The Customer is ALWAYS Right... Even When They're Not
You may or may not know that, once upon a time, I was in the fast-paced, highly dramatic world of fine jewelry retail. I was pretty good at my job, selling designer jewelry and diamonds to fantastic people who truly appreciated fine art.
In my dreams.
I was an excellent saleswoman, and topped my sales goals often. But even typing that title gave me a bit of acid reflux when compared to some of the war stories I could share....
...there was the time that a woman stood in front of me, red-faced, demanding a cash refund for the jewerly her husband had given her. She had no receipt, and the purchased was over 6 months old. To give you a hint of how long ago this was, there was no computer record, all receipts were hand-written and then processed through a semi-computerized cash register. So I had to locate about three months worth of receipts to go through, one-by-one, while she told me how stupid I was. I'm not kidding. I did find her husband's receipt- at long last- showing that he had purchased it with his store card. She still wanted to return it, so I took the merchandise back and credited his card. (That made me even more stupid and inept in her eyes, as she really wanted cash.) She stomped off to "tell the store manager on me." I'm not making this up!
....then there was the time... it was at Christmas-time, our busiest season. I was working with a gentleman, and the other sales associates were occupied with clients as well, when I saw another man come in and start perusing the cases. My customer excused himself to take a phone call and the other man swooped in..... He was just here to pick up a ring that was being repaired. No problem! thought I, innocently.... To make a long story short, he dissolved into a hideous lump of Screamy McSwearington when his ring was not yet there and I couldn't call the studio to check on it as it was after-hours.
Thank goodness in my 10+ years in the high end retail biz these occurences were rare. But they do tend to stick out.
And me, being me, well, in both of these situations, I knew I was right when I wasn't giving them exactly what they wanted right then and there. And I was ready to fight for it.
WHOA- wait a second! In my old(er) age I have gained a little wisdom. Most of the time.
Everyone wants to be right. Even when they're not. Why? It comes down to underlying pain, frankly. Take the two situations above.
I found out later that the first woman's husband purchased jewelry for her fairly often, spending several thousand dollars each time. ....As an "I'm sorry gift" to try to make up for having an affair. Seems he had Tiger Woods disease and would come back with a lungful of apologies and a fistful of jewels. She had broken down and spilled this to one of my associates the last time it had happened, who hadn't been there on the day of my fateful experience.
And as for the gentleman... well, I had the uniquely random luck to experience helping his wife when the ring repair did come in. These hadn't been my clients originally, so I didn't know them by sight. Let's just say that when Mr McSwearington returned from the store that evening sans ring, I'm pretty sure he spent the night in the tool shed. No wonder he was "upset."
The common denominator is pain. You may have heard that people's actions are motivated by pleasure or pain, and there is plenty of pain to go around.
So, next time someone says something like: "That's a ridiculous asking price for my house! My house is SO much nicer than these comps you're showing me!" Try this:
"You know, you're right." pause "But, we have to go with where the market is now. Unfortunately, this is where homes like yours are selling in this market."
We are all looking for validation and compassion for our pain. It takes so little to offer that to most of our clients.
So I'm learning. (I'll get there.)
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