Non Happy customer? Are we in the wrong?

[mason]

Hi Just a quick story about a customer that I think is totally out of order.
Sold a pc to a customer two weeks ago, came in asking for a small form factor pc with a port for his tv and monitor. Also asked for windows 7 on there. (Didn’t mention any other software, which all our customers never do apart from the odd ones asking for office.) So that means our standard install of windows 7 with a.v, runtimes, flash adobe reader and so on (vlc, chrome, skype that’s all)

He works away all week and can only come in on Saturdays, he asked for a graphics card to be put in the machine as he wanted to use it a media centre pc aswell as a pc. We did that, built it the same week and waited (A week and a half ) for him to come and collect. The second Saturday came and he came in saying he doesn’t want a graphic card with 2 monitor support now, he wants one with 3 monitor support, Fine I managed to find a low profile one and ordered one in and just charged him an extra £10 because the card was £10 more. We now have a card in stock ready to sell if anyone wants one (his old one out of that system, lucky we kept the box otherwise we would have to sell it with no box or second hand)

We waited til the next Saturday for him to collect which he did, he came back an hour later with it saying the power cable always fails out and it goes off and on. Looked at it and the power cable was fine but he has pushed so hard on the power button it managed to jam it right in to the case. We repaired that while he wanted and showed it working 5 times (turned the pc on to the bios on and off 5 times).

Now its Sunday and I go to my pc to check my email to find a voice mail from a customer which is him and it goes like this in a very moody voice.
its "name" here, Am the guy that picked the pc up from you on uh Saturday am ABIT ****** OFF with all the stuff which is on this machine which i DID NOT ask for. I ASKED FOR WINDOWS 7 to be loaded FULL STOP, am bring this machine back to you, I WANT IT CLEANED WITH ONLY WINDOWS 7 ON IT. "Phone slams down"
Note the caps are the bits he has raised his voice and that is WORD BY WORD from what was said.
Now how would you lot deal with that?
This is how i will end up dealing with it, I will phone the customer and politely say, I have received his message and i will be happy to remove the unwanted software from the computer with no problems, But i don’t no wish for myself or my staff to be talked to like that if you want any more service from us., If you do wish to carry on talking to us like this then i will happy give you a full refund.

Does that sound bad to anyone?

Or should I be spoken to like that making £40 from a full system build? Are we here to be spoken to like that working with in the public sector?

I would love to hear anyone else’s point on this.

P.S if I can edit the file I may upload it for people to listen to with out any details of the person on there.

 

[Lebones337]

I agree, we definitely should not be talked to like that by any customer and I like the response that you have laid out. Im not sure why, but customers sometimes think that by getting angry they can get what they want more than if they just asked. In my opinion, And that is just what it is, I would hold off on giving him ultimatum of 'not talking to you like that or give him a refund" unless he starts acting like that again when comes in to drop the computer off. Who knows the day he was having or if he is just that type of person, but if you can just remove the programs and be done with it without any further fuse or him leaving a bad review maybe then thats the route I would go first. If all else fails then definitely let him know he can go somewhere else.

Let us know how it goes. Have a good week

 

[hmig89]

I assume by unwanted software he is referring to the flash av, flash reader, chrome? It maybe worth explains to him that those things are there to protect him and stop vulnerabilities. If he still wants to after that I would just do the unwanted software and leave it at that. I know it's hard and it very annoying to be spoken to like that. But just keep inside and keep it professional. Once you've removed the unwanted software, make the decision weather to keep him or cut ties. But since you sold him hardware I guess he will be coming back to you for support.

 

[mason]

I will keep you updated, I will also let the customer know that the programs we have installed are programs to help him with his computer and that taking them off can cause problems (flash, a.v and so on).

we offer 30 day warranty on new builds for software and 12months for hardware. I dont really want it coming back with in 30 days with a virus and our terms will state that if no a.v is on the computer then we can not offer the 30 day warranty because all systems leave our shop with some sort of a.v software to protect our terms.

I will be as nice as possible but if he decides to go off on one again i will have to tell him, talk to us like you would talk to anyone else or otherwise i will be happy to give a refund as i can sell the system on with no problems.

I am starting to hate working with the public they demand so much. Never have this problem with our business customers.

 

[katz]

I agree with the way you are handling this. I also install minimal software as you mentioned, av of course, usually libreoffice, maybe ff, and maybe a pic editing pgm. Maybe he was just having a bad day. Guess you will have to play this one by ear.

 

[NYJimbo]

Some customers believe that the installed software they see will slow down the machine. Many times people will ask me to remove all the "junk" that's slowing down their system but then they refer to programs that don't run until you actually click on them. Its possible someone said "All of those extras are gonna slow down your machine" or something.

 

[nesrinamb]

I really like the way you are handling it. Gotta be honest it's very impressive by this point most wold have just told him to go away and a shouting mach would have started. Keep calm and carry on.

 

[altrenda]

No profanity or name calling, no personal attacks , just an upset customer?

Shrug it off. Tell him what you told us, that it's your standard package of utilities that most customers want with their new computer, but you can remove them.

Remove everything. Tell him it has no AV, so there is no warranty against virus infection or malware. He is responsible to download and install programs for any files or websites that don't work correctly.


I wonder why you include Skype as part of your package, since most people don't use it and it's an annoyance when it starts when Windows starts.

 

[ohio_grad_06]

Just tell them that's the standard install to help him, otherwise you typically find if you don't install those things users have trouble and come back. You would be more than happy to remove the software, but that his warranty will cover ONLY hardware because you aren't responsible for infections especially if he's running no av, but you also can't control what they click on. I once had someone yell at my wife who many times takes calls. Needless to say they are fired as a client.

I agree that customers have rights but not putting up with people being rude. They need to have respect for you. If you want to be nice give the guy a chance but not sure I'd offer the refund unless you can resell. If the guy acts out again I would consider telling them hit the road.

 

[mason]

No profanity or name calling, no personal attacks , just an upset customer?

Shrug it off. Tell him what you told us, that it's your standard package of utilities that most customers want with their new computer, but you can remove them.

Remove everything. Tell him it has no AV, so there is no warranty against virus infection or malware. He is responsible to download and install programs for any files or websites that don't work correctly.


I wonder why you include Skype as part of your package, since most people don't use it and it's an annoyance when it starts when Windows starts.

About 75% of our customers use skype.

I will be nice and talk to him about it i just dont want him to think he can go around talking to me or anyone for that matter, i guess i will just have to bite my tongue and for the good of the business be as nice as possible.

Yes to someone elses post i can resell this pc at any time, so if he does start being rude in front of me i will "fire him as a customer" and tell him to never come back. (not what i want to do but no one can talk to me or my staff like that)

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[tom11011]

Just tell him that if he does decide to come back to the store, bring the receipt with the computer and everything that came with it. You are only willing to refund the computer and that's it, otherwise do not bother showing up as you have nothing further for him.

The bottom 20% of your customers will take up 80% of your time. You don't need him, don't want him. Dump his a$$ out the nearest windows and press on.

 

[cypress]

I agree, that the way you have composed yourself is good. I would just remove the software and leave it clean the way he wanted. Hopefully that is satisfactory to him.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Quick question: Does any of your sales documentation state what is going to be preinstalled? If not then you need to do so. So at least when they get bitchy you can point to the quote and remind them that they signed off on it.

 

[jbartlett323]

Yup, think you got this one under control!

Just wanted to add, if he continues on the "Windows 7 Only, FULL STOP" I wouold have half a mind to provide him exactly that. Nuke and pave, activate windows via phone, hand it to him. No Drivers, no A/V, no support software, nothing. let him figure out how to use the sneaker net to load his LAN drivers.... Now I said half a mind, don't know if I could ever actually bring myself to do that or not, but I'd sure be tempted!

 

[lsi]

Yup, think you got this one under control!

Just wanted to add, if he continues on the "Windows 7 Only, FULL STOP" I wouold have half a mind to provide him exactly that. Nuke and pave, activate windows via phone, hand it to him. No Drivers, no A/V, no support software, nothing. let him figure out how to use the sneaker net to load his LAN drivers.... Now I said half a mind, don't know if I could ever actually bring myself to do that or not, but I'd sure be tempted!

You beat me to it. I would have uninstalled all updates and device drivers (including video card drivers) and handed him the CDs and made him sign a paper acknowledging he only wants Windows 7 and nothing else and he understands what this means and the rest is in his hands to finish up.

 

[mraikes]

About 75% of our customers use skype. ...snipped....

Not to hijack, but is that level of Skype usage "UK thing"? Or something unique to your particular customer base?

It's not unusual for me to see Skype installed but the percentage of my customers actually using it is probably much less than 10%.

 

[jft135]

You beat me to it. I would have uninstalled all updates and device drivers (including video card drivers) and handed him the CDs and made him sign a paper acknowledging he only wants Windows 7 and nothing else and he understands what this means and the rest is in his hands to finish up.

As satisfying as that would be, probably not the best idea.

Not to hijack, but is that level of Skype usage "UK thing"? Or something unique to your particular customer base?

It's not unusual for me to see Skype installed but the percentage of my customers actually using it is probably much less than 10%.

Tons of my customers use Skype, but I'd never install it by default. It is such a pain to make it stop auto-starting without logging in/creating an account first.

 

[mason]

Haha I would love to do that, Flat install no drivers or anything. See how he likes it then but i know it would be more of a headache than anything.

I will just do what he asks but i will state to him that we are not here to be talked to like that. I am not letting him or anyone get away with that. May sound but but its how i work. Talk to us like crap and we will do the same back. We offer a service not a chance for people to give us crap. We have another computer shop 200 yards away so we know if any customers dont like our service they have other options, We do try 100% to please all our customers but NO ONE EVER can please everyone in business. Always someone out there that expects the world for little cost.

 

[mason]

o i forgot to say,

Would it be unprofessional if i uploaded the voice mail and blanked out his name?

I want to see if am over reactting or if he is being abit of a arse.

 

[neotechnet]

With all due respect I think you are over reacting a bit, some people shoot from the hip, that's how they are. If he cursed at you yes that is crossing the line but leaving an abrupt message is part of owning a store front and dealing with the public.

I'm willing to bet if you were doubly nice to him and just said hey we'll take care of it you would have a repeat customer. If you spoke to you like that everytime he did business with you that would be an issue to but if it's just once I would go out of my way to make him happy, that's just me.