Representatives for the most part don't realize that codes or whatever they document in the system can generally be read by customers. That receipt is a good example.

In training, I would always tell my students that you have to be professional in documenting your calls because the customers can read them. Verizon DSL customers can log into their portal page and go to Support and read everything the representative typed in the system during that call.

With Sprint, the same thing. Discount codes could sometimes have additional information that the reps could type in for reasons and it would display on the customers bill.

It's so funny to me - my whole professional career has consisted of dealing with clients of various types - first in retail and now in advertising. I rarely hesitate to SAY what I'm thinking about a client with my coworkers - but I never, ever, ever put it in writing. Why would I? It can only come back to hurt me. Though I suppose if you run a phone-based business it might be different. But seriously people - if a customer pisses you off, feel free to get it out of your system. Just don't do it in a place the damned customer himself can see!

Or your boss. Don't want those guys to see it either.

I would hate to see what they say about me. Or would I love to.

So, difficult customers get free pillows? Remind me to be a pest next time I'm mattress shopping.

At my job, we're encouraged to put comments about difficult customers in the notes. These aren't able to be seen by customers, but it helps further CSR's in knowing who the problems customers are. Case in point, we've got a guy who called once a week during the busy season (read, Oct-Jan) to tell us he ALWAYS got 20% off and free 3 day shipping.

Also, we're allowed to do discounts without asking managers to a certain point. Now, our accounting department does see those, and records how we're doing things. So, a lot of times, I'll toss somebody 10 or 15% off or upgrade shipping free just to make little things right. We need to put something in thats bs so the beancounters don't jack us.

Stop being so sensitive. You got your free pillows, and did it politely. The CSR was probably covering her butt because she's tired of going to the same manager and saying "Hey, they fubar'd another order." and the same manager groans and says "Give em some pillows and make sure those idiots in the warehouse get the damn thing out this time."

Because it happens all the time.

@B: It's really backwards in retail, but yeah, difficult customers usually get everything they want. The nice, polite customers who are reasonable get absolutely nothing. Only customers who whine like children get special favors. The more of a pain in the ass you are, the more they'll give you just to shut you up.

@sicknick: At my former job, we were also required to type notes about the interactions we had with customers. Customers could not see this, but it helped when you pulled up the order to see what transpired between the CSR and the customer. We noted dates and times when we spoke with the customer to cover ourselves. The best was when customers would call up irate that no one had called them to schedule delivery, and I'd say, "Well, it shows here in the notes that we called last Thursday and left a message with your husband." You always knew there was going to be hell to pay.

And FWIW, one person's "reasonable" is another person's "difficult". I mean, waiting another week for a mattress is a pretty minor inconvenience, but some people act like Santa Claus forgot them on Christmas Day.

@sicknick: Summed up in the last paragraph beautifully.

@Zulujines:

At one CSR job I had, customers couldn't see what we wrote, but we still were careful and we used the word "irate" a lot as code. Pissy customers were easy to see in their notes: "Customer is very irate. Refund issued."

@Zulujines: If he had to miss work to be home for the delivery, it might be more than a "minor inconvenience".

@sicknick: The tone of his letter doesn't imply him being overly sensitive so much as bemusement.

Regarding your first paragraph... I HATE customers who consistently say "they ALWAYS make that exception for me, because I'm an old/loyal customer." It's call an exception for that reason.

Lets see spend $500 on a matress and lose another $100 on lost work waiting for nothing. Then spend another $100 on missed work to wait a second time. Lets see free pillows wow that makes up for it. Just shut up op because the csr reps posting say get over it. I guess some unemployment office worker will be typing difficult on your files when your company goes out of business because they can't set up a simple delivery. But hey thoose free pillows will see you through. Thanks for an insight into what you csrs think. Customers are such a pain.@ScarletsWalk:

When I worked at Pizza Hut many years back we could and would enter all kinds of details about pissy customers in the system. It was remarkably helpful to know who would lie about having "50% coupons" and then not be able to produce them at the time of delivery. It was also pretty funny the number of people who swore they would "never call us again." My old manager Reggie would frequently mention this to those callers with hilarious results. Once he made a lady apologize for calling him a F*&^ing Bastard, which of course, he had notated in the system.

As an aside, we were a VERY profitable store with great customer service, fast delivery drivers, etc. We just didn't take bullshit from bad customers. We would go out of our way for good customers (such as delivering them pizzas even when we were just minutes from closing) but boy if you pissed of Reggie you were in trouble. Fun times.

@Zulujines:

Nope, Santa Claus didn't forget them on Christmas Day. It really was the entitlement fairy.

I had a delivery missed the scheduled delivery day. The driver died on the job. Yea, really. Drop dead on the job. Obituary confirmed his death.

The delivery was late.

Stuff happens.

This is how I met the customer from hell who actually believed the entitlement fairy had passed her by.

Having worked in customer service myself, i wish it were not so "Us vs. Them". I always tried my best, but there always seemed to be a tiny percentage of customers who seemed to live to be nasty and kvetch.

@B: I can be a complete dick to people on the phone. Hope this means I can get a free mattres (keep the last 's' for savings···yech)

When I was a receptionist at a salon, we could enter notes on clients. Usually it was the mix for their preferred haircolouring, if they liked one product more than another or other mundane things, but then there was Code DNB. If I entered that in a client's notes, there was no way in hell they'd get an appointment at our salon -- Do Not Book was reserved for people who gave a whole new meaning to problematic, or who had made the mistake of verbally abusing my staff. I'm fairly sure there was no way for the client to see their notes, but we went with DNB instead of the alternate suggestion of 'raging bitchstick' just in case.

@JulesNoctambule: I'd be curious what excuse was given to the DNB customer when they tried to make an appointment. Or were they told flat out they were banned?

@sicknick: You're reading an awful lot into one line on a receipt. It's fine that you have a system at work where you fudge complaints about the customers to keep the beancounters happy, but unless you work for 1800mattress.com, this does not mean that they work the same way.

I've worked in places where everything was viewable by the customer, but I'm not going to apply my experience to this story, either.

Bottom line: this is unprofessional behavior from 1800mattress.com. Now you can decide if you want to deal with them or not, and you can go in knowing you'll need to call to confirm the delivery.

@dakotad555: Isn't that what you're supposed to do anyways? If a place is open until 11 & I want a pizza at 10:50, make my damn pizza. If you want to close at 10:50, say you close at 10:50.

We would go out of our way for good customers (such as delivering them pizzas even when we were just minutes from closing)

@B: Difficult customers get crappy free pillows and don't be too difficult too early or you might get a mattress with extra bedbugs. ;o)

@sicknick: Completely agree. When I worked at a bank and someone got some REALLY BS overdraft charge, I'd go tell my manager that they were being difficult with me. You're only allowed so many returns, but if you make them think that the customer is threatening or arguing, they'll let it slide. Especially my spineless 50 year old virgin manager.

So yeah, relax...you got free shit and your mattress. Mistakes happen. Plus, she just said "cust being difficult". Not "customer was a rude jackass".

@invisiblenemies:

You sound like one of those jerks that wait til minutes before closing and order the most complex things on the menu at every restaurant you go to. I hope you like the 'special ingredient' for being an ass.

@BluePlastic: They'd be told it was a two month wait for their stylist. Or that the desk doesn't know X stylist upcoming schedule and they'll have to call her back - and never do. The good thing about any pain in the butt people is they get frustrated and want things quickly so they'll just get huffy and find a new salon.

@Corporate-Shill: I certainly wouldn't want whatever the dead driver was sending your way.

@frodolives35: You I like.

@TheSpatulaOfLove: Second that. You never worked retail/restaurant I take it? I hated those bastards that came in at the last minute, my till already counted and ready to leave, wanting to look at crap for 15 minutes and not buy anything. We just left a few minutes early and left people in the department most of the time, I'd rather be driving home than helping you look at $39 stereos that you're not going to buy.

Even when you know your comments are generally not posted publicly, most corporations advise you to assume the customer can read your notes. Case in point: I worked at a large computer manufacturer doing tech support. Even though a customer can not typically read my internal notes, if they bring a lawsuit against us, all of the notes must be presented to the court. "Cust being difficult" doesn't generally help a court case.

@christoj879: In any properly-run non-24-hour retail business, "closing time" is not when everybody goes home -- it's when the doors are locked and no more customers are allowed in. After that, tills are counted, cleanup (in both literal and figurative senses) is done, etc.. _Then_ everybody goes home. It's part of the closing shift's regular duties/hours.

This is a no brainer. Customer service has to justify to the boss why they give out so many free pillows. By writing that you've been difficult, they're covered. If they say you were polite and nice, no free pillows for you.

The OP was "being difficult". He got a human on the phone who quickly resolved his problem in a polite manner and he wanted free gifts??

I always seem to get stuck behind people like this at the rental car return lane. "Well, we had this car for two weeks and the entire time the ashtray light did not work. I think I should get a 50% discount"

@bdgbill:
He waited around through the whole promised delivery period with no delivery. Is that point lost on you?

@dakotad555: Several years ago I got pissy with Jiffy Lube after they (wow!) did an awful job changing the oil in my car and told them I was never going back. Then, a few months later, my boyfriend takes my car back to the same Jiffy Lube. You have to appreciate the sentiment of doing me a favor, but I felt embarrassed that my car showed up again.

@invisiblenemies: My friend used to work at Toys R Us, and every night there were people hanging out even after the announcement that they were closed. Not cool, especially for those of us waiting in the parking lot for their friends to get off work. :[

I once wrote a few "choice" words in the lab report I was sending up to the ICU nurses... I forgot to put the "@" sign in front of them to make them private.

I now work for a state health department.

@christoj879: I think businesses need to post cut off times in addition to closing times. Closing time is 11pm but no new customers or orders after 10:30pm.

@ouiserboudreaux: Yeah, but then you risk bad word of mouth when they tell everyone you have poor customer service. I would think that it'd be better to have someone complaining about being banned (and have people wondering what they did to get banned) then to have someone complaining that the salon never has their schedules straight and never calls people back.

@Corporate-Shill: Did the customer know the driver had died? What happened?

@Rectilinear Propagation: I like that idea a lot!

@B: According to the OP it isn't that hard to be considered a difficult customer anyway.

@Ariella Kadosh: Sad but true...It's the entitlement fairy :)

I wish i had my special Anti-Entitlement Shotgun to kill it dead ^^

@JulesNoctambule: ha ha ha ha

@Rectilinear Propagation: That's an interesting idea....

Create a wall poster, with photos of banned people, and 1-2 words of why banned...

@Rectilinear Propagation: I also like that idea. We would have done that, but since we were a phone order & walk in only business (no seating in the store) it's not like we could put out a sign. We certainly DID tell people we were not accepting any new orders at about 10-15 minutes before closing, unless they were one of our good customers in which case we would still deliver to them.

@invisiblenemies: You sound like the kind of guy who also thinks that tipping the delivery guy isn't necessary because 'they get paid by the hour.' If you want your pizza delivered 10 minutes before closing, try not antagonizing the people who will be making it for you.

@bdgbill: I'd say sitting around for four hours waiting for a delivery that never comes is a justifiably frustrating experience. He's completely in the right for wanting some kind of small restitution.

@bdgbill: The company knew there was a problem. They knew they weren't going to be able to deliver on the correct date. Why the hell didn't they just call and say, "Hey don't bother sitting at home on your ass for four hours, because we won't be showing up."?

Like most people, I've got a full schedule, and having to fit in four hours can be a real PITA. If they had called and rescheduled, sure the guy doesn't necessarily deserve anything. But to not even bother to call, that's just rude.

@TheSpatulaOfLove: No, not at all. However, what I order is irrelevant. The issue here is low level hourly employees wanting to skip out of work a few minutes early. From a corporate standpoint and as a small business owner, that is time theft. What's the harm in bumping the last customer of the night? Well, multiply the potential profitability by the total amount of Pizza Hut franchises in the country...That's a lot of money lost in 10 minutes.

@christoj879: Simply put, you do not belong in any type of sales based environment. In sales, your biggest motivator should be money. If it is not, you are in the wrong business.

I'd rather be driving home than helping you look at $39 stereos that you're not going to buy.

@me and the sysop: There's a big difference between closing as clearly posted hours state & closing early.

@dakotad555: I tip the delivery guy very well if & only if they deliver my food in a timely fashion. That's their only job. It's not that hard.

To take tipping one step farther, I am growing quite tired of hearing others justify the need for tips for low level wait staff. "They live on tips", I hear. Well, find another job, I say.