# Caution: Cranky old man rant!!!



## Spruslayer (Dec 13, 2020)

First,wishing everyone a very merry Christmas.

Now to meat of the subject.
Second,im not gonna name names in my little adventure i had today but i have a feeling this likely happens in a lot of the afterfor mentioned places all over the USA.

So,in my quest to build a N scale layout and being the total rookie i am, i have been making purchases on the internet for track and a Locomotive and even though the nearest mom and pop place is about a 30 min drive away i thought i should throw a couple of bones their way to help do my part in keeping what's left still alive.

Thirdly, I'm gonna give kudo's to how everything went up until the point i actually went to the store.
I was able to e=mail my list of needed items to the train department and they promptly responded with what they had of what i wanted with the prices....now I'm tickled on how smooth that went i responded with ill take it all and be in the next day or two to pick it up, even though the prices were a little higher than i could find online the difference wasn't a deal breaker.

I arrive there today at opening time to find the store is already very busy so that is good to see and i make my way to the train section and a clerk greets me quickly and upon which i ask him to retrieve my purchase so i could pay and make my way home with my newly acquired treasures..............Kato Unitraks! A moment or so passes and said clerk returns to tell me he cant find the merchandise. So he give a call to the person i e-mailed with and soon finds my stuff and now all is well.I thought as lone as im here ill look around and come across some rolling stock in a locked case marked at 25% off. Looked it over and seen one i would like to adopt a take home and this is where the train did a Casey Jones>trying to get the clerks attention so i can get the car was to no avail because he was deep in a obviously personal chat with another guy that was about from what i overheard, flying their small planes into airports in bad weather. Hey if they were pilots I'm glad for them but after two or more minuets you think he would pause to help me or am i just being a cranky old man?

As a side not as i sit here and write this i get a call from the LHS that the other items i wanted but were not in stock are in.
Ok, sorry bout that rant so ill just move on to the next day's adventures

🚂🚂


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Once you become a regular, you'll be having conversations with the staff too. Going to a train store or a gun store is a little like going to a tavern. 

Right now you are an outsider, but pretty soon you'll be able to sit at the Stammtisch.


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## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

Spruslayer said:


> ...
> 
> I arrive there today at opening time to find the store is already very busy so that is good to see and i make my way to the train section and a clerk greets me quickly and upon which i ask him to retrieve my purchase so i could pay and make my way home with my newly acquired treasures..............Kato Unitraks! A moment or so passes and said clerk returns to tell me he cant find the merchandise. So he give a call to the person i e-mailed with and soon finds my stuff and now all is well.I thought as lone as im here ill look around and come across some rolling stock in a locked case marked at 25% off. Looked it over and seen one i would like to adopt a take home and this is where the train did a Casey Jones>trying to get the clerks attention so i can get the car was to no avail because he was deep in a obviously personal chat with another guy that was about from what i overheard, flying their small planes into airports in bad weather. Hey if they were pilots I'm glad for them but after two or more minuets you think he would pause to help me or am i just being a cranky old man?
> 
> ...


Not in my books. I find myself becoming increasingly angry if a clerk doesn't offer to help or to complete a sale within a few minutes. It's different if it's another buying customer, either in person or on the phone; we all know to await our turn. But, if it's just idle chat, and the clerk lets us stand by for several minutes, that's just poor behaviour and poor leadership at work. Also, I am not the least bit averse to interrupting with, "I will probably need to come back to purchase these? I'm running late." That resets the old chip in their brains.


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## bewhole (Dec 31, 2016)

After working Retail for ten years I would call that A bad Clerk. I was always told (and it is tru) you are here to sell merchandise not to socialize with your friends. they should have at least said I will be with you in a minute and stopped talking to his "Friend" . So no you are not a Cranky old man.


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## Spruslayer (Dec 13, 2020)

MichaelE said:


> Once you become a regular, you'll be having conversations with the staff too. Going to a train store or a gun store is a little like going to a tavern.
> 
> Right now you are an outsider, but pretty soon you'll be able to sit at the Stammtisch.


 In hindsight i guess i could have interrupted them by speaking up but after handing me over $130 in a sale to me with another +150 in what they dident have at the time you think he would try to fish some more $ out of me wile im there. In workin days i did about 20 years in retail sales and those years when i was working on a commission basis doing something like that results in not makin nothing.
I feel sure the clerk at the LHS is paid by the hour weather he sells anything or not and ill admit a $300 sale nowa days really aint much but what ya gonna do.
I would like to be able to go there more that i do but in my current circumstances it not possible. I will be making a trip back to pick up what i dident get today but that will be next week.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Spruslayer said:


> In hindsight i guess i could have interrupted them by speaking up but after handing me over $130 in a sale to me with another +150 in what they dident have at the time you think he would try to fish some more $ out of me wile im there. In workin days i did about 20 years in retail sales and those years when i was working on a commission basis doing something like that results in not makin nothing.
> I feel sure the clerk at the LHS is paid by the hour weather he sells anything or not and ill admit a $300 sale nowa days really aint much but what ya gonna do.
> I would like to be able to go there more that i do but in my current circumstances it not possible. I will be making a trip back to pick up what i dident get today but that will be next week.


My local hobby store has been there since around 1934 and would not still be in business if they acted like that.
300 bucks is not that much? Take 20 customers spending 300 bucks a day, equals 6000 bucks for the day.
If they did that 6000 a day all week it would total 30,000 bucks! Now not everyone spends that much when they go to a hobby shop, but it all adds up.
Especially in these days of internet buying.

If I am engaged in conversation when a customer walks in I will gladly wait, and not get mad at them going and making a sale. At times I will help if I can.
I am in no hurry anyway, when I was a little kid I remember going there with my Dad and we were there for hours not minutes. 
That kept me out of Moms hair.


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## Spruslayer (Dec 13, 2020)

Big Ed said:


> My local hobby store has been there since around 1934 and would not still be in business if they acted like that.
> 300 bucks is not that much? Take 20 customers spending 300 bucks a day, equals 6000 bucks for the day.
> If they did that 6000 a day all week it would total 30,000 bucks! Now not everyone spends that much when they go to a hobby shop, but it all adds up.
> Especially in these days of internet buying.
> ...


I agree Big Ed. To me 300 is not a small amount,and other than the +150 i will pick up next week i dont see me making any more buys over $100 after i get the layout operational,or at least i hope 💲🚂🚂 i can also see where they have regulars who wont blink an eye at droping 750 for a Big Boy among what else they have bought there, and that really shouldn't make a difference. I'm not gonna right them off and vow never to go there again but ill try to go on the off weekday mornings after the Christmas buying is over.

I have a feeling that the clerk that i had this interaction with will eventually get busted by the owner cause i feel sure he will do it to someone else who will step up and make it an issue


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

I would let it slide now a days. With covid and crap who knows , that guy could have been wothout conversation for a long time. I see it a lot when my mom first started going out. TBH, if i was that upset, and i was being helped first, i would speak up. Say excuse me i dont mean to interrupt but i need to finish my order, etc , etc.


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## bobfett (Dec 15, 2011)

My father was a small business owner from 1948 until he retired in the 1990s. I got my love of model trains from him. Needless to say, I never had to worry about a weekend or summer job. One of the first things I remember being taught, after how to make change and count it out properly into the customer's hand, was to NEVER, no matter what I was doing, let a customer who wanted to give me money stand unattended. My wife doesn't understand why I get so angry in so many stores when I'm ignored. As my father always said, "The customer may not always be right, but they're always the customer."


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## Spruslayer (Dec 13, 2020)

sjm9911 said:


> I would let it slide now a days. With covid and crap who knows , that guy could have been wothout conversation for a long time. I see it a lot when my mom first started going out. TBH, if i was that upset, and i was being helped first, i would speak up. Say excuse me i don't mean to interrupt but i need to finish my order, etc , etc.


Yea ,I'm over it now and i know ill be back to buy again.
If i think about there was more good in that exchange by being able to put my purchase together through e-mail quickly and being competitively priced, other than him not being able to find it which didn't bug me but the being ignored part is what pushed my cranky button.

So instead of being a Grinch about it I'm gonna dive right into this project and have a Merry Christmas


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

I get it, i have my cranky old man moments, but then try to put myself into others shoes, its also easier when it dosen't happen to you, lol . Hope it all woks out, the train stuff. Have fun with the new toys!


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

I just wish I had a LHS now days. The one I frequented for years was there through 3 owners over a 63 year period. The original owner never met a stranger in his 35 years and knew his trains besides other hobby stuff. When he retired and the second owner bought the store, he lasted 6 years. The store went from a train store and Lionel Service Center to mostly RC car and air plane store. That was his focus and his hobby. The train inventory and his lack of train knowledge cost him. We train people were pushed aside and pretty much ignored. If you went into that store and there was even one RC car or airplane customer there, the owner's attention was on that guy. I began to take notice of what those people bought. Usually nothing. Just a bunch of jawing. My average purchase was always 200.00-300.00 a visit as was others I knew. About once a month 4 of us train friends made a 160 mile round trip to a real train shop. We easily spent 300.00+ each. Remember this was during the early years of computers and not much on line ordering was even available.
The third and final owner had the place for 22 years. He returned it to a train and general hobby store and kept the RC crowd as well. When you walked in, you always got a "hello, be with you in a couple of minutes". He had a large train inventory on hand. not to mention train supplies and was very knowledgeable. He and I became good friends over the years. Sadly, his business succumbed to the on line sellers and his business declined to the point he closed five years ago. 
I write this LHS account to illustrate what happens how different managing styles affects the retail side of the LHS. I witnessed the whole thing through all three owners. The owner cannot take his customers for granted and you, the customer, can't take the LHS for granted because someday he may not be there. Support your LHS if there is one. Don't fall victim to buying on line just because it is cheaper. Developing a relationship with the owner is priceless when it comes to helpful advise not to mention getting something serviced if there is a warranty issue. In my opinion, sometimes paying a little more is cheaper in the long run. If the LHS doesn't respect you for coming into his store, then by all means move on. We need each other to be successful. 

Kenny


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## clovissangrail01 (Oct 8, 2019)

That's why I buy my trains and train accoutrements from Amazon. The closest LHS to me was just as OP described. In fact, it could have been the same place. The old farts stood around jawing, and not one person asked 'Can I help you?'

Selection in N was very limited, and prices were jacked over SRP.

On the other hand, Amazon trains are almost always in stock so I can find what I want without having to wait for the owner to finish his conversation with his buddies.

You don't get much customer service up front from either, but with Amazon, returns are as close to painless as they can be.

Local hobby stores are dying, but it is as much from crappy service as it is from internet competition.

And lest anyone think I am prejudiced against old farts, I am an old fart, and i have the geezercycle to prove it.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

I have a great local train store, and I help the owner go out and acquire train collections.....my only on-line train buying is when I can absolutely not get something through the local store, but that’s not very often.....just lucky, I guess, but I’ll take it! 😁


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

The customer comes first at Henning's, we get out of the way with the idle chit-chat when someone needs help or comes to the counter to pay. I guess some people don't know where the paycheck comes from!


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## Spruslayer (Dec 13, 2020)

Old_Hobo said:


> I have a great local train store, and I help the owner go out and acquire train collections.....the only on-line train buying on-line is when I can absolutely not get something through the local store, but that’s not very often.....just lucky, I guess, but I’ll take it! 😁


.
That is what i wish for 🤤 buts 30 min each way so its still kinda local.
And from a new guy point of veiw the shop in my story has a fairly large train section.I guess the store is half rc type stuff with the other half divided to models and trains.So i hope they have success, just to have them near by and his prices are just a little more than the internet is not enough to change my mind and buy online especially if i want something bad enough i could have it in two hours

Too all who own shops thank you for being there

Merry Christmas to all
🚂🎅


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

you might consider leaving a note on their web site comment page.
Ya drive for half and hour to get to their store then have to wait while someone else tells em about their personal life issues. I get irritated at any store when people are in line and the guy wants to tell the cashier about their sob story. Then, the women who need to repack their suit case after finding the cash they need outa their wallet, that is packed in a clutch, that is at the bottom of the hand purse, that is somewhere in the carry bag that is mixed with other things in their suit case. Good lord that drives me nuts.


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## GeeTee (Dec 23, 2020)

One thing to consider , a lot of times the staff in small LHS is not necessarily paid. Some are just modelers/collectors who just "watch" the store for the owner while they go to lunch ,take care of some other business or help out on the weekend, In exchange they might get a discount on something that they want . So they don't necessarily have a vested interest in selling you something . Thats both good and bad , bad because you don't get service, good because you don't get leftovers and junk pushed on you. I've seen this happen at most small non chain stores , they don't have the resources to hire and pay regular staff. Its sort of an off the books barter. You usually get better service if their working on commission. 

Its a fairly common practice in a single owner store. If your knowledgeable and you hang around enough they'll try to recruit you by forcing you to take the keys to the store and leaving you in charge !


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Unfortunately, its almost a self made proficy. We go elsewhere for cheaper prices and to have to noth bother with the nuansances of the LHS. And then they close down one by one. So , we cant have both, good service and low prices , unless you go to a bigger operation. Years ago the banter was half the reason why people went to the local stores. Were all in a rush, rush mentality now. Everything is geared to it. And lets face it trains are not a big ticket in demand item now. I dont see everyone wanting them and the stock selling out leading to huge 200 pecrcent mark ups. Its not a nintendo. Places like the lhs are far and few between. Most places over here are gone, and thats more then the LHS. Anyway, have fun.


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

That was my experience in the scenario I described earlier about the 3 different owners with the last one and I becoming friends. If I was there and he wanted lunch he'd leave and myself and somebody else would mind the store. There were always 2-3 train guys there hanging out and trading stories. Most of the time you could learn something if it pertained to the gauge you were into. Most everybody helped the customer by answering questions so when the owner came back the customer had already been told what he wanted know and then could conduct his business with more knowledge with the owner. 

Kenny


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

Spruslayer,
I don't think it's a rant at all, just a genuine failure on the part of the hobby shop. However, on the flip side I'm always ready to give an assertive "Excuse me, can you help me?". If I really want something from a clerk. It's part of human nature that people get caught up in conversations but I'm always willing to remind a clerk that a paying customer is waiting on them. 

After working sales for Guitar Center in-between college (commimssion-after-fade) I find innatention inconcievable in a small business but I realize alot of folks don't think the same way.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

Spruslayer said:


> First,wishing everyone a very merry Christmas.
> 
> Now to meat of the subject.
> Second,im not gonna name names in my little adventure i had today but i have a feeling this likely happens in a lot of the afterfor mentioned places all over the USA.
> ...


Having spent most of my working life in the customer service business*, It was ground into me that satisfying customers was the first, last, and only, priority. Sure there were other things one had to know, and to do, but nothing outranked the customer. Now while a couple of my first jobs were actually in retail stores, most of my career involved repairing stuff in customers offices. This caused some to think, logically enough, that we were in the machine repairing business.

*Not so.
Yes, of course it was important to do the repair properly, but machines don't buy products, customers do.
So any business, regardless of type, is really in the customer service/satisfying business. If they don't realize that, then the minute they get a competitor who does, then they just, unknowingly, started going out of business.

If you work in a hobby shop, then it should be ingrained into you that waiting on & satisfying the customers is your job, period. If you can't, or won't, be bothered, to do that, you won't keep your job. If you own a hobby shop, or any other business, you have to know that you won't stay in business very long if you, and every one of your employees, don't put the customer first.

I had a similar, if more flagrant, experience at a hobby shop I'll never go to again. The two bozos temporarily employed, (but not actually 'working') there made it obvious that I, the customer, was annoying them by interrupting their prolonged non-work related, conversation with each other.
Oh by the way, that shop went out of business sometime later. Golly, who could have guessed!

Traction Fan


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)




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## Spruslayer (Dec 13, 2020)

traction fan said:


> So any business, regardless of type, is really in the customer service/satisfying business. If they don't realize that, then the minute they get a competitor who does, then they just, unknowingly, started going out of business


That is so true ,i did 10 years at Sears & Roebuck. Sears should be a textbook example of how to drive your customer base to never shop at Sears again. When Sears sold its credit card biz to City Bank has to be the most insane move ever made by a retailer. The brain trust in charge decided to not let anyone use a card, no mater what brand, that was not signed. they could have multiple forms of matching IDs but the new rules were being enforced.
I lost count of the people that told me they would never shop there again after i refused to take there card, call the manager out here they would say and the manager would back me up and send them away.

Not to mention the checkout harassments the cashier put them through begging them to sign up or a Sears card.
People were fired for not following the "hit them three times" to apply for a card. I went to Kohls for the first time in years this Christmas and if you would've blindfolded me took me in not telling me where i was i would have guessed Sears. Just to pay for me merch i had to listen to an "apply for a card" pitch. Dont know about anyone else but when i want to pay for my stuff and go i dont want a cashier pretending to be a bank,or pitchin anything else. If the joint has sales people on he floor to sell you stuff that should be their job to hit you for extras


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## bigdodgetrain (Jun 12, 2015)

*The Customer Is Not Always Right: Here Are Five Reasons Why*
You have probably heard the saying, “The customer is always right.” Chances are, as a customer, you felt that this catchy phrase applied to you. But I believe that this phrase, popularized by Harry Gordon Selfridge in the early 1900s, is wrong — and wrong for a number of reasons.

The idea behind this phrase is to instill a sense of quality customer support. It can also serve as a training mantra to push employees to make decisions that would benefit customers in hopes of building loyalty and trust. However, I have found that this customer-centric ideology is now outdated and no longer relevant. In fact, it very well could be creating an obstacle on the path to truly exceptional customer service.
This statement seems a bit odd, I know. However, there are good reasons to ditch this century-old business mantra. Here are five reasons why “the customer is always right” is wrong.
*1. There are wrong customers.*
Simply saying the customer is always right doesn’t make it so. Sometimes customers are wrong and employees need to know how to handle them accordingly. Taking ownership of a mistake that the business is not accountable for is a slippery slope.

Let’s say a customer wants a 100% refund on a sofa chair that costs $500 due to it being uncomfortable. Wouldn’t comfortability be a subjective thing? Is this particular customer right? The customer may simply be looking to get a refund and keep the sofa chair free of charge, since many furniture sellers will not request the customer return the item.
If the customer is always right in the above scenario, the sofa chair business would quickly lose expensive inventory without turning a profit. To combat this, employees need to shift the customer service mantra from “the customer is always right” to “the customer is sometimes wrong.”
*2. You are not supporting employees.*
Having a “customer is always right” attitude can have a negative impact on the morale of your customer support team. How? There are always going to be unruly and rude customers contacting your customer support team. These customers are hard to manage, and despite your team’s best efforts, a positive outcome is not always possible. If you side with these types of customers, you could be leaving a negative impression on your employees.
Retaining quality employees who you trust and have confidence in should be your top priority. If the customer is always right, employees have to take the abuse of customers with zero support from management. What happens next? Employees move on to opportunities that are not as filled with anxiety. Support your team first and then customers.
*3. ‘The customer is right’ is wrong for customer service.*
In my experience, having a “customer is right” mantra in place is actually much worse for customer service. Yes, this probably seems a bit odd, but consider this: If you have a customer support team that is constantly berated by customers and has nowhere to turn for upper management support, your team will eventually turn on the company. It is like mutiny aboard a ship.
Working conditions and company culture play a major role in keeping employees happy, productive and efficient. When negativity upsets the balance in the workplace, employees disengage. The negativity then spreads to customers who are among those you wish to satisfy. Not good.
*4. Not all customers are worth keeping.*
Unruly and rude customers are unavoidable when doing business, but that doesn’t mean you need to keep doing business with them. There are customers that are not worth having, including those who are often unreasonable, don’t pay on time, micromanage, are abusive and take up way too much valuable time.
Time is a very valuable resource and an element commonly overlooked when it comes to handling customers. For instance, if you have an unreasonable, micromanaging customer that is draining company resources, you may lose traction with the customers you actually like.
How do you know when it’s time to let a customer go? By applying the Pareto Principle, better known as the 80/20 rule, you can identify the customers that are causing the most headaches. This will help you and your team to let go of the “customer is always right” mantra for good.
*5. It’s impossible to satisfy everyone.*
Using “the customer is always right” in your daily business practices works under the assumption that you can satisfy every customer 24/7. This is a fool’s errand. Even the largest and most successful brands know this to be impossible, and so should you. People are unique. We all have different tastes in fashion, food, cars, homes, etc., and if you attempt to satisfy every customer's needs, your business will quickly fail.
Pleasing everyone is also saying that everyone is your customer. This alone is a bad business model. There is a saying, “If everyone is your customer, you don’t have any.” Why? If you want your product or service in the hands of every human on the planet, you have no target audience to market to. It creates chaos.
As Kevin Kelly explained in his famed essay, you don’t need millions of customers, clients and fans to be successful. You need thousands of true fans.
*It’s OK — let customers be wrong.*
There are a lot of centuries-old business phrases still in place today. They are in some ways embedded into the mindsets of business owners, thus making them part of daily workflow. But they should be examined closely. Identify what makes sense and discard the rest to ensure you are maximizing the growth and success of your company. Let customers be wrong.



Council Post: The Customer Is Not Always Right: Here Are Five Reasons Why (forbes.com)


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

I am retired. However, I work part time in a town and country store. Their rule is also the customer is always right even if management knows the customer is dead wrong. There is a rule in place that says POSITVLY no returns without a receipt. The customer is told "I'm sorry no return without a receipt". All the customer has to do is create a scene and demand to see a manager. The item gets returned and the poor cashier looks like and idiot. Real nice employee support. That no receipt rule means nothing. I work in the automotive area. I have never seen so many lame excuses for people wanting to return a car/truck battery. From "I didn't use it long" or the ever popular "it won't start my vehicle" even though you brought me your old battery and you got the same size new one and when I test the new battery, and shows good, you still claim it is the battery. Hey genius, how long have you been driving with a red light on in your dash? That goes on for other automotive items. I was a GM parts manager for 34 years and worked on cars for as many years so I know a thing or two. In my experience, the customer THINKS he is always right. Why would I sell something I know is incorrect and later have to deal with the grief? I didn't do that in my 34 years in the dealership so I sure wouldn't do it now. The problem seems to be, the customer thinks they know everything and I am some dumb rube. God forbid I should try and explain what they really need. That is the problem all over that store and retail in general. People today think they are smarter than anybody else. It is a certain age group that thinks they are entitled and you are their servant. Mommie and daddy raised them that way because that is the way they were raised. Nobody is perfect, customer or retail worker. Mistakes do happen.


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## Spruslayer (Dec 13, 2020)

Afpg9 I feel your grief.
if a bad storm hits and trees are down and electricity is out Sears became a lot of folks tool rental except the rent was free
big sign posted on door no generator or chainsaw returns unless defective. 
after the down trees were cleaned up and the electricity back on here they came. All it took was to get the manager out there and we refunded the full purchase price for abused merch. Don't even ask about shoplifters 😈 that's another epic fail on Sears part


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

Sounds familiar Spruslayer. I forgot about returned generators after an ice storm. Defective of course. Worked fine for the days the power was out. Not so with the chain saws. They were kept. Shop lifters are fed to the wild dogs that are kept out back. Seriously, we have a known shoplift, caught on camera and video taped, that everybody knows. When he comes in, everybody hears about it on our radios and the lady that mans the cameras and video equipment is on him. My question is, can't he be barred some way?


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## Griff151 (Nov 30, 2020)

Give it time, I was an outsider at m train store as well. Now they know when I come it I shot the Sh*t for a few look at trains and almost always walk away with some rolling stock.


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## Murv2 (Nov 5, 2017)

On the other hand, you lose customers one at a time. I went to a new gun shop once and asked if they had any old military rifles. The guy behind the counter said "Yeah, we got a couple of those _nostalgia _guns." Obviously the guy was a black rifle fan, but there are a dozen gun shops in town and an offhand condescending remark towards my preference meant I never went back. He probably thought he was funny too. The shop went out of business shortly afterwards.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

I have not been in a LHS in about six years now, since Tom Staley retired and closed the Train Station jhere in Cary NC. I don't miss the store, but I miss him, his wife, and the other three folks who worked at the store - they the reason I went to the Train Station at least once a week, and I was probably guilty of talking up to much of their times. On the other hand I doubt anyone spent more there than I did. Since Tom retired and the Train Station closed, I no longer have an LHS. There was an LHS on the north side of Raleigh, maybe a half hour's drive at worse, but the staff therenever seemed that friendly and frankly their service was not that great, so I have not visited them in five years. Pat and Train's trains gi ves me better prices, better service, and has become a good friend as we occasionally talk over the phone, so he is my "local" train shop.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Lee, in the times I've dealt with Pat, he's been more than accommodating, so I can see why you hold him in high regard. I haven't been a "big" customer, probably only a few hundred bucks total, but he always treats me like a "big" customer.


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## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

The article BigDodge posted is correct.

At work the majority of orders come in via the call center (although that internet/web site thing is gaining ground). As you can imagine we get our share of, "You sent me the wrong item." and, "My order is missing the *____*."

Ten years ago we started recording every call to the call center. If there is a complaint as above the recorded call from when the order was placed is reviewed. 50% of the time - literally, right down the middle, consistently - the customer ordered the wrong item or never ordered the ____. Even so, we ship the customer the "right" or "missing" item, no questions asked. But what it did for morale, attitude and employee retention in the call center... it was a home run.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Stumpy, you just validated the saying "The Customer Is Always Right". That's the whole point, while you may have to eat a few things, the difference in the perception of the customer is huge. The fact that the employees didn't have to argue with the customers about it is certainly icing on the cake, you take a load off them as well. I'm pretty sure the net result is a more positive impression of your business, more repeat business, and happier employees.

Look at the companies that have pretty much unlimited returns, Costco comes to mind. I can bring almost anything back to Costco and there's never a question. They just offer instant satisfaction, be it a replacement or a refund. Oh, and Costco is reputed to be a great place to work, no surprise.


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## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

Yes and no, John. In my example, 1/2 the time the customer is not "right"... whatever that means or implies. But, you do "right" by the customer.

So it's a matter of perspective. Or, as you said, perception. Depends on which side of the fence you're on.


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## Ridgelyman (Dec 13, 2020)

Where I trade one guy chews the fat with the train guys and two other take orders.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

RHIP.


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## highvoltage (Apr 6, 2014)

Stumpy said:


> Yes and no, John. In my example, 1/2 the time the customer is not "right"... whatever that means or implies. But, you do "right" by the customer.
> 
> So it's a matter of perspective. Or, as you said, perception. Depends on which side of the fence you're on.


I never liked the phrase "the customer is always right." I prefer, "keep the customer satisfied."


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## SlomoPilot (Jun 18, 2020)

I've had various jobs . . . one was a television post production facility. I worked the evening shift and usually it was just me and a client (read: customer) in the building, alone. Sometimes a client would ask for something and say, "Can we not put that on the invoice ?" If it made my job a little easier or was just a really small thing, I'd say, "You know, it's just such a small thing - let's call it a 'good customer discount'. Most clients were understanding and didn't abuse the favor; in fact our biggest one at the time ( R. J. Reynolds ) told my General Manager, "Your evening editor does more to keep our account here than your Sales Manager." But I had a couple of clients that would ask for big-ticket things; stuff they knew was high dollar, off the books. I would usually fib a bit and tell them, "I got in big trouble about this same thing just last week with another client so I can't do that for you." So : *The customer is wrong if they ask you to do something illegal - like stealing. *At another job, the client wanted me to go up on a scissor lift with SIX other workers and a pile of heavy cables; and no fall protection. Regrettably, I did this and it's one of the rare times I've been scared on the job. We extended up to the roof of a three-story building but were a little over a foot from the edge. The client says, "Hang on and I'll get us closer" and then proceeds to manipulate the lift outriggers with us overweight and extended that high ! So: *The customer is wrong if they ask you to do something unsafe. *

Now I realize that these examples likely don't extend to the train shop; but the idea is that no, the customer is not always right.

I've been on the other side of that train shop experience where I'm the one talking the poor employee's ear off. BUT, if another customer comes in the store I'll politely back away and sometimes even say, "Let me let you wait on this other customer." So perhaps there are a few folks that don't even realize they're taking the salesperson away from their job.


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## Steve Rothstein (Jan 1, 2021)

Some of you had very good points on customer relations. I agree that the saying the customer is always right is a very bad statement of how to treat customers, even though the thought behind it is a good thought. But the last post by Slomopilot reminded me of some training I went through.

One of the training classes I went to as a police officer was to help improve the way that police officers treat people. They had some very good points except that they hired a trainer that did not understand police officers very well. Many of us have a somewhat twisted sense of humor. The class was going well and most of us were trying to learn something until the trainer said something about the customer being right. One of us quickly pointed out to him that we had one of the best jobs in the world because we had the one job where we were pretty sure that our customers were always wrong.

No, it was not me that said it. I wish it had been though.


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## SlomoPilot (Jun 18, 2020)

"One of us quickly pointed out to him that we had one of the best jobs in the world because we had the one job where we were pretty sure that our customers were always wrong."

I have a cousin that's married to a prison dentist. He says that he tries to do his best but it won't do the patient any good to complain.


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