I never meant to be one of those people that bottle up all sorts of unhealthy aggression and stress and then write an angry blog to "cleanse" themselves, but I have found that when I'm more pissed off, I want to be more vocal as well. It's just that I have a special thought for the day-When you're trying to do business with someone, if you want a good quality product promptly and efficiently, OR want a professional service performed, you're NOT going to help anything by being a jerk. I worked as a waitress, and it always surprised me how willing people were to rake me over the coals when I was the one HANDLING THEIR FOOD! Now, I didn't ever stoop to spitting in their entree (or goodness knows what else!), but the problem is that you can ruin someone's whole day by being difficult and demanding, and you, yourself are no better off for behaving so.I run a business, but I'm not really that great under a lot of stress. In fact, I suck at dealing with stressful situations. I'm passionate about my product, and I've spent years working my rear off to make it a good one, so any criticism or complaint seems to go straight to my very core! Further more, I honestly do care about my customers' happiness and satisfaction, because, HELLO, that's the reason I even have a business. I WANT you guys to look beautiful and feel happy, just like I do when I put a good corset on! However, it's prodigiously difficult for me to scrape an ounce of apathy up for you if you're rude and full of self-entitlement. (Now, all of you cool blog readers know that I'm not talking about you. ;) Thank the heavens, we hardly ever have problems, because any second of free time I may have is instead used to answer emails and make sure I'm running a good company. Maybe the fact that we have so few customer service problems makes it harrowing when I actually DO encounter one. Perhaps if I dealt with extremely irate people on a constant basis, it wouldn't even phase me.
I may sound like sort of a hippie, but I think that if you put out a lot of positive energy, then positive things will generate back to you. I think that the better you treat everyone around you, the less confrontations and problems you have. It seems really obvious. So, if you're a crazy, demanding, selfish, yelling lunatic- I have news for you. Everyone hates you behind your back. They makes fun of you and have verbs and nouns named after you. Get a grip and start treating people with benevolence. It will do you a world of good.
Back to the spitting in the food thing-you never know...it's totally possible that I know the exact right way to construct a corset so that the boning ruptures and a jagged edge skewers your cold heart after you put it on. *evil laugh*
I hope you guys know I'm joking on that one.. I'll go finish my frantic packing for the pirate festival this weekend. *sigh*
Michelle
Maybe the horrible customer will trip and fall at whatever ren fest they attend.
ReplyDeleteYour customers love you. I'm a college student and I overheard someone asking where to buy a great affordable corset and I recommended you. It was funny because right away everyone in the group was like we love her work and most of them had already bought stuff from you.
Hopefully one day you make it down to Texas Ren Fest
:( I hate rude, demanding, self righteous people, too. A few weeks ago I had a customer stop in our arts council gallery and buy a pair of seriously underpriced earrings because they were "the right price." She went on to spout a diatribe about how artisans overprice their work and she knows how much the materials cost and yadda yadda yadda. Meanwhile, I'm sitting there with my blood boiling thinking about the poor man who made that pair of earrings and about how we've tried for years to convince him to raise his prices because his work is excellent and he is on a fixed income with serious health problems. I also thought about my jewelry which she had just unknowingly insulted and calculating how much time I spend making sure my connections are snug and tidy and that my designs are original, pleasing and wearable and - and - and - trying to remember to breathe instead of jumping over the counter to pop her in the mouth. She's just a sad, angry woman. One big wild card of a Grump out of a sea of happy regular return customers.
ReplyDeleteI let her walk out of the store unscathed so that she could go be unhappy somewhere else.
Breathe deeply. Doesn't that feel better? :)
It's ludicrous that anyone could be rude to you...I can't even fathom the type of slimeball necessary to not see the amount of care that you put into customer service (completely aside from the rigorous standards of your work)!
ReplyDeleteI never have had a msg go unanswered for more than a day, and given the product quality (and PRICE for Pete's sake), the wait time is totally understandable!
Gah! The nerve!
We love you! The most perfect woman on the earth would still look more fabulous in one of your corsets!
*hugs*
ReplyDeleteHope my order didn't give you trouble - I know we had to clarify a thing or two. ^_^;
I've only been reading your blog for a short time but I think you are such a wonderful person with a big heart just by seeing the care you put into your work and making sure people are fitted properly.
I'm glad you took a moment to vent, everyone should have the chance once in a while
Yeah, I agree with everything you have to say here! I also worked as a waitress for a while, I also worked in a call centre doing Technical Support fro an Internet provider, and a different call centre doing customer service for a newspaper, before that.
ReplyDeletePeople can be so rude!