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How not to treat a customer - jaybee (29th Jan 2014 - 18:47:05) Yesterday (Tuesday) I went shopping in Station Road. My first port of call was the Launderette were I wanted to have some curtains dry cleaned. Having loaded the machine I started to insert coins but then realised that although I had lots of coins the machine only accepted pound coins and I had only five. Leaving my belongings unattended I headed to the second shop I intended visitng and asked if they would let me have four pound coins in exchange for two, two pounds coin. The answer I got was no, I thought they were joking and asked again,once more the answer was no. After the third time of asking I realised they were serious and went to Hairlines were the girl happily let me have change. I returned to the launderette fed the machine and went back to the shop that had refused me change, to make some purchases and was then given a lecture on the lines of. We are not here to provide pounds for the Launderette. We are not a bank.. We are trying to run a business. Since H.S.B.C closed we have to go to Bordon for change etc.etc. If I had been a casual caller just trying to get change I would have understood, but I am a regular customer, possible once a week. I was also buying not just after change. What is probably more annoying is that over the years I have promoted this business and recommended them to family and friends I am not going to name and shame, you the reader wilI know who I mean. Despite this one set back I will continue to support locally owned business's with one exception

Re: How not to treat a customer - DML (30th Jan 2014 - 00:34:18) While I agree with the poster - pretty bad treatment of a regular customer and I don't blame you for being a bit fed up - not a lot of point putting it on here if nobody knows who it was .. I've no idea which shop you're talking about...

Re: How not to treat a customer - TB (30th Jan 2014 - 08:02:02) Jaycee, I totally agree with your comments. I also used to be a regular customer in the local shop that I think you were talking about and was also refused change, even when I purchased something from this shop. If I need to go in there now for a small item, I do not hesitate in handing over a tenner and getting £8 or £9 in change. Not good customer service at all. I know that it's hard to manage since the departure of HSBC but a little kindness goes a long way these days.

Re: How not to treat a customer - Nigel (30th Jan 2014 - 09:35:21) Unfortunately many readers (like myself) have no clue as to which shop the writer refers to, however, a little kindness goes a long way in good customer relations. Presumably most of the little shops in Liphook would recognise their loyal customers from the opportunists, and want to help the loyal people. Many years ago I wanted to make a purchase in a small shop where I then lived, of a few quid, and only had a cheque. Instead of making a sale, and waiving their policy of no cheques under £10, they refused my custom. In doing so they alienated a customer for good, even though the shop has since changed hands.

Re: How not to treat a customer - Mike G (30th Jan 2014 - 11:20:19) When I was a student, many moons ago but the last occasion I used a launderette, there would always be a change machine on the wall next to the soap dispensing machine. It meant that customers did not have to trouble local shopkeepers for change very often. If a local shop were continuously asked for change for use at a nearby business, I could understand it's reluctance to comply. But it should only result in a polite refusal rather than a tirade. It does seem a little odd, when small businesses are under so much pressure, that they see a couple of pound coins as more important than customer satisfaction. Maybe the launderette owner could do more and offer to offload his pound coins with the local businesses to save then a trip to Bordon. I suspect the trip to Bordon would be necessary anyway to pay in the vast quantities of folding money they had recieved for their goods & services.

Re: How not to treat a customer - Simon W (31st Jan 2014 - 14:16:41) Whilst i agree shops could give out some change what we have to realize is that if 10/20 people go to the launderette and don't have enough change they will go to the local shops asking for change. The small businesses that are asked for the change may not have enough £1/50 p's to give out. I've seen some occasions where the shops legitimately have no spare change and yet people argue about needing it for the machines. In that case they cannot give out anything. The shops do need to have enough for other customers too. What really needs to be said is about the launderette needing a new change machine or the owner exchanging the change from the machines with local businesses. This will allow the shops to have enough change for themselves and some to give out.

Re: How not to treat a customer - Sue (31st Jan 2014 - 19:16:27) Would it not be sensible for people who know they are going to use the laundrette to have enough change with them. Washing.........check Detergent........check Softener...........check Change...........check ?????

Re: How not to treat a customer - dave (1st Feb 2014 - 09:30:54) i second the last post! its not rocket science is it?

Re: How not to treat a customer - Donna (1st Feb 2014 - 11:25:48) I think the cost of a wash in here is So expensive!! It's always dirty in there and half the machines are out of order!! I would rather travel to Alton, the lady there is lovely and helpful too and it's Clean!!

Re: How not to treat a customer - JJ (1st Feb 2014 - 12:43:52) Give the poster a break here.. they did CHECK they had change, they were only a £1 coin short. I too, have no idea which shop you're talking about and, whilst I sympathise with your plight, I can see the shop's point of view if they are constantly being asked for change.. the difference is that they were wrong to lecture you. Not only wrong, but quite rude too. How about a sympathetic smile and a 'sorry, we get asked too much to cope with the requests'. If it were my business, I would purposefully have a bag of change for people coming in from the launderette and I'd ask them to make a small donation in a local charity box for the privilege or, if it really bugged me, put a sign on the door saying 'sorry, we don't give change'. There was no need to lecture you. Let me know so I don't go and shop there too, not because they refused change, but because they were just so rude.

Re: How not to treat a customer - Jaybee (1st Feb 2014 - 17:16:14) Dear All, I have read your comments with interest and comment as follows. Sue & Dave, I had lots of change what I was not aware of was that the machine accepted only pound coins.By the time I became aware of this I had locked the machine and inserted five coins , I needed three more Leaving my items I went to the next shop I planned to visit. I could as TB suggest pay by using a £20 note and obtain change that way.I wasn't that devious. I paid for my items with the exact amount of change. Mike when I went to uni we did not have cash dispensers. We still had 940 farthings to the pound. Washing was done in a coal fired boiler, a washing board and a mangle Another point I failed to mention was I offered to repay in pound coins later in the day. Now to look on the bright side, an onlooker might have viewed it as a JOBS WORTH sketch or even a scene from Only Fools & Horses with Dell Boy & Rodney DML & Nigel the above might give you a clue to the shop

Re: How not to treat a customer - Nigel (1st Feb 2014 - 18:33:46) I take Sue's point of launderette customers having the correct change, but when so many transactions now are made by plastic few of us have change. There may also be people taking a washing load in who only use the facility once in a blue moon, are they going to remember the charges from months previously? Both Mike and Simon made a succinct points about the launderette having a new change machine and swapping change for notes with other local shops. The latter doesn't cost the launderette anything, and helps the other shops.

Re: How not to treat a customer - james (2nd Feb 2014 - 01:33:22) I am a customer of the shop you are talking about and have been for 12 years.i have also asked for change.and they told me why they couldnt and I totally understand because every time a buisnes gets change they get charged and if they do this on a regular basis it costs them plus most people dont carry change so shops go through a lot in a day.i dont see why people need to put this on here.i still use the shop because they are one of the most helpful shops and some of the nices people I have met in the village since moving hear.i also agree that people should be taking it up with the laundry shops owners not other shops in the village

Re: How not to treat a customer - DML (2nd Feb 2014 - 01:50:04) Jaybee I never was good at cryptic puzzles and I still have no idea what shop you're talking about - whats the big secret anyway - why can't you just name it?

Re: How not to treat a customer - Dave (2nd Feb 2014 - 09:01:06) Jaybee - no wonder you have problems. Surely there were 960 farthings to the pound.

Re: How not to treat a customer - h (2nd Feb 2014 - 10:54:21) the last person makes a valid point. small businesses get charged for getting change from the bank so trudging home with bags of change when most people pay in stores with chip and pin is not on. even supermarkets do not like it . I have been refused my request for a small amount of change in stains bursts. I asked before purchasing my goods whether they could give change when they opened the till and they replied very negatively. that is a big store with a lot of change around. LOL auto correct FAIL. stains bursts = sainsburys !

Re: How not to treat a customer - Jaybee (2nd Feb 2014 - 17:58:48) Dave As Spike Milligan would say " it's the well known typeing error

Re: How not to treat a customer - Dave (2nd Feb 2014 - 18:12:10) I'm sorry words fail me what the hell has this shopkeeper done wrong? Try going to the bank in liphook (one bank now Lloyd's) out of hours and see how you get on! The shopkeeper is Not a bank! You knows you are visiting a laundrette be grown up and get change in advance it's not rocket science!,,,,!!!! End of story!

Re: How not to treat a customer - Jaybee (2nd Feb 2014 - 19:56:10) Dave If you had read earlier entry, you would have learned that a. I had change,but not the right coinage & b. I offered to replace the pound coins with pound coins once I had gone to the bank. The whole point of raising this issue in the first place was to highlight the unreasonable attitude to a regular customer who had promoted that particular business. To use your own phrase it does not take rocket science to understand that. End of story

Re: How not to treat a customer - Sue (5th Apr 2014 - 12:50:28) I somehow don't think all the story is portrayed here Jaybee? There is not a single mention of your behaviour, or your willingness on returning to the shop for the sole purpose to confront at very close quarters a member of that shop and give him a 'piece of your mind'. (and a bit more)You were pissed off - so you thought you would vent your anger here. Hope it made you feel better. All retail outlets in Station Road do their very best to accommodate customers with change - sometimes its just not possible. You obviously caught them low on change that day, or after a run of being asked the same questions. You were annoyed that you could not get what you wanted When I had a shop near the Launderette they provided me a change bag - for the very reasons you mention, that to refuse is negative on that business. The owners refused to allow this to be extended to any other business and since they no longer have an onsite operator its made it more difficult. As suggested by a number of people - contact the Launderette as this is the cause of the problem - if you cant manage to organise your own life and check what you need before you use the equipment. The responsibility is the individual not another Business!

Re: How not to treat a customer - Jaybee (6th Apr 2014 - 14:30:56) Sue With respect I suggest you read the initial thread again. I returned to the shop to make and did make a purchase it was then that I was given a lecture. Up to then I had accepted the situation. I had been given change in Hairlines. What probably annoyed me most was that over the years I have supported that business and recommended it to family and friends. Having been in business myself I am a great supporter of shopping locally. Local business's that treat customers well are S&L Electrical, Gables Newsagents, Altis Tools The Computer Shop in Midhurst Road to name but a few.

Re: How not to treat a customer - Ron (6th Apr 2014 - 21:47:25) The computer shop in Midhurst Road? You must be joking !

Re: How not to treat a customer - sue (6th Apr 2014 - 23:21:15) Jaybee Why didn't you just make your purchase from the business when you realised you needed extra pound coins? You only returned AFTER you got change from another. I fail to see what the point of this is? A shop did not have change and you accepted this (your words) and moved on to a shop much further up the street. You returned to make a purchase and was given a list of very valid reasons as to why change cant be handed out - which is what you seem not to like hearing. So you thought you would post under the heading of 'how not to treat a customer'.??!! Only you know the reason why?, It would not stop me using a local business because one person developed a grudge!! Storm in a T Cup - or Knickers in a twist (or not as the machine wont work without correct change)

Re: How not to treat a customer - Debbie (7th Apr 2014 - 11:44:44) I'm with you Ron on the computer shop! I paid £50 for a repair (the screen kept going blank) and although I was informed it had been fixed when I got it home it hadn't and when I took it back it he virtually said tough it was working when it left here. So never ever would I go back and when ever anybody asks for a recommendation although I'm unable to recommend anybody I certainly tell them who to avoid!

Re: How not to treat a customer - Beth (7th Apr 2014 - 14:10:02) This thread is very sad to see. It seems that if you take the time and energy to run a shop then you're fair game for a public slating. Consider for a moment your local shopkeepers. These are people who commit to their businesses, they work extremely hard, without exception, often sacrificing time with their families in order to specifically offer a service to the people of Liphook. You may have to bear in mind that they are in fact merely human, so, much like their customers, may very occasionally have a bad day. Unlike working for a large multinational, the takings in the till directly affects whether they can meet their bills at the end of the month, the buck stops with them. There is not a shopkeeper in Liphook who is not aware of just how important customer service is, and there are very few customers who really appreciate the service available to them in their local shops. Enough with the shop bashing, your village shopkeepers deserve respect and courtesy. It may sound excessive, but the occasional thank you goes a really long way, and is rarer than you might assume. There will always be occasions where there is a difference of opinion, or what the customer wants is an impossibility. I do however find that good manners on both sides normally helps. Thank you for providing us with local shops and services. You really are an asset to the village.

Re: How not to treat a customer - Nadine (7th Apr 2014 - 14:38:36) Thank you Beth, kind words for all us local shopkeepers. In return, I would like to thank the people of Liphook. Having had a business in another local town, it is very evident that the Liphook locals certainly do like to do business locally as much as they can. And we all appreciate that very much. x

Re: How not to treat a customer - Ad (7th Apr 2014 - 17:54:12) I manage a business in Station Road and whilst we do try to help people with change there are times when this is not possible. This has,in the past,been been the cause of much incredulity from people and in one instance I was accused by a lady of deliberatey not allowing her to have change so she could not do her washing! It seems that it is not always the merchants who are rude! As for the maligning of the computer shop in Midhurst Road I would just like to say that they have looked after both my business computer and my lap-top and have always been very efficient AND great to deal with and I have had no problems with them.

Re: How not to treat a customer - Sue (7th Apr 2014 - 19:12:11) Beth Great sentiment and words. Local Businesses have a passion for where they are - otherwise they would move on. The very best of Liphook and the worst in one thread. I know which I take more notice of!.

Re: How not to treat a customer - Diane (9th Apr 2014 - 19:58:39) Being a business in a village like Liphook is a tough job but not treating customers well means people talk and in Liphook there are many networks of friends and family. My husband was talking to an elderly friend who told him that he had called out an long established electrical firm to his fridge which had stopped working. He was told someone would call when they were passing. In the meantime the fridge started to work again. The engineer eventualy called looked at the back agreed it was working and left. A bill arrived for £60-00. When the gentleman in question went to the shop and complained that he thought it was a bit over the top he was met with a shrug of the shoulders.The manager later rang him and was extremley rude stating that he couldnt afford to send his kids to private school and he was perfectly within his rights to charge the callout fee(which he was). He has just lost 2 cutomers who have used this business for at least 40years and how many more will go when other friends have been told

Re: How not to treat a customer - Janet (9th Apr 2014 - 23:24:46) Shopkeepers of Liphook, take note. Your customers are your bread and butter. Don't upset them or they may never come back! Remember the two golden rules: 1. The customer is always right. 2. In case of doubt, refer to Rule 1.

Re: How not to treat a customer - Suzanne (10th Apr 2014 - 17:35:34) The retail outlet I work for in Alton won't let me open my till unless the customer makes a purchase. I get asked all the time to exchange notes for coins, but it is the shop's policy to refuse the customer's request. We get through a lot of coins and this would leave the till short if too many customers asked for change. I can sympathise with the shop the original poster dealt with, as long as they acted with courtesy.

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