Gunning for customer service

Have you ever noticed that some people seem to enjoy saying “no,” even when doing so is to their own detriment?

My little 6-year-old boy had wanted a toy gun for a while so we finally made the trip over to the toy store. As you know, I don’t use my position as a public figure to bad-mouth companies that have given me poor customer service, so let’s just say the name of the national toy store that I’m referring to is We“B”Toys.

After I wandered around We“B”Toys for five or ten minutes not finding what I wanted, I finally walked up to a customer service sales associate and asked, “Could you please tell me where you keep your toy guns?”

“Oh, we don’t carry toy guns,” the sales associate sniffed. “It is We‘B’Toys’ policy to not sell any guns.”

Wow. I came in to buy my son a toy and now it feels like I’m being sermonized by a sales associate with a cause, not to mention an attitude.
“Oh, okay,” I said, somewhat taken aback. I walked to the end of the aisle and saw a display of Nerf guns.

That’s right. I said “Nerf GUNS.”

I picked up one and took it back over to the sales associate, pointed at it and said, “I thought you don’t carry any guns.”

“Oh, well, that’s a Nerf gun,” he said, not seeing any contradiction in his reply. “We carry those.”

“Do you carry any other guns besides these?” I asked.

“No, sir. We sure don’t. I’ve worked here for over 12 years now and if there were any guns in this store, I would know it. In fact, if you can find another gun here, I’ll buy it for you.”

Well, now I’m on a mission. I walked around the aisle and straight into a display for Star Wars blasters. I picked one up, carried it back to the sales associate, and asked him about it.

“No, sir,” he replied with a smirk. He was obviously enjoying his role in this silly drama we were acting out. “That’s a blaster, not a gun.”

It turns out that We“B”Toys has no end of blasters, phasers, shoot ’em ups, bang-bangs, and ker-pows, but just no guns.

I wound up buying my son a toy gun phaser that he’s been perfectly happy with, but my question is, why couldn’t the sales associate have just told me what they did have instead of effusing exultantly about what they didn’t have?

As a business owner myself, I can promise you, if We“B”Toys Guy had
been on commission or had owned the store, he would’ve put the customer first, rather than the store’s favorite cause du jour.

Real sales people and customer service agents always find a way around problems. Instead of dismissively saying “no,” how about saying, “Let me show you what I’ve got!” Since my little boy was standing right beside me, with a world of expectation and longing in his eyes, why not turn to him and say, “I’ve got a few things I think you’re really going to like, buddy!”

It takes no more effort to turn a negative into a positive and it feels so much better to give a customer good news instead of bad.

And here’s the thing that I think a lot of people miss. The power to be a customer service hero or villain is in your own hands. You decide if people are going to walk away from you blessing or cursing your name. You decide whether people talk about you praising you or regretting their interaction with you. Ultimately, it is you that decides how successful you are going to be in your career.

Feel free to reprint this article in your organizational publication. We only ask that you use the following attribution blurb at the bottom of the article:

© 2011 Charles Marshall. Charles Marshall is a nationally known humorous motivational speaker and author. Visit his Web site at http://www.charlesmarshall.net or contact him via e-mail at charles@charlesmarshall.net.