How would you guys deal with this situation?

JOCCO

Well-known Member
Someone you need to meet with and they are on there cell phone constantly, There secatary/co worker pops in and inturups. They are on there computer (ipad, we pad, who pad etc.) Its like you cant get the guys attention. I DID SOMETHING DIFFERENT FOR ME: GOT UP AND WALKED OUT, HE/THEY LOST SOME BUISNESS I DON'T THINK IT EVEN REGISTERED. For me if I meet with someone I will give them 100% attention (not calls or texts). Just looking for imput as this does seem to be the new normal!!!!
 
I would do the same.. A week befor Christmas
My wife while I was driving She was tex"ting
on her phone, ( NONE STOP) We were 2 miles from
home on the way to her parents house. I asked
the same question twice ( Did We forget
anything?)
She never stopped texting so I stopped the car
& Walked Home.

I don"t put up with that B/S........
 
Jocco,I was doing a deal with a guy worth about 4 thousand cash to him and he kept interupting our phone call,finally he said to me just a moment and I waited for several minutes,then I hung up and decided I would not deal with him.
He realized his error and came directly to my office,apologized and we did make a deal. His wife worked in the building and that may have been a factor too.I realize I wasn't his only customer and he was busy..but,there comes a time when you need someone's undivided attention..if he is a busy guy,forgive him,if he is a loud mouth ego forget him
 
Yep,delusions of grandeur. They'll come down off their high horse if enough customers walk out on'em.
 
No way would I deal with someone like that, out the door, if he is that busy he must not need the extra business.
 
IF I have an appt and that happens theyve lost my buisness. if i walk in unanounced i try to overlook it. you did right.
 
This past summer I stopped at the local NAPA store to get a belt. The whole time I was there the young man behind the counter was texting a friend while waiting on me. I decided if I as a customer standing there wasn't more important than texting to a buddy about going out tonight, they didn't need my business anymore. I haven't been back...
 
I would have done one more thing that would have drove him nuts, send him an e-mail stating that you enjoyed the time in his office and that it gave enough time to reply to his competitor and awarded him the work while there.
 
If I'm talking with some one 'in person',the phone call will wait,I will call them back.Same goes for "call waiting".I think its rude to interupt a conversation with a cell phone.
 
I would bet that this fellow is under thirty??? They grew up with all this technology and most have a small dose of ADD.

Watch the next time you go out to eat. The younger people will be setting at a table and Texting other people. They will not even be talking to the people their are there with. Looks like a bunch of Zombies setting there.

My kids do this a little but the grand kids are real bad about texting. I looked at our phone bill(we have a big plan thru the trucking business. It has all of my sons and their families on it) Some of the grand kids send over 3500 texts each month. I had 25 for the month.

I do text serial numbers and load numbers. There is less chance to miss understand them. I text myself with the feed load numbers for the week when I drive for the boys. I then have them in my cell phone.
 
Jocco, you're not the only one peeved by this. I constantly have people I work with do the same thing. Irks me to no end but I think the best thing to do is lead by example. If I'm in a conversation or meeting and my cell phone rings because I forgot to put it on vibrate, I ignore it and let it go to VM. I will then put it on vibrate. People ask me "aren't you going to answer that?" I simply tell them "no."

What irks me even more is people who use a bluetooth headset and when you ask them a question or start a conversation, they look irritated and point to their ear, like you're supposed to know they're on the phone.

For many, many years we got along fine without having a cell phone strapped to our hip. Nowadays, people can't seem to stand in line, eat in a restaurant, ride in a car or even visit at someone's house on a holiday w/o staring at their phone. It's gotten worse with text and internet capability.
 
Guess we've all been there. Wife and I walked into an RV supply/parts store a few years ago. Guy on phone behind counter. Didn't even bother to acknowledge that we were in the store. Conversation going on was about a party he was going to attend, had nothing to do with business. After five minutes of that crap, said to wife in a loud voice, "This guy doesn't need our business, let's go" and walked out. Haven't been back and will never deal with this jerk. Also spread the word to other RVers.
 
I once jumped on the owner of a local NAPA store 'cause he took two phone calls while I was buying several hundred dollars worth of parts.

He swore 3/4 of his business is over the telephone, said people call in, order parts, and he gets them out so all the customer has to do when he comes in is pick up the parts and pay, instead of waiting while he gets the parts.

The calls I overheard sounded like someone was just price shopping. But-however you want to run your business.

At our local O'Reilly's store, if the counter man (or lady) takes a call while you're in the middle of a deal, they'll ask the caller to hold while they complete your transaction.
 
I would"ve probably done the same thing.

I own a repair shop and things can get crazy. I learned two things long ago.

1. The customer in front of you has priority over the one calling on the phone.

2. Do not put people on hold. Politely ask for a number and tell them you will call them right back.

I have never had a customer get upset on either side of the fence. I will answer my phone when it rings, and before the caller launches into a huge explanation of his problem, I will pause him, ask for a number and call him back promptly.

I feel that frees the caller up from the agony of sitting on hold. It also shows the guy I"m dealing with in person that he has my attention. There is no tension, knowing someone is on hold with the light flashing at us. When I call the other person back, they seem happy I didn"t stick them on hold or try to have two conversations at once.

As far as texts or cell phone calls, absolutely none of that. I will reach down and hit the button to silence my phone.

I have had a couple younger guys work for me that seem to get 1000 texts per day. If it is an issue, their phones stay in their vehicle. They can check them on a break.

Another huge pet peeve of mine is working while talking on the phone with the phone wedged between your brain and your shoulder. My guys know if I catch them doing that I will reach over and unplug the cordless base, ending the call. They know if its important to go in the office, make the call and then go back to work.

My wife even knows that when I answer and ask to call her right back, that means Im with a customer.

Now, stopping in the middle of a busy morning to check on YT and reply to a post, totally acceptible...BW
 
At the feed store where I work. The boss has told everyone the customer will NOT be kept waiting.No personal phone calls.There are times when customers do have to wait. Because even with three guys at the front desk it does stack up at times.

But if a customer walks in someone had better be talking to him.I have walked out on many stores. Because they are so busy with personal calls. They can't take care of customers.
 
Like I tell my wife,"geez,they must really be somebody important to need to be in touch that way". Glad I'm not. I like my privacy. If somebody wants to talk to me,they'll have to take their chances on catching me in the house. Ain't nothing I do so important that communication can't wait anyway.
 
I understand your point however sometimes a business is a one man band and there is only one person in the building qualified to answer questions. You just might have caught them at a especially busy time. I shop at a auto parts store that there is a old guy behind the counter that seems to know everything about any vehicle you can name. They have some young kids in there too but I am especially patient when this guy waits on me. While he waits on me he is constantly inundated with phone calls but that’s alright because this guy will listen to me when I tell him what the car is doing and he won't sell me parts he is sure is not the problem. The kids will however sell me anything I ask for and then I have to make another trip back to the store when the part didn't fix the problem.
 
Our family has done business with the same family owned appliance store for over 35 years. The old man who started the business was a class act. He's passed on now, and his decendents are somewhat lacking in customer relations. We'd bought a big side by side fridge from them, and a couple months later went in to buy a new dishwasher. He was fooling around with the computer for what seemed like forever, with no acknowledgement of our presense, and us being the only customers in the store, so we finally walked out and bought another brand at another store. Later, the fridge had some kind of part recall, and when he showed up to change the part, he stared long and hard at the "off brand" dishwasher sitting beside the fridge. I gently explained to him that we couldn't get his attention the day we were shopping for a dishwasher. I hope it soaked in, but I doubt if it did. . .
 
Guess I am getting old and grouchy, but I have started telling them that their behavior has lost my business.

I say..."excuse me....you just lost my business, but I feel like you ought to know why you will never see me again."
 
You did right by walking away.
Here's my take on why this seems so common.
The people don't take time to figure out how new technogily can help them and most important,how to use new technogily to it's fullest benifit.
Here is an all to common occurance. When I call and don't get an answer,I leave a message saying"hey Bob,this is George,I can deliver the hay you ordered any time you like next week,let me know when you want it". After hanging up,I make another call to another customer. Within 30 secounds of this customer answering,Bob starts calling again and again which is a nuncance because each ring causes a dead spot and beep in our conversation. After finishing and looking to see who all called,turns out it was Bob all 4 times but no message telling me when he wants delivery. I call Bob thinking I will get his appointment set up before going on a conference call with the emplement dealer and a factory rep for New Holland. Again Bob doesn't answer and I leave a message. "Bob this is George,sorry I missed your call,when you know a good time for me to bring your hay let me know,and if I don't answer,go ahead and leave a message so I can write you down because next week's slots are filling up". Quick as conference call is underway,Bob repeats the multiple calls that interupt the conferance with all the beeps. At some point Bob calls when I'm not busy so I answer. Bob didn't check his voice mail and needs to check with his brother to see when they can have a loader tractor available. You see where this is headed and the whole process starts over simply because Bob will not check his mail box. Oh and btw,when Bob and his brother have discussed it and Bob calls again,this time he leaves a message. "This is Bob,call me". This is only a small fraction of misuseing a cell phone that eats away far more time than the old fashion way did. Put all the poor use of technogily togeather and Bob is overwhelmed to the point he is the guy who seems to be so busy he can't pay attention when you are sitting face to face with him.
 
Jocco, As an Ins. Agent, I don't think twice about asking to turn off A TV, or Radio when I go in a House. So I can have their full undivided attention. What you are talking about is plain ol simple MANNERS! The Kind taught by Mom & Dad, G-Mom & G-Dad. We have a culture where this type of attention to the customer is the new Norm! As you I choose to not do Biz in a business or with people who can't get away from their Electrical Device.
It is like cell phones I refuse to take a cell phone into a restaurant. There is Nothing That Important it can't wait for 45 min to 1 hr. But I cant' remember the last time I was in a Restaurant when a cell phone didn't go off!
One of my personal Pet Peeves.
It is the new Norm, Or is it a power trip for that person. To show everyone how busy they are.
Any way my thoughts too!
Later,
John A.
 
You did the right thing. First time I give the look that they should be waiting on me or whoever else. Second time, I tell them, their call/text must be more important than selling the merchandise.

Had to walk out of a place the other day to the tune of $60. Manager follows me out begging me to come back in, says he will discount the order. Said no thanks, I had already wasted enough of my time.

When poor business manners are encountered such as cell phone/texting or just plain rudeness, if all the customers speak with their wallet and go somewhere else, the problem will solve itself.

Rick
 
I read each of your replies. I am frankly surprised at how many of you made excuses for rude and really offensive business practices.

We are all making too many excuses for why our society is not working so well.

I wonder how many of you are reading this while you should be waiting on a customer????????

Look up! Is someone in the store?
 
(quoted from post at 17:21:13 01/02/13)
Here's my take on why this seems so common.
The people don't take time to figure out how new technology can help them and most important,how to use new technology to it's fullest benefit.

I'm on the board of a non-profit and we use e-mail a lot since we are spread all over the country. One of our members never checks her e-mail and her in-box gets filled up to the point that notes start bouncing back. Real pain to have to fax stuff to her or call to tell her to clean up her e-mail. I realize she is a one person business (in the animal health area) but jeez, at least look at it once in awhile and make good use of it.
 
My dad visited his attorney once when the secretary was out of the office and the attorney was the only one there. Attorney kept answering the phone and talking business with someone else while dad sat there paying the hourly fee. Dad finally told the attorney to take the phone off the hook or he was leaving. Attorney did what dad told him to do. Jim
 
Bugs me that they won"t acknowledge your existence but the guy on the other end of the phone has ALL their attention. Been on the other end of that, guy walks in the store with bluteeth thingy in his ear. I can"t tell if he"s talking to me or the phone. Finally, I walked off and made him hunt me. How rude on his part! Like I"m supposed to let him be incharge since he"s the customer and the "Customer is Always Right", not.
 
I think that cell phones and video games are too much of a distraction for kids; it prevents them from learning the things that they should know to make their way in the world. It also gives them an inappropriate view of life that ignores reality.
 
We have a sign at the cashier's window that asks that cell phones be turned off.

As a back-up cashier, there have been several times when I had to ask a student to turn off their phone. Besides being rude, it makes it hard to conduct a transaction when one of the parties is talking to someone else.

We had a former employee that was glued to their cell phone. That person was also a back-up cashier. I walked in to the cashier's booth one day and they were talking on their cell phone while doing cashiering.

Call me a tattle tale if you want to, but I reported it to the supervisor. That, along with numerous other things, is why that person is a former employee.
 
I agrre with most of you. If you can't help me without taking calls or texting I'm leaving.

One of my sons worked in the shipping department of a small manufacturing company. Cells were forbidden to be in the work area. Each employee had an assigned locker and they were supposed to be left in the lockers or in the employees car. They did make exceptions if there was a family emergency like when my FIL was having bypass surgery. They canned more than one person for being on a cell in the work place in the 3 years my son worked there. Funny thing was 1st and 2nd offence they were caught they counseled the employee and warned them that it was ground for firing. 3rd time it was out the door.

Rick
 
It works both ways too. a few years ago when I worked for the local VA hospital went to a class (scheduled for 8 hours) in a city about 100 miles away. The instructor started the class with "everyone please turn your cellphones and pagers "OFF"-(no med. people in class)". About 10 minutes into his presentation a couple of cellphones went off, he packed up his materials and walked out the door.
 
I went to an auto parts store in a local town last summer and had a kid at the counter on the phone through two customers while on the phone. I walked out, went next door, got my parts at the competitor, then walked back to my truck, still in front of the first store, put my gear in tne back, tossed the competitors bag in the lot, and drove off. I doubt if they got the message...
 
(quoted from post at 18:09:06 01/02/13) I went to an auto parts store in a local town last summer and had a kid at the counter on the phone through two customers while on the phone. I walked out, went next door, got my parts at the competitor, then walked back to my truck, still in front of the first store, put my gear in tne back,[b:daa14b99fa] tossed the competitors bag in the lot, and drove off. I doubt if they got the message...[/b:daa14b99fa]
i:daa14b99fa][u:daa14b99fa]

What kind of message does being a litterbug give?[/u:daa14b99fa][/i:daa14b99fa]
 
Last year at my son's funeral no less than three phones went off. At first it really P.O.ed me. Later after some thought I got a chuckle because he would have been amused as he had his glued to his ear most of the time too. TDF
 
I have the same problem with people who have call waiting.If they put me on hold i hang up.
 
I hate it when you're waiting in line and someone in front of you gets on the phone and holds everybody up without letting anyone go ahead of them. There's been more than a few times I've wanted to chuck their phone across the room. Working in sales can also be a problem when you're busy and in the middle of helping a customer, they take a long phone call. You've already started doing their order and other customers are waiting. Another example of when you want to chuck someones phone as far as possible.
 
Jocco,
I agree, they should give you their full attention.

I used to work in an area where I had a lot of customer interaction. It is not that difficult a thing to give some one undivided attention.

Good for you for calmly walking out. Now find someone who will treat you respectfully and do business with them.
 
My wife does alot of texting. Drives me nuts (and I don't have far to go). I keep telling her, dial the number and talk to the person.
 
It seems to be an addiction...I say that because my previous shift there was a patient taking/making phone calls while on the cot in the back of the ambulance! Mind you, these did not appear to be "Hey Honey, I don't want you to worry, but..." one was "Do you want me to pick up 1 or 2 cases for the New Years Eve party tonight?" Honest to God. BTW- I ran his EKG...he was fortunate to make it to 2013 but he certainly wasn't going to be going to a party (unless a trip to the Cath Lab could be considered a party)
 
True story: I was in a store that had a parts counter and the place was busy but not so much that the help couldn't keep up. Problem was: the incoming phone calls were taking precedence over the customers at the counter. The counter people were working hard, but every time the phone rang-----

So, when it was my turn, I started telling them what I wanted, and the phone rang, the worker stuck his finger up and answered the phone. Not to be outdone, I got on my cell and called the number of the store I was in. Got a prompt answer, and asked that they lay the item I wanted out for pickup, all while standing at the counter. One of the counter people saw what I was doing and started smiling cautiously. I disconnected and asked the one I was talking to if he had something for me on the counter, he said "yep, it's right here and ready to go..."and then it hit him. Not sure if I did any good but it sure was fun.
 
After a very busy day, a commuter settled down in her seat and closed her eyes as the train departed Montreal for Hudson.

As the train rolled out of the station, the guy sitting next to her pulled out his cell phone and started talking in a loud voice: "Hi sweetheart it's Eric, I'm on the train - yes, I know it's the six thirty, not the four thirty, but I had a long meeting - no, honey, not with that floozie from the accounts office, with the boss. No sweetheart, you're the only one in my life - yes, I'm sure, cross my heart" etc., etc.

Fifteen minutes later at St. Anne de Bellevue he was still talking loudly , when the young woman sitting next to him, who was obviously angered by his continuous diatribe, yelled at the top of her voice: "Hey, Eric, turn that damn phone off and come back to bed!"
 
Unfortunately, rudeness seems to be the new normal. I will concede that there is a difference between a private meeting and a NAPA store. I will put up with the NAPA guy answering phones when I'm in the store within reason. Now phones ringing in church are something I won't put up with and the person will be spoken to after service.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top