Miscommunication

When I arrived at work this morning I found a message from Boss with what seemed like an easy task. A customer bought a set (on Sunday) but needed one item that we were out of in order to complete the set. I needed to call the office (now that it was Monday morning) to see if we could get the item soon. I called and got a "no" because the warehouse was out of the item. I then called all the stores within driving distance and they, also, were out of the item.

I called the customer and left a message that we were trying to get the item but it might take 2~4 weeks. Office knows we need the item; customer knows we'll call her when we get the item. The end, right? Of course not; things are rarely that easy.

The lady called back, FURIOUS. "I have this set but I'm missing the once piece and what am I supposed to do with it now?? I want the missing piece NOW and YOU WILL GET IT FOR ME!"

"We will get it for you, but it might take 2~4 weeks because our warehouse is currently out of stock so we have to wait for it to be ordered from {a far away state} and sent to the warehouse and then for it to be delivered to our store."

"THAT'S UNACCEPTABLE! I WANT IT NOW. You need to overnight it since you're out of it and you sold me the set anyway." (First of all, like the item is vital to her living another day or something; secondly, some people already have this part so they don't buy it with the set.)

"That's not how our system works. We'll get it for you as soon as possible, but it's not going to be today."

"WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?? I have the set but I'm MISSING ONE PIECE. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH IT NOW?"

I began to lose patience with the woman, but saw the potential for further problems from her. I very carefully told her what she could do with it: "Well, you can either wait a few weeks or return the set."

Then she hung up on me.

I called the office back and expressed the urgency of our needing the item. Turns out there are still money issues which means our check has to arrive at the manufacturer before they'll ship the item. Great. Not that the customer needs to know that part of the story, but it adds time to getting the item.

A few minutes later the customer's mother called (who the set was actually for, the middle-aged daughter just bought it for her). She was a little more polite, but nevertheless I had to repeat myself. The mother insisted, "We really need the set-completer. Can't you order it for us?"

"Of course. It HAS been ordered. However, it might take 2~4 weeks for it to arrive."

"But we REALLY need it!"

"I'm sorry. I'd be glad to give you your money back for the set if waiting the 2~4 weeks is too long for you. Really, I wish there was something more I could do for you. But your only options at this point are to wait or return the set."

"OK." {Big sigh} "Thank you."

The end? OF COURSE NOT!

A few hours later the VP's assistant called to ask me why we weren't making the customer happy by getting the item for her. !!!!! Yeah, I've tried. I explained to that person (who's in a completely different part of the office than the person I spoke with earlier) what I had tried and if he could get the item any quicker then do it.

All this and a busier day than normal, along with extremely weird and difficult customers ALL DAY.

I finally found out that the whole problem would not have happened if LAG hadn't PROMISED the item the next day. When I told the customer it would be 2~4 weeks the lady was (understandably?) upset. I still don't understand what she expected me to do......I can't snap my fingers and make it appear. I NEVER promise anything. I give predictions and probabilities, but NEVER promises unless the item is IN MY HANDS. I about killed LAG for the problems she caused me. But of course she doesn't care.

For the time being the customer has decided to wait while we rush the part. Now that the VP is involved they're either going to ship it directly to our store from the manufacturer, or possibly transfer it in from a store in a neighboring state. It will most likely arrive in 3~5 days, which makes it look like I wasn't trying very hard by my 2~4 weeks estimate. But that's all I have the power to do. The VP can do it a lot faster.