Bad Attitudes At Office Depot
December 27th, 2007
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When I went to Office Depot the other day, I was waiting in the checkout line and overheard a conversation another customer was having with an employee. I couldn’t hear everything, but it sounded like the customer had bought some items on another trip, had been overcharged by $110, and had come back to get the overcharge refunded.
There didn’t seem to be any problems, and after a couple of minutes he got his money back. Then he said “You know, you overcharge me by $110, I have to come all the way back here to get it taken care of, and you don’t say a single word of apology.” A few seconds passed and no one said anything. Then the customer continued, “You didn’t say ’sorry,’ you didn’t say anything. Not a word.” Still, the employee said nothing.
Another employee overhead this, and came by to ask what was going on. The customer again complained that no one had apologized, and the employee said “sorry,” but that was it. The customer then left, grumbling under his breath.
Who made a faux pas here?
First of all, if your company accidentally overcharges someone by $110 and makes them come back to fix it, you need to apologize, whether or not you were the one who personally made the mistake. When you’re wearing a company’s uniform, you’re representing them. The customer doesn’t care which employee is at fault. If your company made a big mistake like this, you should apologize on their behalf.
To be fair, the employees may not have been properly trained on how to handle the situation. Then again, it’s common sense. If someone slipped up and almost cost you a lot of money, wouldn’t you want them to care? Even if you don’t like your job, we’re talking about basic human decency.
On the other hand, the customer wasn’t exactly an angel either. He was understandably upset when he noticed that he had been overcharged, and might have been uncertain as to whether he’d be able to get his money back without a big fight. I would have been annoyed at first, but then thankful that the situation was easily resolved. The employees should have apologized profusely, but they didn’t. They were at fault, but why do you need to complain about it?
I understand wanting to be treated well, but if you’re not, then you just move on. The customer complained by choice, not necessity. He complained several times in the store, probably obsessed about it on the way home, and might even have let it put him in a bad mood the next day. All because he didn’t get an apology from someone he doesn’t know who probably was not the one who personally overcharged him. If he got a good apology right away, would that have been enough, or would he have picked something else to complain about, like the inconvenience of having to come back to the store?
When something doesn’t go exactly your way, you can choose to complain, or you can choose to let it go. Even if it’s someone else’s fault, why not take the high road?
