A Tale of Two Sales

So I am going to tell a story about two different customer service experiences.

The first was when I wanted to buy a pair of shoes from a popular online store. I had placed my order and a couple of hours later I got a call. The lady on the end just kept to the basics, wasn't nice, but wasn't rude. She confirmed the order and the delivery address - so far so good. Then she tells me, no, commands is a better word - "Madam, you are going to pay delivery charges whether you buy the item or not". Well, I was a bit taken aback, of course, I was ready to pay for delivery - if I BUY the shoes.?"Even if the shoes aren't my size?" I asked. The lady responded, "Madam you have to pay whether you buy or not that is our policy! If you are not ready to pay let me know so that we won't bother to deliver the shoes!"

I don't know what made me angrier, the tone of voice or the fact that I had to pay delivery charges for shoes that I may not eventually be able to buy. I understand the challenge of dealing with unserious buyers and the need to discourage them, but then, she could have been a bit more polite!

Anyway, I eventually was able to speak with the owner of the business, who quite frankly wasn't any better. After a lot of texts and calls back and forth over the issue, I just decided it wasn't worth it, If I do eventually buy the shoes of course I was?ready to pay delivery, but I was not ready to commit to paying for delivery for something I was not sure I would be able to buy. So they refused to deliver..... and I blacklisted them from my list of places to buy shoes!?

This was a lost opportunity for the seller, she could have brought several shoes for me to see and make a choice, in case I was unable to buy the exact ones I ordered, either because of size or fit etc. And I could have done other business with her later on and even introduced friends, but no, she was too short-sighted and only saw her delivery charge which she did not want to lose.

The second incidence was in South Africa, I was waiting for a taxi at the mall, and found myself in front of an optical Store, so I decided to feed my eyes on the frames, I had absolutely NO intention of buying anything, they were way too expensive. The sales lady walked up to me and very nicely?asked if I had anything particular in mind, I bluntly told her that I was?NOT buying anything, just feeding my eyes, she smiled and said, no problem, I should keep on looking. Then I spotted something I liked, and she offered to bring it out of the show glass for me to try on.

I reiterated the fact that I was not buying; no problem was again her response. But there was a problem, I was wearing my glasses and I wouldn't be able to see how?I looked in the frames, unless I wore?my contacts, which I did not have on me, so I told her not to bother. She then offered to read my prescription from the glasses?I was wearing, get a temporary pair of contacts for me to use so I could try on the frame that I had absolutely no intention of buying, just to see if it looked good on me! Wow!

Now I was interested, and the conversation changed.?So they could get my exact prescription? Mmm, and I liked the frame??I think what took me aback was this pleasant young lady's resolve to go to any length to please a client despite the fact she was not yet ready to buy anything.

Well to cut a long story short, I ended up calling the cab driver to delay for about an hour, did an eye test, bought 2 pairs of frames and 6 months supply of contact lenses! Oh and I have been buying from them for over 2 years, long after I finished my business and travels to SA!

So, what are the learning points?

Be nice to customers whether they buy from you or not. They may not buy the first time, but they will remember how you treated them and may buy later, or recommend you to their friends. Don't leave money on the table because of your bad attitude, or bad customer service.