Sometimes The Customer Isn’t Right

E

Ernest Emerson

Joined
Apr 5, 1999
Messages
460
It’s Friday, we had a real good week and we were having a Taco Stand lunch at work to thank our employees for their good efforts.

Then, we got the phone call. “You’re knives are made like a piece of Chinese junk. I got two of your knives and sent one in to get it sharpened and you only sharpened one side.”

I listened to several more paragraphs of criticisms then heard the statement, “I tried to sharpen it in the first place for two hours because it wasn’t sharpened correctly when I first got it, that’s why I sent it in. You’re going to put a perfect 25 degree angle on each edge and it needs to be hair splitting sharp like my razor or I’m going to tell the world how shitty your knives are.”

I said, “I think I need to explain something to you.” And I told him that all Emerson Knives are only sharpened on one side.

“No they’re not, I’ve got another Emerson I bought a month ago and it’s sharpened on both sides.”

“Do you have the knife there to look at,” I asked?

“I sure do! Oh, this one’s fucked up too!”

I gave him another explanation, again.

“You’re gonna fix this knife for me or I’m gonna tell everyone about you. And I know a lot of people.”

I asked (Wayne) what do you do for a living? “Nothing, I’m retired.” I then said, “Wayne, I live on a Ranch, I’ve got Horses and livestock, I use one of my knives everyday for any number of things, and I don’t baby them and they are sharpened exactly the same way as yours at my shop. I’ve never broken one and none have ever failed to cut what needed cutting. And I never needed to shave with one.”

“If you don’t want the knives, please send them back and we’ll refund all your money.”

“I’m not sendin the knives back. I’ll just fix em so they’re the way they’re supposed to be, you smart ass.”

I said, look Wayne, I’ve offered what I can do. At this point I was through. “If you think I’m being a smart ass, I’m telling you you’re a long way from having my “smart ass” button being pushed but we’re moving in that direction. I think we’re through Wayne.”

“Your knives suck!”

“I guess they do.”

“Your customer service sucks.”

“I guess it does.”

In this case I don’t care.

The rest of the day is good.


Best Regards,

Ernest R. Emerson
 
Lol, I would think one would do a little research before a purchase, but nothing really surprises me anymore.
 
Thanks for this one,

I would have lost it on him around the half way point.
I would have however, asked him for pics of his 'fix' ;)
Cheers
 
Next time that happens, encourage him to start a hate thread in Feedback so we can give him a proper flaming!
 
Well you can't please everyone.

I had the opposite experience. Got two emersons now and im blown away. The quality is so obvious there is no way you can miss it. You handled that unreasonable and poor mannered customer just fine....imho.
 
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Well done. Having served the public for 40 years, I have found that sometimes the best thing you can do for your business, is to send such customers to the competition. :)
 
You should sell all the chisel grinds as "Factory Seconds" at half price. I'll take a Jungle CQC-8. :)
 
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