It’s been quite a long time since I’ve posted my last customer story, but to tell the truth, things on the customer support front for our online store have been very smooth as of late. There have been no crazy brides, no irate customers, no unreasonable demands. Everything has been just peachy for the last several months which is why we were due for a ridiculous customer sooner or later.
What struck me as odd about this particular customer was that she had such a messed up ideal about business and economics. In fact, all of her assumptions about how to obtain discounts and how pricing works were completely skewed. Here’s a transcript of the conversation. Thank goodness, my wife took this call and not me.
Wife: Hi miss, what can do for you this morning?
Customer: Yes, I would like to purchase some handkerchiefs and I was wondering if I could get a discount.
Wife: That’s definitely possible depending on the quantities that you want to order
Customer: Oh ok, great.
Wife: What can I get you?
Customer: I’m looking at the lace hankie with the scalloped edge. Do you have that one in stock?
Wife: Yes, but since we are running low on that style, it will depend on how many you need.
Customer: Oh I need 3 sets. What is the discount on 3 sets?
Wife: I apologize miss, but there’s no discount on just 3 sets. An order that size would not meet the minimum threshold.
Customer: How about if I just buy one set? Is there a discount then?
Wife: I’m sorry. If you want a discount, then you would have to purchase at least 15-20 sets.
Customer: WHAT!?!?!? That’s absurd! I don’t need 15 sets. Ideally, I want 3 but I’ll just get one for now if you can give me a deal.
Wife: Uh….that’s not the way it works. The price goes down the MORE that you buy, not the other way around.
Customer: What!?! That doesn’t make sense. Did you know that I’ve never purchased from your store before?
Wife: Oh? (sounding confused…)
Customer: Did you know that once at customer makes a purchase, they are far more likely to make a repeat purchase?
Wife: Okay….(where is this going?)
Customer: So by selling me just one set, I might very well buy a large quantity from you in the future.
Wife: Uh huh…
Customer: So…you should give me a discount, make me a happy customer and then I’ll come back and I’ll even tell my friends about it.
Wife: …..
Customer: I guess you haven’t been in business that long.
Wife: I sincerely apologize but we can’t give you a discount on such a small order.
Customer: Well you just lost a loyal customer and I’m going to buy these hankies from someone else.
Wife:…sorry miss but…
Customer: Tell me who your main competitors are!
Wife: Excuse me?
Customer: Tell me who you compete against.
Wife: Huh?
Customer: TELL ME WHERE ELSE I CAN GO so I can buy these handkerchiefs from someone else instead of you.
Wife: Sorry miss, but you can do a search online to find other vendors of handkerchiefs.
Customer: You just lost out on my current and future business. You really should rethink your discount policy.
Wife: Feel free to shop around. Our prices are very competitive.
***Click***
It’s amazing how some people have such skewed perceptions on how to save money and how discounts work. I’m not sure where she learned her business ideals but her approach was definitely not the way to get a deal.
The funny thing was that this lady called back about 30 minutes later and made a purchase from our store. She didn’t mention that she had spoken with us just 30 minutes ago. She was extremely polite and placed her order as if the first phone conversation with my wife never happened. Go figure!
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