@synchronicity
basic version of the story, i met this customer in a previous shop between my 2 summers in NZ, it was all the cardinal sins, the conversation went like this:-
how can i help?
i'm an engineer, i got these wheels replaced under the sales of goods act from hargroves cycles because they weren't fit for purpose.
ok, so what can i help you with?
i want the hubs servicing
can anyone explain to me the relevance of his first statement when all he wanted was the hubs servicing? well i'll give it a go. the engineer comment means i know more than you, i'm better than you, you'll do as i say, the fit for purpose/sales of goods act means if you don't do it perfectly i'll complain and i'm warning you i'll take it further and be a dick about it.
now i gave him a labour price, but he wanted more, i said i couldn't be sure as i didn't know what the internals of the hub were, he insisted it was a DT240, i told him it wasn't, the wheels were from and mid range Cube full suspension, the hubs were painted and had a peeling sticker on them. he insisted they were DT240, so i quoted him the Dt rebuild kit and bearings, which was maybe £8 to £11 a bearing, plus the revive kit at £25, plus labour, he promptly crapped himself at which point i explained it would be nowhere near that as it wasn't a DT240, i pointed out it could be one of 40 different far east designs, he said "i'll give you a limit of £40", i said i couldn't promise that, he got moody and left saying i was being difficult and he'd do them himself, i wasn't being difficult, i was being honest, 2 weeks later he came back, same conversation, he then said if he stripped them i'd only have to charge him half the labour i had quoted, i said "if you bring them in in bits i'd charge the same as by doing that it makes the job harder as i didn't see the correct order in which it came apart", he didn't like that and got moody again, eventually he accepted that the labour rate wasn't moving and left the wheels but walked towards the door shouting "£40! that's your limit!", and insisted i do them as soon as possible, turns out the were the cheap onyx DT generic hub, the parts were cheap and i used the cheap bearings, the bill came to £44, and i phoned 2 days later as i had to wait for the onyx parts, he didn't come in for 2 weeks. knob.
that was the first of many painful experiences with him, he constantly wanted to price match against CRC etc, it was a fight every time he came in, i dreaded seeing him and so did every one else in the shop. not one redeeming quality, he questioned everything. he also threatened Upgrade with internet shaming over DMR pedal pins wearing too quickly, just painful, he'd got the warranty guys email address because the shop owner forwarded a message saying it wasn't warranty, he then threatened them with internet shaming so they sent him a set to shut him up, then phoned the shop and tore a strip off the owner for forwarding the message.
when i started my place i assumed i'd never see him, he obvs thought i was an arse but one day he came in, i refused any discount, deliberately because it was him, i do deals alot, regulars get all sorts of benefits in my shop, tea, coffee, redbull, coke, beer, quick bike tweeks, deals etc. but not him, nothing, he didn't deserve favours, he was a customer i didn't want so i didn't encourage him to come in, eventually he asked about some Hope brakes, i quoted him retail plus fitting, usually i do at the minimum free fitting, obvs he didn't buy them, 2 weeks later i popped in to the shop i used to work at, his bike was in the stand having Hope brakes worked on, i asked the mechanic, a mate of mine, he'd done them for 15% off and free fitting, apparently this was the 2nd time the bike had been back after initial fitting, they hadn't made any money on that job and frankly that's what we in are business for isn't it.
a few months later i get a phone call asking about rockshox servicing, i went through the options, the prices etc, i was unaware it was him so i gave my normal style of service, ie good service. a couple of days later i see him coming across the carpark with a fork in his hand, i realised who i had been taking to. i thought, do i tell him to sod off or keep quiet or be upfront and have a conversation.
i chose the hard conversation, but how to do it? hmm.
hey how's it going? want a tea? yeah sure. i make the tea, hand it to him, he's sat on my park tool stool, i said, "we're gonna have a chat, what do you think it's gonna be about?", "chat about what?", "well we're gonna have a chat about your attitude because i think you're a c***", "what?!", "yep you heard me right, i think you're a c***, so we're gonna have a chat about it so that you can still come in here, i won't ban you and you can hopefully have a good experience without annoying me". he didn't know what to do, he was sat there with a hot cup of tea and had just been insulted, what a mixed message! "do you remember out first ever conversation? because i do", "er . . . no"
i went on to remind him about our first every interaction, he said he's always getting bad customer service everywhere he goes, i pointed out the common denominator, and said what do you think hargroves cycles are gonna do when they see you if you've previously threatened them with the sales of goods act? they'll actively try not to sell you anything other than a tube or oil! you'll take it as bad service but in truth they are trying to not have the hassle of dealing with a problem customer who threatens them. i pointed out the internet shaming threats etc
to be fair he conceded that i was likely right, it was a awful conversation to have, i hated it, he agreed not to batter me with matching mail order, i said i don't mind if you buy online just don't expect me to match it as those companies buy in massive bulk so i can't do those prices, i said if he became a good sensible customer, deals would be offered, he put his hand out and i shook his hand. these days he is so much better, he is still a bit irritating but that's more his personality, he can't really help that, you can't like everyone but at least i don't dread him coming in now.
hmm maybe that wasn't a basic story, i suppose it's quite detailed! i will say i think he's the only one i have ever had that is/was that bad, i consider myself lucky, my customers are good people and i like them but sometimes you just have to be really upfront with the harder to deal with people.
