The Golden Rule

Like I have mentioned numerous times before, I have worked in retail for a fairly significant amount of time.  I am in a managing position partly because of my ability to effectively handle conflict between employees and customers.  However, last Tuesday my abilities seemed to be lacking.

Any service industry will occasionally experience those customers that always want something for nothing.  We have a few customers that have been buying jewelry with our company for 20 years now, and for some unknown reason they can't adjust to the fact that we charge for repairs.  Twenty years ago, all repairs were simply "under warranty" and no charge was applied to the customer.  However, one day some bright person within the company realized that customers are expecting to pay for repairs and the added income could be a tremendous addition to the bottom line.  For almost 13 years now, we have charged for repairs and yet this particular customer still expects free service.

What he doesn't realize is we have an expert goldsmith making a significant wage while completing his repair work and the price of gold is at a record high!  So when I inform him that in order to solder the break in wife's bracelet, the charge will be $22, he totally disagrees with me.  He actually goes as far as saying that "he didn't even pay that for the bracelet!"  My answer (in my head of course) is BULLSHIT!  In fact, I researched his purchase history and he spent $2000 on this bracelet which is worth significantly more today with the price of gold.  So after my fairly pleasant conversation with this long-term customer, I told him that it was nice to see him and that I was looking forward to seeing him in a couple days when his repair was complete.  Good.  Great.  Situation avoided, or so I thought.

Image Source

The customer then turns to one of the only males I have in the store and asks if "he ever slaps me into shape!"  Really!? What's the date again?  Last time I checked we weren't living in 1950 and women no longer need to be at the authority of a man.  To top it all off, I am his boss, thank you very much!  Well of course, I couldn't let this obvious insult to my abilities go unnoticed, so I shot him a little glare.  He then proceeded to call me mean.  In four years, I have never (and I'm not exaggerating) had a customer call me mean.

So the lesson of the day is, when you would like a discount or even something for free, the best approach is to be nice to the person standing on the other side of the counter.  Take a minute to remember the golden rule, treat others as you wish to be treated.  I'll admit that there is a time and a place for anger and directness, but this surely wasn't it.  And never, ever insult the abilities of a strong-willed woman because we don't forget and next time nothing will be for free!