"Customers are always right" is one of the common sayings in the business world and the fact that it is sometimes used to defend the wrongdoing of some customers makes it annoying.
Every business owner started their business with the expectation of customers patronizing them and some customers go on misbehaving just because of the privileges they enjoy as customers which always been right sits on top of the list.
These mistakes of many customers have caused damage to business owners and even staff but this customer stubbornness of a thing wouldn't just make them agree to the fact that they are wrong.
I worked in a sales company for more than two years and I met a lot of customers with different attitudes.
Sometimes whenever I reminisce about my experience at the end of the day, I laugh and it is the other way around some days. Customers can make you frustrated, but what hurts the most is when the company picks their side just because they are heavy buyers.
It doesn't surprise me but makes me angry and I just get pissed for no reason because at the end of the day, it is either I bend to the company's will by satisfying the customer or quit the job.
The end of the month is always a tough time at work because it is a must that our distributors buy goods. To achieve that, we ensure that we have sold well and as well maintained a good relationship with the distributor throughout the month.
There was this particular distributor in Ketu who buys a lot, she was among our top five in Lagos. She had the money to invest but she was poor at handling business.
It all started when a particular mobile salesman started owing her for some stocks he took, it was a huge sum of money. The case was handed over to me and the first thing I did was stop her from giving goods to salespersons who had debts at her place.
She agreed to it and these debtors were forced to retrieve some of the money outside. I knew not all was outside, they have spent some money as well.
The woman was impressed by the recovery and immediately started giving goods to them without my consent. I didn't know what they told her but she did fall for it.
I took my mind off her place for a week since I thought that she wasn't giving goods out and the only sales she was making were the ones people walked in to buy.
The one week elapsed and it happened to be the end of the month. My immediate boss asked how things were and I explained everything. He wasn't pleased but we were hoping to get little order from her.
We went to her shop a few days before the end of the month only for her to bring out another huge debt list, I was shocked because it was more than what we were trying to recover.
Firstly, that route wasn't meant for me but my debt recovery record made them assign the distributor to me.
My boss asked how it happened and before I said anything, the woman said it was my fault. She told my boss that I haven't been coming to her place and I neglected my duty of recovering her debt.
My boss turned to me and asked why I haven't been coming and I gave my reasons but they were useless to him at that moment. He blamed me for neglecting my duty and I couldn't defend myself there because I knew what was at stake.
If she refuses to buy goods for that month, my boss will be in the hot seat with his superiors. I took the blame, apologized to her, and promised to retrieve the money for her.
I called the salespeople assigned to her and threatened them with their salary. She was impressed with the money that was raised the next day and bought the quantity we wanted from her.
After the month end pressure was over, my boss called me and we talked about what happened. He appreciated that I played along with the woman, she continued allowing them to owe her so we worked hard on getting another mega distributor to replace the woman.
Finally, my boss made her realize that she won't grow if things continued that way. She withdrew from the company because she couldn't bear the truth and it didn't affect us either.
Most times, many customers are wrong but proving them wrong might hinder a lot of things which include their patronage. We all are customers to someone as well and it would be great if we are very understanding and calm enough to deal with people who are offering us goods or services in exchange for money.