Loading…
14
Serious question, I tried the 'ask for their name first' thing on a 70 year old guy and it actually worked
So I work the returns desk at a big box store and got screamed at for like 15 minutes last Tuesday over a $12.99 curtain rod that was missing the brackets. The guy was red in the face, calling me useless, the whole thing. Normally I would just scan the receipt and hand him store credit and move on. But this time I remembered a tip from a coworker named Dana, who told me to ask their name and use it before I explain anything about policy. I said 'Gary, I hear you, let me see what I can do.' He stopped mid sentence. I kid you not, he went from yelling to just sighing and telling me his wife sent him and he didn't want to go back home empty handed. I swapped the rod for a new one off the shelf, no receipt needed. He shook my hand on the way out and called me 'young man' like we were old buddies. Has anyone else tried the name thing or is that just some customer service urban legend?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
john64822d ago
Asking for a name is just a sales trick, plain and simple. It worked on Gary because he caught him off guard, not because there's some magic to first names. Try that same move on a guy who's been stewing in the parking lot for 20 minutes and he'll just snap "why do you need my name, are you writing a report?" The real reason Gary calmed down is you swapped the rod with no receipt, which is what he actually wanted. The name thing gets the credit, but the free replacement did the work. Next time someone yells at you, skip the name and just fix the problem, that's what they came for.
6