That old store manager told me to 'just smile and nod' at the angry ones. He was dead wrong.

I worked at a big box hardware store in Cleveland about 8 years ago. My manager, Jerry, a guy with 30 years in, told me to just smile and nod when customers got loud. Don't argue, don't explain, just take it. I tried that on a guy returning a half-used bag of concrete mix, no receipt, and he screamed at me for 10 minutes straight. That approach made him think I was ignoring him, so he escalated to corporate. Next time, I just told a customer straight up 'I can't take this back without a receipt, but here's a store credit anyway' and he calmed right down. Jerry's advice only works if the customer wants to vent, but most of them want a real answer. Has anyone else had a mentor give you advice that backfired like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_lucas13d ago

Wait, wasn't Jerry saying that mostly for the real crazies who just wanna yell at someone, not for someone who actually needed a solution? That concrete guy sounds like he just wanted a store credit and someone to actually talk to him.

jessicac2813d ago

Yeah exactly, "mostly for the real crazies" is a good way to put it lol. Jerry's whole thing was just a shortcut to avoid dealing with people, not actually helping anyone with a real complaint. That customer just wanted to be heard and get a little store credit, not a full-on refund or anything wild.