Discounted Service or Compromised Policy

Recently we had a customer call to say the wrong image was used on a sports order. As always, we offered to correct the order and asked the customer to drop off the original ordered item so it could be corrected. When the customer dropped off the item, the customer asked if there was any discount offered because of the 'inconvenience' of having the item corrected. We politely said no.

Upon returning home, the customer discussed the fact that we did not offer an inconvenience discount with their spouse, and called the studio to complain, saying they were disappointed with our customer service. The caller went on to say, "You'd think Scott Preston, who is running for city council, would be more aware of customer service." When I was made aware of the nature of the call , I personally called the customer and explained, that according to our policy, we do not offer inconvenience discounts, but we would gladly refund her order in full or correct the problem. I asked the customer if other retail stores like WalMart, Advanced Auto Parts etc. offered inconvenience discounts and the customer replied that they were national chains and not local. The implication was, that local stores should offer inconvenience discounts and national retailers are exempt.

The statement that caught my attention the most was linking customer service to running for city council. The inference one could draw from this is that inconvenience discounts should be issued if you are a candidate for office, even if it violates you business policy. Somehow that doesn't gel with me. I would not support a candidate who changes policy based on the whims of a few. I would vote for a candidate who sticks with sound business policy, even when it is not popular.

I have taken great efforts in drafting this blog to eliminate any reference to customer identity. The customer, by the way, elected to have the order corrected.