Hi Everyone: I saw this post and I found it most interesting because I've been on both sides of this coin before. So I'm going to play devil's advocate here and pose a question. What if a person's interpretation of another's 'word' was incorrect? Before you answer, I'll give you an example. I used to work for a retail store selling video games. Despite the not-so-serious nature of the business, I was always careful of my sales presentations and very professional in every one. We have something called a 'Gameplay Guarantee' which basically means that for an extra $3.00 on top of the price of a new video game we would, if the game failed within a 12 month period, replace it with a new copy of the same game absolutely free. This includes if the game was scratched or chipped. Now, I had a customer purchase a new game along with the 'Gameplay Guarantee' after I carefully explained its benefits to her. She was buying it for her grandson so she felt this may be beneficial because he's not always careful with his belongings. About 3 weeks went by and she returned, game-in-hand to my store saying she'd like to have the game exchanged. I said, "Wow, that was fast" I remembered her as I do many of my customers. I grabbed one off the shelf still sealed and confidently handed it to her when she held it in her hand and said "This is the same game" she said with a puzzled look on her face. "I beg your pardon?" I asked. She said "You said I could exchange the game within one year if I didn't like it". Which is not what I had said. "And I want a different game" I went on to explain how the GPG works once more and that I couldn't just hand her an entirely new game. This was not the purpose of the GPG. She wouldn't hear it. Her interpretation of what I said was final and she demanded to speak with a manager as I was exhibiting poor customer service by not honoring my word. At that point I inhaled deeply and fetched my manager to try to diffuse and resolve the conversation. Long story short: she left loudly proclaiming she would never spend another dime in this store again blah blah blah and no one she knew would ever do so either etc. And before you say that I probably explained it incorrectly I will add that the number of complaints I recieved in the nearly 2 years I was working there was 1. Other smaller complaints involved me sending underage children away who want to buy R-Rated games saying "Go get your mommy. You can't buy this without her" I must have served thousands during the time i worked there because it is the busiest location in the city located inside a major mall. So what's the verdict in this case? Should I ask each and every customer if they understand completely the terms of the GPG and software return policies for each transaction? Do we need them to sign an acknowledgement form? Thoughts? I guess what I'm saying is that there are often 2 sides to every story. In Winston's case I agree with him 100% that if a printer said "I will call you tomorrow" there is no room for misinterpretation. Tomorrow is TOMORROW. Period. No phone call is a broken promise. But in a majority of the cases especially in the retail business there is too much grey area to make such a quick judgement against those who appeared to have broken their word so who's at fault here? Me for not getting solid confirmation of understanding from the customer or the customer who had unintentionally interpreted what I said incorrectly. If the customer should be serviced in this case where do we as business owners draw the line? Because as a customer I could easily claim that I misheard something and that the Car Salesperson said that for the price of a Cavalier, I would be upgraded to a $50,000.00 Corvette at absolutely no charge. Do I deserve the Corvette because of what I believe I heard as the salesperson's "word"?

Gary's mention of real estate agents and Michael's of misinterpretation lead me to post. Not that I'm usually reluctant, lol. Gary, I don't know about the rest of the world, but the industry here in the US tells us that the number one complaint people have about their real estate transactions is lack of communication from their agent. In many, if not most cases, the agent is squarely to blame...I won't defend them. In some cases, the agent's hands are tied because of third parties who must respond. I've had other agents call me every two hours for a response from one of my sellers, even though we have 24 or 48 hours to get them an answer. I've repeatedly told them that I'll call as soon as my seller has an answer for me. I'm sure they complained to whomever would listen as soon as they were off the phone, especially if I become testy...as I do when someone wastes my time. Now, if my seller answers me and I delay calling whoever is waiting for the answer, they have cause for complaint. Michael's story interested me because the type of misunderstanding he related can easily happen in a real estate transaction. It has led to the creation and necessity to use literally hundreds of documents and clauses, not to mention professional Errors and Omissions insurance, to be as certain as possible that everyone understands what they are agreeing to. The number two complaint about real estate transactions is their cost. Now you know why. Cheri

Hi Michael; What a great post. I think we've all been on both sides of this issue. I know I have. I read something in this regard that amused me. I don't recall who wrote it. Probably Godin. lol It said something to the effect that; 1) The customer is always right. 2) When the customer is not right, they cease being a customer. Therefore; 3) The customer is always right. lol. I found that hilarious. Also true. In your case, the lady was wrong or failed to listen. Neither of those was of your doing. Once it elevated to management level, the manager had a decision to make. Allow her to be right (even though she had her facts wrong) simply to keep her as a customer -- or follow the policy and lose her as a customer. Most managers make that decision by the policy book. A scant few make the decision by the lifetime value of the customer. But, either way, she clearly had her facts wrong. That happens so often it's crazy. The only time I'd fault the salesperson is if they truly DIDN'T tell the customer about a policy. A common one that I see is not telling a customer that there is a minimum time frame. For example, get a new phone (or merchant account, etc) and find out you're locked in for 2 years and they didn't tell you that. Oops, it was in the fine print. That seems common today, but I feel that is's deceitful. In your case though, you didn't go back on your word. She chose to redefine the policy and get natty when she couldn't get a new product for nothing. Too much of that out there, too. : ) Linda

Hiya Linda: First off, you always have the most awesome posts. I love reading them because they're so "PRO-caliber" Bravo! You're right. I know all too well about the minimum time frame. Actually I nearly got into an altercation with a fellow sales rep who decided to omit a 3 year commitment to a customer who was purchasing a cellular phone. After a brief (private) volume-elevated discussion I "convinced" him to do the right thing and inform the customer in time to return the product to reverse the transaction if he so chose. I made it very clear that this was not the way this company does business. After he broke the news to him I thought for sure we'd lose the sale. Surprisingly, the customer decided to stay on with us and ended up being a very good customer for some time after that. For all I know he's still a customer. The point is, when we as sales people do the right thing when we can then we gain loyalty, credibility, and self respect. As a salesperson I always tried to do the right thing and whatever was in the customer's best interest (even though sometimes this got me in trouble with management) but my customers were loyal (almost insanely loyal in the respect that they wouldn't talk to any other associate unless specifically instructed to do so...LOL), they made me a lot of money so there was little anyone could do to argue my methods. And if one customer decided to spout off that I "didn't keep my word" or provided "poor customer service", I could, with clear conscience, send him/her packing without remorse because I knew that for every 1 customer like him/her, I had many many more who were impressed by my level of customer service. It's true, you can't please everyone but you can please a lot of people if you do the right thing when you can. I don't like when salespeople don't keep their word. Period. And Linda: I nearly bust a gut laughing when I read those 3 rules. I need those on a flaschard or a bumper sticker.

Hi Michael; ========== First off, you always have the most awesome posts. ========== Thanks! ========== I "convinced" him to do the right thing and inform the customer in time to return the product to reverse the transaction if he so chose. ... I thought for sure we'd lose the sale. Surprisingly, the customer decided to stay on with us and ended up being a very good customer ========== The neat thing is that when the customer knows, we can rationalize it. We can say "ahhh... what the heck, I'm going to have a phone for 3 years anyway." It's when we get surprised and feel we were not informed that we protest and complain. ========== I always tried to do the right thing and whatever was in the customer's best interest (even though sometimes this got me in trouble with management) but my customers were loyal (almost insanely loyal in the respect that they wouldn't talk to any other associate unless specifically instructed to do so...LOL) ========== Insanely loyal. I love that phrase. You're spot on about how to achieve that. When the customer knows that you will do right by them, even if you take flak for it, they develop that kind of loyalty. Erma Bombeck once said that all humans have an invisible sign on our foreheads. It says "Make me feel like I'm important to you" So true... and especially in sales. ========== And Linda: I nearly bust a gut laughing when I read those 3 rules) ========== Heh, heh. I swear I should sell tshirts. : ) Linda