I once worked at a sub shop that prided itself on its speed of making sandwiches and delivering them. The in shop vibe was up-beat, fun and energetic, just as the managers wanted it to be. Their goal was for customers to come in and enjoy their time in the restaurant with happiness and positive attitudes.
One afternoon as I was taking orders a man ordered something that we could not do, (with corporate policies and rules) so I tried telling him it was not an option. The man must have been having a bad day because he ended up getting loud and angry real quick. My manager took notice and came over to help out 16 year old me, who had no training to deal with this dilemma. The man declared if he could not get what he wanted, he would leave and never come back to the establishment. So my manager let him walk out and didn’t seemed too concerned.
Later he gave me some advice when dealing with customers that want to create a scene and ruin the day for everyone else. He said to just let them go and lose the sale on that one because if he would have stayed, all of the other customers would not have enjoyed their experience and we would lose their future sales too.
I guess you can say the morale of this story in sales is sometimes it is better to lose a sale today so that you don’t lose possible sales in the future.
BoweryJE22
Your point it a good one, but sometimes it’s hard to know in the moment whether or not someones problem can be solved! Sometimes there is something more that can be done for a customer and you can still save them. It is definitely a fine line and sometimes a tough decision.
Loved this point. It is tough to be in situation like that when emotions are flying all over the place. Not causing a scene seemed to be the best option though.
This is an excellent point, it is probably one of the most difficult things to do for any business. Knowing when to say “no” to a customer and knowing that their business might hurt more than it helps is an skill I hope to develop.
Very good story and a good lesson, too. Sometimes saying “no” is just better for everyone!