, we were definitely more keen to help people who were more civil about things. This obviously came out more in cases where things were more ambiguous and we were allowed to use our discretion. For example, say that someone thought that something was listed at a different price than they were charged for it and I confirmed that they were charged the proper price. If the customer was respectful and just wanted to know what was right, then it was easy to say you were charged the correct price, but the labels were oddly placed and it legitimately looked like this was the price, so we can adjust it for you and fix the problem on our end. If the customer was treating the staff like garbage, then the answer was you were charged the correct price. Full stop.
While most of the stuff I handled didnt save anyone more than $10-$20, I have to imagine that this is how people are going to respond in at least some other settings as well.
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pastyD posted...

If the customer was respectful and just wanted to know what was right, then it was easy to say you were charged the correct price, but the labels were oddly placed and it legitimately looked like this was the price, so we can adjust it for you and fix the problem on our end. If the customer was treating the staff like garbage, then the answer was you were charged the correct price. Full stop.
While most of the stuff I handled didnt save anyone more than $10-$20, I have to imagine that this is how people are going to respond in at least some other settings as well.

Lol I remember one time this happened to me on some DVDs and the clerk gave me a dirty look like I put the sale sticker prices on them.
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Being an asshole in general gives you better results.

All the assholes get girls. All the assholes make money. All the assholes get promotions in jobs. All the assholes get social and political power.

And the rest of us get the table scraps (at best).

I need to be an asshole.

TheWorstPoster posted...

I need to be an a******.

You are. It hasn't helped much of anything. Maybe try something else.

_AdjI_ posted...

TheWorstPoster posted...

I need to be an a******.

You are. It hasn't helped much of anything. Maybe try something else.

I am not assholish enough

I've been a dick a few times not because of the associate in particular but because of the policies that said associate has to adhere to. I've had to my remind myself a few times and even called back to the store to speak to and apology to that particular associate.
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it can and can't.

some employees/managers will give you what you want because they just want your rude, annoying ass to leave.

Some employees/managers will specifically not help you because you are rude when otherwise they might have tried to find a reasonable compromise.

its hit or miss. I wouldn't try it but thats because I would feel bad for the people on the other end.

argonautweakend posted...

some employees/managers will give you what you want because they just want your rude, annoying ass to leave.

I don't think said customer was rude but while as a manager of Auntie Anne's, my friend told me of a customer who came back with a half eaten pretzel and asked for a refund. Apparently he bought it a week before. Whether or not it would risk setting a precedence but I think they just refunded the guy to avoid arguing back over a $3 pretzel.
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A lot of things you can't prove, so for better or worse some people/places just refund, however if they see the same issue again with the same person/lots of people are trying it they might put their foot down.

argonautweakend posted...

however if they see the same issue again with the same person/lots of people are trying it they might put their foot down.

I think that's what Wal-Mart and Amazon have been doing after too many people started abusing their return policies. Wal-Mart might still be on the more lenient side but I think some customers have been banned from Amazon if they have a history.

REI itself use to be very lenient with their returns and had no time limit. Unfortunately they probably got taken advantage of and now they put a one year limit on return which is still really good. I had a pair of $200 hiking boots that they offered a new pair for when one of the straps broke and it wasn't something that can be fixed despite me just wanting it to be fixed. I actually felt guilty being given a new pair of boots despite putting 200 some miles already on the previous pair.
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Yes, but only to the right people with the right threats. Skip the poor part time kid. He can't do shit for you. Go straight to someone who can make that decision and if they don't give in email corporate/regulator.
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depends on the situation, if you just want a discount or an item it absolutely does. Especially at a chain store. If you want a service or need someone to work on something to get it then being nice but insistent is the better way, but being a dickwill absolutely still work as well. Just on thursday my boss was ok with sending me out to borrow my brother's truck, to deliver a refrigerator we are going to loan a couple for a week because the factory or warehouse it was shipping from got delayed because they couldn't wait until our delivery team was in the next day. So because someone made a big stink we are losing

$26 in my pay
$18 for an associate to help me move the appliance
$100 for marking down the now used appliance
$50 to the delivery team to make a special trip to pick up the used appliance after the vendor delivers the new one.
$45 off his order because the guy wanted something for the inconvenience of having to come into the store.
Plus down 2 associates on a busy day which caused issues for other customers.

So we are out almost $250 on a not even $500 order that we were probably only making $150 off of in the first place because we just sell the appliance for the vendor and get a small kick back. on top of that when the order does get delivered the customer may contact the vendor and may be eligible for further discounts because the delay was the vendor's fault.

To compare the nice customer in the same situation only got told that the vendor would probably compensate them when it gets delivered.
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TheWorstPoster posted...

_AdjI_ posted...

TheWorstPoster posted...

I need to be an a******.

You are. It hasn't helped much of anything. Maybe try something else.

I am not assholish enough

You're an asshole, but not the cool kind
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Yes, they are stripped of their dignity so appeasing you is really the only justification for their existence. It helps to remember they are unskilled and not actual people.

It often does. If you politely present your case and then finally take "no" for an answer, that's where the conversation ends. If you argue fiercely and ask to speak to a manger -- who actually has the power to change things -- you can get a better outcome.
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