Customer had a problem with our service - Page 3

02-13-2007, 10:57 AM

Doc O'Leary wrote:
> In article <it1Ah.2834$ov2.582@trndny06>,
> Stephen Harding <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
>
> I'm all for a funny story of a bad customer getting what they deserve,
> but this wasn't one.

Then there is no such thing as a funny story about a customer.

> Someone misunderstood an obscure bit of mechanical
> terminology, and for that they are called insane world wide?

You are the only one using the *insane* term, meaning in _your_ mind
he has been interpreted as insane.

> > He didn't laugh at them! It was a humorous story that brought
> > about laugher (if that) after the customer was gone. The
> > customer apparently never knew he made such a gaff.
>
> I'm just stunned that so many of you think that is a good thing! As I
> have already said, the customer should have been corrected on the spot
> and a laugh (if that) *shared*. What happened here, and your defense of
> Mike, is just perpetual cruelty.

Perpetual cruelty? Do you even listen to yourself? Cruel to whom?
You have a real problem.

> > >>There's a lesson for many of us there. Don't assume that someone else's
> > >>world works quite the same as your own.
>
> > > Seems mostly to be a lesson for you. Seems like you haven't learned it.
>
> > Seems you need to re-read the post.
>
> I have. Perhaps it is you who needs to go back and see things from the
> customer's perspective.

You know, I have been in the customer's perspective. And you know
what? I was an *idiot*. I doubt any of us have never been an idiot.
I can laugh about it. And I have no doubt I have said and/or done
things that made people, aftewr I walked away, say "Do you believe
that?" I've even told other people about my gaffe, and shared the
laugh.

I have hinted at something here, but now I feel I have to come out and
say it. You need to get an enema, because you are really, really full
of ****.

Austin

02-13-2007, 11:02 AM

>> I have. Perhaps it is you who needs to go back and see things from the
>> customer's perspective.
>
> You know, I have been in the customer's perspective. And you know
> what? I was an *idiot*. I doubt any of us have never been an idiot.
> I can laugh about it. And I have no doubt I have said and/or done
> things that made people, aftewr I walked away, say "Do you believe
> that?" I've even told other people about my gaffe, and shared the
> laugh.

There are far worse things you can do than share a laugh with someone at
your own "expense." I learned a very long time ago that eating a healthy
dose of crow now & then is an essential part of a well-balanced personality.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

02-13-2007, 11:06 AM

On Feb 13, 9:37 am, Doc O'Leary <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>
wrote:
> In article <2o8Ah.63760$Oa.56340@edtnps82>, me <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
> > Like the OP tried to
> > make plain, some people JUST DON"T GET IT. They are incapable of applying
> > logic to their everyday life.
>
> What was shown was not a lack of logic, but a misunderstanding of
> terminology. Given the circumstances, there is nothing particularly
> funny about it, and there is no good reason to belittle a customer on a
> global forum.

Not knowing that "cassette" refers to a collection of gears is a
misunderstanding of terminology. Thinking that "chain wear leads to
cassette wear" is irrelevant if you listen to CD's is a lack of logic,
regardless of whether you understand the bicycle term. Why? To come
to that conclusion, one has to assume the tech was trying to say that
a worn out chain will wear out my music tapes. That is a lack of
logic, regardless of the terminology issue.

> > If I didn't know what a "cassette" was, and someone said that to me in
> > that case, my response would be "what?" or maybe look puzzled, which would
> > I am sure, have resulted in the explanation required. I would NOT have
> > jumped from the subject of bicycles to music storage formats because of
> > the similarity of terminology.

> Well bully for your thought process, but the first thing you should have
> learned when dealing with customers is that neither of you are mind
> readers.

He proves that it';s a lack of logic, and you change the subject.

> As I have already posted, the basic misunderstanding makes it
> just as easy for the *customer* to think that it is the employee who is
> changing the subject. A polite correction goes a lot farther than a
> stifled laugh followed by a post to Usenet saying the customer wasn't
> sane.

How in hell do you know there was no polite correction? You are so
full of it I can hardly believe it. If only you could see how foolish
you look.

Austin (yep, that *was* belittling)

02-13-2007, 11:14 AM

"Leo Lichtman" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].net> wrote in message
news:QUnAh.84528$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].worldnet.att.net...
> Dear Mike--I was in your store the other day, and I bought something.
> While he was waiting on me, the salesperson glanced at another employee. I
> am sure they talked about me after I left. I have been watching here to
> find out what was said, but you guys are so sly you haven't posted
> anything. I just want you to know that's a good way to lose customers.
>

Paranoid much?

02-13-2007, 02:00 PM

Bellsouth Ijit 2.0 wrote:
> "Leo Lichtman" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].net> wrote in message
> news:QUnAh.84528$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].worldnet.att.net...
>> Dear Mike--I was in your store the other day, and I bought something.
>> While he was waiting on me, the salesperson glanced at another
>> employee. I am sure they talked about me after I left. I have been
>> watching here to find out what was said, but you guys are so sly you
>> haven't posted anything. I just want you to know that's a good way
>> to lose customers.
>
> Paranoid much?

Oblivious much?

02-13-2007, 02:21 PM

"Bill Sornson" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:45d24326$0$24741$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> Bellsouth Ijit 2.0 wrote:
>> "Leo Lichtman" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].net> wrote in message
>> news:QUnAh.84528$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].worldnet.att.net...
>>> Dear Mike--I was in your store the other day, and I bought something.
>>> While he was waiting on me, the salesperson glanced at another
>>> employee. I am sure they talked about me after I left. I have been
>>> watching here to find out what was said, but you guys are so sly you
>>> haven't posted anything. I just want you to know that's a good way
>>> to lose customers.
>>
>> Paranoid much?
>
> Oblivious much?
>

Happily.

02-13-2007, 06:04 PM

On 13 Feb 2007 09:33:47 -0800, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] wrote:

>On Feb 13, 10:49 am, Doc O'Leary <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>
>wrote:
>> And, again, please
>> explain to me how it is better to laugh at them behind their back on a
>> global forum?
>
>
>If Doc himself were the person in question, and discovered the tale of
>his gaffe here on this newsgroup, his outrage would make some sense.
>But I doubt that's the case.

You know, if Doc _were_ the customer in question, this whole blow-up
would start making sense. Not that I'd expect him to admit it, or for
that matter, I'd expect Mike J. to be far too much the gentleman to
expose him. Ya think?

Pat

Email address works as is.

02-14-2007, 07:15 AM

<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:1171388027.481426.20740@q2g2000cwa.googlegrou ps.com...
> On Feb 13, 10:49 am, Doc O'Leary <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>
> wrote:
>> And, again, please
>> explain to me how it is better to laugh at them behind their back on a
>> global forum?
>
> The customer is not hurt in any way by this discussion. He doesn't
> know about it. His name was never mentioned. In fact, the city he
> lives in was never mentioned. He's completely anonymous, so he's
> unharmed in any way.

I think if anyone was harmed in this story it would be Chain Reaction.
There are folks on this forum, myself included, that know where the Chain
Reaction stores are, and have even been customers. (My husband bought his
carbon fiber road bike there, and many, many accessories.) However, it's an
area with many a local bike shop for competition. I don't know of any other
ones that post customer stories on this newsgroup.

Let's look how this story came off to me. A guy comes into the shop to have
his flat tire fixed. I'd make an assumption that this customer isn't likely
to know a ton about bikes, as fixing tires isn't that hard. He mentions to
the shop owner's wife that he feels the service people are trying to take
advantage of his naivety by pushing for unneeded parts. The wife of the
owner responds by dazzling the guy with techno jargon, and for those not
thinking cassette was techno jargon, look up cassette in your dictionary.
See bike parts mentioned in there anywhere? Now in my mind, it doesn't
really matter what the customer said after that, that's just clueless
customer service. What really doesn't help is the shop owner thinks it's a
cute story because "this particular customer is playing with less than a
full deck, so we try to be nice, but it was very difficult to keep from
cracking up in this case."

So you would think Mike would share this chuckle with biking buddies, other
employees, maybe even bicycle enthusiast customers who he knows well enough
to see it his way. But no, he puts it out there on a global news group to
ensure a wide swath of potential customers would see it.

Mike might be a nice guy, but when it comes to public relations, I'm not
sure he's playing with a full deck.

02-14-2007, 09:02 AM

> So you would think Mike would share this chuckle with biking buddies,
> other employees, maybe even bicycle enthusiast customers who he knows well
> enough to see it his way. But no, he puts it out there on a global news
> group to ensure a wide swath of potential customers would see it.
>
> Mike might be a nice guy, but when it comes to public relations, I'm not
> sure he's playing with a full deck.

The problem is that I know a lot more about the situation than I felt
comfortable putting into the initial piece, and wasn't considering that my
editing was going to play the way it did. The person in question is one who
isn't even allowed in any other shop in the area; he's been literally thrown
out because he's beyond difficult to deal with. But because he gets around
on a bike, we do what we can for him. If someone actually uses a bike for
commuting, that person fits into a different category in terms of how
quickly we'll get something done (what we'll put aside to get him or her
back on the road) and our tolerance for rudeness etc.

But I really didn't want it to become a discussion of people with, sorry,
but there's not a better way to say it, less than a full deck, coming into a
bike shop. We are beyond tolerant of such people; that's the way I was
brought up. Yet I still thought it was an interesting story that this person
thought we were a terrible bike shop because we told him his bike needed
work (his chain is so stretched that yes, it actually *will* break soon, and
he could get seriously hurt) and that he believes it doesn't, that we're out
to get his money. That provided, TO ME, the background to carry the story a
bit further, in a way that shows he's not quite all there.

Will I share such a story again? Probably. I'm about as transparent as they
come, for good and bad. If what I wear on my sleeve is offensive to some,
I'd rather they know that out front than have me dance around a life of
trying to be 100% politically correct and more concerned with how I appear
than who I am. A strategy that's worked pretty well for the past 27 years.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

"Cathy Kearns" <cathy_kearns@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news

AGAh.44640$Gr2.4582@newssvr21.news.prodigy.n et...
>
> <frkrygow@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1171388027.481426.20740@q2g2000cwa.googlegrou ps.com...
>> On Feb 13, 10:49 am, Doc O'Leary <droleary.use...@1q2007.subsume.com>
>> wrote:
>>> And, again, please
>>> explain to me how it is better to laugh at them behind their back on a
>>> global forum?
>>
>> The customer is not hurt in any way by this discussion. He doesn't
>> know about it. His name was never mentioned. In fact, the city he
>> lives in was never mentioned. He's completely anonymous, so he's
>> unharmed in any way.
>
> I think if anyone was harmed in this story it would be Chain Reaction.
> There are folks on this forum, myself included, that know where the Chain
> Reaction stores are, and have even been customers. (My husband bought his
> carbon fiber road bike there, and many, many accessories.) However, it's
> an area with many a local bike shop for competition. I don't know of any
> other ones that post customer stories on this newsgroup.
>
> Let's look how this story came off to me. A guy comes into the shop to
> have his flat tire fixed. I'd make an assumption that this customer isn't
> likely to know a ton about bikes, as fixing tires isn't that hard. He
> mentions to the shop owner's wife that he feels the service people are
> trying to take advantage of his naivety by pushing for unneeded parts.
> The wife of the owner responds by dazzling the guy with techno jargon, and
> for those not thinking cassette was techno jargon, look up cassette in
> your dictionary. See bike parts mentioned in there anywhere? Now in my
> mind, it doesn't really matter what the customer said after that, that's
> just clueless customer service. What really doesn't help is the shop
> owner thinks it's a cute story because "this particular customer is
> playing with less than a full deck, so we try to be nice, but it was very
> difficult to keep from cracking up in this case."
>
> So you would think Mike would share this chuckle with biking buddies,
> other employees, maybe even bicycle enthusiast customers who he knows well
> enough to see it his way. But no, he puts it out there on a global news
> group to ensure a wide swath of potential customers would see it.
>
> Mike might be a nice guy, but when it comes to public relations, I'm not
> sure he's playing with a full deck.
>
>
>

02-14-2007, 09:18 AM

Cathy Kearns wrote:

> I think if anyone was harmed in this story it would be Chain Reaction.
> There are folks on this forum, myself included, that know where the
> Chain Reaction stores are, and have even been customers. (My husband
> bought his carbon fiber road bike there, and many, many accessories.)
> However, it's an area with many a local bike shop for competition. I
> don't know of any other ones that post customer stories on this
> newsgroup.
> Let's look how this story came off to me. A guy comes into the shop
> to have his flat tire fixed. I'd make an assumption that this
> customer isn't likely to know a ton about bikes, as fixing tires
> isn't that hard. He mentions to the shop owner's wife that he feels
> the service people are trying to take advantage of his naivety by
> pushing for unneeded parts. The wife of the owner responds by
> dazzling the guy with techno jargon, and for those not thinking
> cassette was techno jargon, look up cassette in your dictionary. See
> bike parts mentioned in there anywhere? Now in my mind, it doesn't
> really matter what the customer said after that, that's just clueless
> customer service. What really doesn't help is the shop owner thinks
> it's a cute story because "this particular customer is playing with
> less than a full deck, so we try to be nice, but it was very
> difficult to keep from cracking up in this case."
> So you would think Mike would share this chuckle with biking buddies,
> other employees, maybe even bicycle enthusiast customers who he knows
> well enough to see it his way. But no, he puts it out there on a
> global news group to ensure a wide swath of potential customers would
> see it.
> Mike might be a nice guy, but when it comes to public relations, I'm
> not sure he's playing with a full deck.

Oh good grief. Yeah, when someone accuses a shop of fraudulent hard-sell
techniques because he doesn't understand that a chain can wear out, the
employee(s) should just shut up and not bother explaining things (or even
TRYING to).

It was a funny little story about someone not knowing what a bike cassette
was -- just like those computer tech service stories about people using
their CD trays as coffee cup holders or looking for their Any Key.

People REALLY need to lighten up.

Bill "the hell you say!" S.