Don’t give in to unreasonable customers

In the last several months, we here at TheLocalBBB have spent more of our time dealing with unreasonable customers than with responsible businesses.

It prompts us to ask, “Where have common sense, courtesy and in many cases, reality, gone in relation to these complaints?”

Consider these situations, taken from actual cases in the last 30 days:

• A couple walks into a high-quality furniture store in Spokane. They find items they wish to purchase and the total price tag is just over $2,000. They let the sales associate know they will pay $1,600 for the items. Period. The associate gently lets them know the prices are as posted, and negotiation is not part of the sales process. The couple proceeds to get loud and demanding, and eventually threatens to call the Better Business Bureau.

• A guest checks into an historic hotel in Walla Walla for the night. He is ill and lets the clerk know he intends to get right to sleep. When he enters the room he finds no folding luggage rack, so he calls the desk and asks for one to be brought to his room. When the rack arrives an hour later, the guest is gone. He has left the hotel and checked into another hotel in the area. The following day he complains to the Better Business Bureau, asking for a full refund from the first hotel. He tells the BBB that he could not cope with the lack of a luggage table and the wait was too long. The hotel lost the room rental and had to clean the room.

• A woman schedules some extensive work on her car. Just hours before the appointment, she calls and cancels due to an emergency. Days later she calls back the auto shop in Spokane Valley to reschedule. They are quite busy and cannot fit her in for a week. She gets angry, loud and demanding. She files a formal complaint with the Better Business Bureau, asking for immediate service, because she deserves preferential treatment. Why? Who knows what logic drives that kind of conclusion.

Readers, what’s missing from these three scenarios?

Reasonableness, for starters.

When you find yourself in a situation that requires a resolution, look at the possibilities, toss out the one-sided, unreasonable ones, and move to a fair settlement. Remember, there are two sides to all these stories. The more reasonable you are, the faster you will find resolution.

Business owners, what do you do with these out-of-line requests? Unfortunately, many business owners give in to pressure and do whatever the customer wants, just to keep the peace. This is the wrong way to handle situations for which you are not at fault. All you do when you reward a tantrum is encourage that kind of customer to walk down the street and do the same thing again. You have the right to set limits and expect mature behavior from your clients.

Many businesses post the Better Business Bureau’s “Code of Business Ethics” in their workplace or pass it out to employees.

Here is an accompanying “Code of Consumer Ethics” to guide customers:

Education: Know your rights and responsibilities, comparison shop, read contracts, and ask questions before buying. Investigate offers that sound too good to be true.

Truthfulness: Don’t return used goods under the pretense that they’re damaged if they are not. This practice, as well as price-tag switching and shoplifting (or failure to report shoplifters) costs all consumers time and money.

Honesty: Exhibit the same kind of honesty you expect to receive from businesses. If a sales clerk makes a mistake in your favor, point it out as quickly as you would a mistake in the company’s favor.

Integrity: Live up to your obligations. Enter agreements in good faith, and pay your bills when they’re due. If you can’t, inform the merchant and explain why.

Courtesy: Recognize that store employees are individuals. Treat them as you wish to be treated.

Sensibility: Don’t make unreasonable demands. Respect the company’s right to limit services and products offered. Don’t expect to get something for nothing.

Please, business owners and managers — don’t give in to unreasonable individuals. You’re just planting the seeds for more of them in the future, and none of us need that.