Comments on: Radio Shack employee charged with punching customer

A Radio Shack employee in Wisconsin got into an altercation with a customer who was trying to return a product. He faces battery charges--and not the kind Radio Shack sells.

[mdarmocida]

What a bunch of retail crybabies. I've been on both sides of that counter and can attest that customers can often get unreasonable and out of hand. However, when a customer asks for a manager, that gets them off my case. This employee could have easily handed the customer over to his manager and be done with it. Instead, he chose to assault the customer. My take, is that this isn't the first time the employee drove customer's to ask for management and he felt he had nothing to loose. We'll let the jury decide, but I think this employee was way out of line and if found guilty should receive fully penalty under the law.

[bluesman54]

One should never hate. It is a four letter word that should never be used. Dislike...extremely dislike is a much better term to use.

I've been in the service industry all of my life. And I extremely dislike dealing with many customers that I have waited on and for many different reasons. But there are a lot of wonderful people (the majority) out there that I truly enjoy servicing. Who ever is at fault here in this situation is irrelavant. A true proffesional would never under no circumstances allow him or herself to hit another over any situation.

There are always other means of dealing with beligerent unaccommodating customers. If you are getting to the point to where you feel like you want to hit someone (I have been there) walk away and get a manager or supervisor...anyone else to take over dealing with that customer. Dismiss yourself from having to deal with that person as soon as you possibly can and move on.

In the service industry of any kind you have to accept the fact that there are and always will be unpleasant people that you are going to have to deal with. Your job is to do the best that you can to make them feel that they are right even when they are totally wrong. I know it sucks but if you can't and are not will to do that you are in the wrong business and should be looking for another profession.

A true professional's goal is to have their customer walking out happy and wanting to return. That is the core to the success of any successful business if you ask me.

A fact of life in the service industry and any business for that matter is that there are some very miserable people out there who have nothing else better to do but to complain about nothing!!! Believe me I deal with them on a daily basis. I think the person who hit the other here (either if the situation warranted it or not) will definetly be at fault in the court of law and his company could possibly be facing a law suit to boot. Who knows maybe this customer who got hit someway, somehow planned this all out. We all really don't have enough detailed information to truly come out with a verdict one way the other. But like in the auto insurance buisness...it's who hits who that is at fault 99% of the time under all circumstances right or wrong.

To those who say they hate people...??? You are definitely in the wrong business! And let's not forget the fact that there are many, many people who work in establishments that are very inexperienced at what they are hired to do. Often and especially in these times we are facing now companies will not pay enough to have true professionals work in their stores...whatever business it may be.

"Happiness is the only good and the way to be happy is to make others so." ~PeAcE~

[sailorz3]

I used to work in a cd store and one day a blind kid and his mother walked into the store, I went up to them and greeted them and asked if I could be of any service (as I did with every customer) The boy (he was 12 ish) said he wanted the adult contemporary section and I asked if he was looking for some one in particular. He stated that I was an idiot and of course he was not interested in adult comtemporary, and that he would find what he wanted on his own. Confused by his rudeness (his mother was right there) I said if you need anything I just ask.
Then I went back to stocking cds, the boy ended up right next to me (in the country section no less) and started talking to his mother about what a stupid ***** I was and that nobody in their right mind would want to get something from the adult contemporary section, to wich his mother (whom I could have touched she was so close to me) said "yes, that girl was stupid dear".....
The left and didn't buy anything but...to be made fun of by a blind kid and his very seeing mother...I don't know what kind of emotions to show for that one

[Observer999]

My brother owns a shoe store. He has had two separate instances where irate customers have actually driven their vehicles through the front of his store. Incredible but true. One wanted a cash refund on a credit card purchase clearly marked "final sale no refunds", the other wanted to return a pair of shoes that had obviously been worn several times and were in really bad shape (scuffed, worn sole and heel) because he "changed his mind". They wanted to punctuate the fact that they were not satisfied with my brother's response to their demands, I suppose. He installed concrete bollards in front of his store - at his own expense - after a long drawn-out argument with the strip mall owner. Nobody was hurt in either occurrence, but he wasn't going to take any chances. Being yelled at, being spit on, having shoes thrown at him, being insulted, having his storefront spray painted with obscene graffiti - all in the line of duty. Attempted motor vehicle assault? Twice? Some people have issues.

[harkertheshark]

LOL roflol, There are too many incedents to list here. I would run out of room, and I work in a radioshack. There some things you learn about the human race when you work in retail. My advice is, if you want to continue liking people, including family members, DO NOT Work for a retail outlet. I used to really enjoy helping customers, but since 87% of them are trying to rip off the store, and 95% of them think that just because the store is a well know franchise, they some how we magically have all this money to give them for free. I have had my share of good people come in here, and they are rare and precious gems, but as for the rest, something happens when they walk through that door, it's like everyone loses their integrity and kindness, including my own family. Thats another story for another time!

[Bill F.]

Well as interesting as all of these customer horror stories are, the facts of the case are simple. Employee punched customer. Employee will be fired. Customer will sue whomever they want to.
I worked for Blockbuster for a time and found that a kind word and good attitude will usually stop 99% of the customers from hell in their tracks. The other 1%? Follow the procedures and use good judgement. I've had customers turn on the 'bad customer' and tell them to shut up and get out of the store when they act like fools. I was threatened once, told the guy to 'leave the store'. He said he'd be waiting when I left, I said if he was, the police would be there as well. I had one 'ace' use the "N" word to a co-worker. I stop the co-worker from going after the customer then told the 'gentlemen' to leave and never ever come back. YOu don't threaten, you always speak respectfully to people.

Before they instituted their 'never late' policy I used to give people credit for being a reasonable amount of late. Mistakes happen. Did their mistake cost the company money? No. Sometimes I'd take off half the late fee. Sometimes I'd charge them the late fee but give them a free rental. YOu can do things in the name of customer service and earn nothing but respect and good will from your employees. Which is finally the point. How can you be in customer service if you think all of your customers are idiots? If you do, you are in the wrong line of work. And yes, there ARE plenty of idiots in this world, thats why YOU have a job, you have to help them. Some of the worst customers we had at that store became our best customers and they came in with a smile on their faces. Only YOU can turn that frown upside down.

[redturtle1983]

I work at RadioShack and I have good customer experiences every day the bad ones are rare only about once a month or less some bad experiences are going to happen thats something you figure out early on I have been in customer service for six years I have been called dumb,incompetent,bad attitude but most of the time it is because I will not bend or completely break the rules for them ten times more often I have been called Courteous friendly knowledgeable and a good salesman I have years of training in the sales and customer service most of it I had to go out of my way to learn I payed money out of my own pocket for training that most wouldn't and I still get called stupid by customers you can't please them all

[GuRobb]

Pay some of your own money to add a period key to your computer.

[papascaught]

one more sad little comment:
maybe it is time to shop online

[Worf101]

Well, I don't doubt that retail sales in America is a nightmare on any level. I agree, Americans have a ridiculous sense of entitlement. They not only expect everything they desire to be instantaneously at their fingertips, but they expect it cheap and fully warranteed against THEIR stupidity. I couldn't work retail for one week. On the other side of the coin I'm a self taught puter builder. I can't tell you how many times I stood shivering in CompUSA while some PFK lied through his teeth as he sold some yokels, out of date, overpriced, underpowered crap that they could've gotten online for a third the price. So let's not think this sword only cuts one way.

Da Worfster

[johnsonny]

i worked in kmart as a greeter for 3 months, and believe me, i've seen angry, obnoxious, paranoid, and just plain stupid customers. it's enough to make you wanna lose your faith in humanity. if the buzzer sounded and i had to check a package, the response"do i look like a thief to you?what is a thief supposed to look like? after 3 months of l
'lovely
' customers, i quit.

[Cristoefur]

I have worked in retail for many years and have been the consumer. So I have seen both sides of this debate. In my experience the bottom line is........ It doesn't matter if you work for Microsoft or McDonalds, company's are going to side with the consumer 99.99% of the time to save face. The old saying in retail is if a consumer has a good experience they might tell 1 person, it they have a bad experience they will tell 10 people. Most company's don't like bad publicity and will usually side with the consumer even if they know the consumer is wrong. In retail customer satisfaction is an absolute. Its the 5 or 10% of the consumer public that exploit this to their advantage that make all consumers look like idiots..... It kills me, but its true it you yell and curse enough your going to get your way...... well at least 99.99% of the time so the odds are in the idiot consumers favor.........

These comments truly reflect the overall ?bad? attitudes and demeanors of most retail employees that claim to provide ?customer service?.

I?ve been to many Radio Shack retail stores and found most of the employees to be rude, arrogant and generally uneducated about the products that they sell.

The attitude that the customer is never right is a clear sign that they?ve picked the WRONG profession.

Maybe instead of trying to show the customer how superior you THINK your knowledge is, you could try to show the customer how superior your customer service is.
Maybe then you?d have less irate customers to begin with.

[Syzzygy]

While I don't believe this article tells the whole story, no one deserves to be punched. On the other hand, even customer service people deserve to be treated with respect.

It's to bad that the majority of people seem to have been taught that if you make waves you will get what you want even though you don't deserve it. From my point of view, stealing by any other name is still theft.

What ever happened to honesty.

[SirCatlord]

I had something like that, At a RadioShack, almost happen to me a few years ago.
The short version is that I buy alot of extra parts for projects, used the ones I need and return the ones I don't need. I keep the receits, don't detroy the orginal packaging, keep the orginal packing materials and the parts are in good working order.

In the years of radio shack shopping, I have personaly spent thousands of dollars.
Well, one day, the clerk is like: We heard about you and your returning of parts. We are going to refuse to refund your money. Plus you can not return this type of part (I think it was a recharible battery).
Me: Well, if you can't return a type of part, it needs to be posted on the wall , along with any other hidden company policies. I want to speak with the management. The clerk refused to get the manager and refused to refund the items. I ended up going to a different store and complaining to the district manager.

Best Buy is no winners either. The salespeople tell you anything to get you to buy the product. When it comes to returns, there are pages of fine print.

Now, to cover your own butt: Have a return checklist of questions to ask before you buy: How long is the return policy on this item? If I pay by cash, do you refund for cash ? Or is it store credit only ? Or do you give a check if the amount exceeds XXXXXX value ( I had that happen before. Buy a $500 item and they had to mail me a check for the refund) Do you have a restocking fee (some are as high as 25%) ? Get the names of the clerks and salepeople that you talk to and make them libable for the verbial promises they give. Don't fall for a higher managment tellign you that so&so clerk can't do that.

Oh, And beware of sealed packages as well. Best Buys has a habbit of somehow selling boxes with either bricks or nothing in it. I got hold of a manager once and he said that Best Buy does not have a Heat-Shrink packing machine. A year later, I got a photograph of one in the back room. (go-go-gaget-camera phone )

[lovemycrew]

I know that people CAN be jerks. On the customer end, you have to realize how frustrating it is to deal with people that companies employ who are not properly equipped for the job. Tech support is one of the most frustrating areas for me. So many companies now employ people who just follow a script and have no real knowledge of the product. After sitting on the phone waiting for a technician for a long time, the customer is already frustrated and then reaches someone of limited ability to deal with the issue. Great periods of time are often wasted following up issues that go nowhere due to the technician's lack of knowledge. Now, to make the issue even worse, many of the companies are outsourcing to India where a script is followed, the ability to speak and understand English is limited, and the accent is so thick that one has to ask the representative to repeat themselves frequently. Though these people probably do not realize it, they frequently come across as being rude because they often offer very curt responses to your inquiries, particularly when you try to expand beyond the limits of what is offered on their script in order to resolve your problem. Sadly, many companies no longer realize the value of customer service. They seem to believe that cutting costs in that area will produce a greater profit.

On the other hand, it is refreshing when one gets a polite, understanding person on the other end who makes the customer feel that the most important thing at the moment is resolving the customer's problem, frequently a problem caused by the company or a product sold by the company. It is such a rarity that it REALLY stands out.

Perhaps the real issue here is that we have become a rather selfish society and have abandoned the principles of true civility.