“I need new shocks put on my car” the woman said. So the order was written up and submitted it to the guys in the shop. Moments later a loud crash was heard as her car stopped when it hit the wall in the back of the shop, “This car has no brakes” the mechanic screamed. The woman was told repeatedly that brakes were MUCH more important to her safety than the shocks were. She calmly replied: “Oh, I know about the brakes, but I just want the shocks today.”
This was one time when the customer was NOT right.
On another occasion, a lady came in with a flat tire. She had managed to get the wheel off of the car and had walked to the shop with the tire. The service order was written up and the tire was taken to the shop for repair. Then the salesman asked the woman what kind of car she was driving so the mechanic would know how much air to put in the tire. The salesman looked up the correct air pressure and called out to the shop to tell them that the tire needed 32 pounds of air. When she heard that number the lady panicked and ran out to the shop and begged them not to put that much air in the tire. “I barely get here with the tire when it was empty,” she said, “if you put 32 pounds of air in it I'll never get it back to my car.”
Once again we can conclude that the customer is NOT always right.
Sometimes, the customer simply doesn't know what something needs to be called. Here are a few examples:
Statement Translation
- I need shockers for my car I need shock absorbers for my car
- I need a new muffin I need a muffler
- I need a raidy-waiter I need a radiator
And then there are do-hickeys, thing-a-ma-bobs and watch-a-ma-call-its, none of which are the proper names of any part on any car, however, the customer - we are told - is always right.
While it may be great customer service to treat the customer as if they are always right (and I do recommend it), the truth is that there are times when the customer is simply wrong.
