It takes a lot for me to ask to speak to a manager. Like, a lot.
I’ll eat the salad with the dressing not on the side. I’ll pick off the fish eggs. But occasionally, the grievance is too much or my beer count is too high and I must speak up for all of humanity.
I did my retail time as a shoe expert at Sports Authority during undergrad, so I rarely fall into the category of “I’m going to be a smart ass to a retail employee even though my complaint is direct proof that I’m an idiot because it shows that I obviously don’t understand that lower-rung retail employees have no control over corporate issues.” I spit in enough shoes in my day to learn that lesson.*
The category I do fall into is “You’re completely wrong and I would have been able to let it go and just think of you as a moron, but now you’re also being rude so let’s talk to your mother effing manager.”
My most recent “I’d like to speak to your manager” occurrence resulted from a conversation with the front desk at L.A. Fitness.
As I have mentioned before, L.A. Fitness does not follow the natural rules of “breaks,” because if you take a three-month break, they automatically begin charging your card again on the 93rd day.
Right, so basically I told L.A. Fitness to move its shit out and three months later it showed up with the U-Haul.
Umm, hello L.A. Fitness, I was jogging! For free! We had a great thing going. Then, you had to stroll back in and ruin it. $40 charge here. Tempting yoga class there.
Admittedly, I was a little upset when I noticed this broken boundary, but I decided to call up the locals and see if they could help me out. I didn’t expect too much because, well, I’m aware that many corporations operate on fine print and I was fairly sure that the right to resume billing following a membership freeze was clearly printed in 0.12 point font somewhere on my contract.
But I called. And after a short dialogue I was promised a return call the following day.
The following day, no call. So with heightened annoyance, I used part of my lunch break to return my own call.
It was during this dialogue that the tone on the receiving end forced me to utter the “I’d like to speak to the manager” ultimatum. And similar to the other five times I have uttered this awful line during a retail dispute, my world-changing passion for justice was met with the simple checkmate:
“I am the manager.”
*Okay, I didn’t actually spit in shoes, but I did occasionally sleep in the closed-off “Nike Shoe Room” and from time-to-time (everyday) I would pick a new pair of shoes to wear inside the store. Product research. That’s what it’s called. Okay, occasionally I also tested the shoe deodorant. And the Heelies. And the scooters. I WAS A GOOD EMPLOYEE.
P.S. Welcome to all new readers from ProBlogger.net! And if you’re a regular reader, please be sure to check out my recent guest post on ProBlogger.net, “Stick Out Your Finger (not that one!) And Create a Meaningful Blogging Experience.” It’s my biggest writing opportunity so far and I had a lot of fun writing it.
I love this article
the idea of calling the manager reminds me of my dad as he is the worlds best complainer!!!
kind regards
sam
X
You mean “quality control expert”?
i had a similar experience yesterday when I spoke a guy at Bank of America. They charged me for a returned check on my credit card payment. When I asked the guy to waive the fee dbecause it wasn't my fault, he got defensive and said “maybe you read it to us wrong.” Finally. he actually waived the fee when I just calmed and said, “I'm not trying to blame you.”
I like this: “…[my request to see the manager] was met with the simple checkmate: I am the manager.”
I like it because it is truly an effective counter to the demand, let me speak to the manager, and because it unveils the sad truth that customers and businesses are in a good service/poor service struggle that plays out much like a game of chess.
It’s sad because when a customer asks for the manager, we’re not asking for someone with superior powers (i.e., the power to override, the power to refund), we’re asking for a person with a different attitude. Presumably a more understanding attitude.
It’s sad that we have to make such a request in the first place but businesses have made the very logical and economically rational determination that by saying “no” to every request initially 80%* of the complainers never press the issue.
*Just made that number up. It’s my best guess.
By avoiding complaining customers (blocked by the first defense, the wall of “no”) businesses indeed save a lot of money. Certainly more than it costs them to pay the salary of the person saying no on the other end of the line.
But they lose an opportunity to honestly engage their customers, to understand what makes them upset, and to value that input with a refund or whatever. Not because the company was wrong, but because the customer has pointed out where the business can make the hundreds of disgruntled customers who didn’t call happier by voicing their pain and pointing out a flaw.
Keeping you as a customer is really irrelevant to their bottom line, but knowing where they are failing to service their clientele should be worth a mint.
Yeah, those Fitness Places are ballsy. I have a friend who actually had a doctor's excuse for why she canceled her membership (something about debilitating back surgery and lying on the couch and not moving for three months). And ONE YEAR LATER, Fitness Place began taking money out of her account again AND adding in back charges for the months she didn't pay. You know, the months where her spine was coming out of her anus and she was instructed by her doctor not to move.
She also got the old, “I am the manager” line. Lame.
Had a very similar experience right at LA Fitness. We were looking into joining, but apparently the sales pitch was telling my wife that she's “clearly still looking to lose the baby weight” and that I had “gained some sympathy pounds.”
She was rude while giving us pricing, and when we wanted to take some time to think about the deal, accused us of “wasting her time to give us a tour.” Crazy.
Then we asked if we could speak to the manager, and she gave the same reply – “I am the manager.”
Great. Needless to say we stuck with our current gym…
Talks like that can only be done in person… that way they cant lie about being the manager AND they can tell by the look on my face that I can be a violent person, if need be.
Eye of the tiger, you know?
I've had this same experience more times than I care to mention. I apparently have less tolerance than most, even though I did work retail and food service in my early days. I had a similar experience where the person tried to trump me with the “I AM the manager” with a slight smirk. I quickly came back and said I wanted to talk to THEIR manager then. The person said he was the general manager.
I came back with, “Are you the owner?”
“No”, they replied
“Well, then I want to talk to whoever you answer to”, which netted me a phone number and a mailing address. Ultimately, the situation went nowhere, but I wasn't going to let this punk have the satisfaction of seeing me give up.
yeah, LA Fitness has peons and then the managers who are allowed to use the computers. they do have a general manager, but I'm pretty sure none of them would ever call you back. not ever. they are banking on the fact that they make it so difficult to talk to anyone that you'll just continue to pay them and pay them and pay them. they are evil evil evil. (and yet, I still go there because where else am i going to swim in a salt water pool and run on a treadmill. bastards.)
Hi Jenny – I'm new to your blog – I read your post on ProBlogger! Great article as I have been hesitant (like you were at first) to stick out my finger and comment.:) I don't know why as I love giving positive comments to people every day in my “real life”. Anyway – thanks for the kick in the pants (as you can see I am commenting!)
I also have a hard time using the “let me speak to the manager” line – I try to work it out (in a nice manner) with the employee I am already engaged with, but sometimes it just isn't enough. Like yesterday for example – finally after 3 attempts at getting credit (that I deserved) from Verizon Wireless – I finally was like “No – I'm not going to wait another 48 hours to see if this works out – I want your supervisor please.” Then I had to wait 15 minutes (lots of complaints perhaps?) for the supervisor while my original operator kept chiming in saying several times “are you sure you want to continue holding?” They probably get docked in pay for long hold times or something. Anyway, the supervisor thing worked and I got my credit right then and there. Why did it have to be so complicated?
Moral of the story – I prefer to deal with people in person and use small businesses when possible – they don't normally treat you like the big boxes!
You mean “quality control expert”?
That's funny Srini. I've noticed a similar pattern of more positive responses when I do calm myself down beforehand and ask with an overly-nice overtone. Except for with cops. I have found the opposite approach to be more successful in getting out of tickets, haha. Go figure.
I agree, I guess this more general view of costs/benefits of dealing with customer complaints is just one of the costs of paying $0.73 for a cheeseburger that is microwaved in 20 seconds? It's also sad that the structure put in place by so many corporations to deal with customer service issues is generally counterproductive. I've also heard crazy statistics about the benefit of really engaging a customer, as you mention, and ensuring that when they leave they are happy. Hell, this post could have been about how wonderful L.A. Fitness is, but then again, that's not really my style. Unless we're talking about John Cusack.. or Lady Gaga. Thanks for stopping by!
Lol. That's pretty intense. I hope your friend's spine is no longer coming out of her anus. That sounded so wrong…
There are some great advantages to L.A. Fitness, but one of the ones that really drew me in was the “one-time membership fee.” However, when I went to cancel for a year or so, I was notified that I'd have to pay the membership fee if I joined again. I guess I misunderstood “one-time.” Glad you're rocking it with the local gym instead.
Maybe you can help me with my next issue then. Figuring out what to say if I'm actually given the opportunity to speak with the manager.
“Umm.. I'm REALLY mad. Let me.. tell.. you..”
Ahh. I feel your pain. I got sent to corporate after a Holiday Inn Express incident where the general manager was a real ass. He actually laughed at me on the phone when I told him I was calling corporate and said, “Go ahead.”
Lol. I feel ya. I'd love to quit, but I don't do so well when it's just me and the yoga dvd in my house. I need supervision to force myself into all of those uncomfortable “meditation” binds.
Hi Mandy, thanks so much for dropping by! Glad you enjoyed the guest post and also that you're commenting! I'm sure you'll see a lot of great benefits from it..
I guess they make it complicated for the very reason that most people would have given up. I almost didn't even call L.A. Fitness at all, and admittedly I didn't follow up with corporate after getting poor service from the local club. Sometimes I try to compare the level of frustration and annoyance with how much $$ I stand to gain. Unfortunately, this rationalization leaves me smiling with less $$ than I should have most of the time.
Yes.. the refreshing side of small business is definitely the “real” customer service. Your hashbrowns are messed up? Let me get you another one.. and give you the coffee for free. How difficult is that?
I like to think that I am “that guy” who always talks to the manager to get what's comin' to me.
Personally, if I get that checkmate call as you mentioned, I just trump that with the “lemme have the corp office number” and then I call that one and exaggerate the story to the point where they just rollover and gimme what I want. I love to hate corp America!
AL
Heh, my man used to work at Sports Authority back when they kept the shoes stocked in the back, so he had to get each pair for each customer and help them try them on.
I'm not surprised. From my experience LA fitness will squeeze every possible dime out of you. It's a great gym but its far too pricey.
I need some lessons. I got to the corporate office of Holiday Inn Express and received nothing but “we can't do anything emails.” Teach me oh wise one.
Ah, I'm glad that only the $100+ Nike shoes were locked up during my days. Oh and that reminds me, I'd like people to know that they don't actually train us to “see if the shoe fits.”
I HAVE to check out your site based on your domain alone. Oh, I am interested.