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\nA few days ago I placed an order online. It was with a company I\u2019ve worked with a few times in the past; they\u2019ve got a high-quality product, and I\u2019ve always had a positive experience working with them.
\nAn hour or so later I received an email from an employee at said company. In so many words, it read:<\/p>\n
Thanks for your order\u2026 next time you order with us please<\/strong> don\u2019t upload a ZIP file\u2026 ZIP files break our system\u2026 our site clearly states that ZIP files are not accepted\u2026 don\u2019t do that again\u2026 thank you. <\/em><\/p>\n I was caught off guard. Did I really break their system? Wait, I wasn\u2019t supposed to upload a ZIP file? I thought the site said that ZIP files were okay to upload. And, didn\u2019t I send files like that to this company in the past? Anger grew. Hold on, why\u2019s this person accusing me of this terrible offense? What\u2019s with the passive aggressive ellipses? Why are they mad at me? I didn\u2019t do anything wrong. On the contrary, didn\u2019t I just give these guys business and money? They should be happy. I\u2019m their customer. My blood boiled. Sir, I apologize, I did not mean to offend you\u2026 I meant no offense at all\u2026 I can now see that there was an error on our site\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n Hey, that\u2019s not bad. Yes! He apologized, I thought to myself. The email continued\u2026<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2026 you see it\u2019s just, we can\u2019t have ZIP files coming through our system\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n Oh man, he\u2019s still talking about that ZIP file?<\/em>
\nI started on a mission to defend my previous \u201cordering\u201d actions. Aha! I\u2019ve got them now! I thought. There\u2019s the page I ordered from. Look at that, it says ZIP files are accepted! Screen shot! Attach file! Copy and paste URL! I was almost giddy, the perfect evidence for my case in hand. I collected my thoughts. It was time to hear from the defense.
\nI responded to the man\u2019s email. I presented my evidence. I voiced my outrage. I, admittedly, went a bit overboard and told him to cancel the whole order and issue me a full refund.
\nMy reply was sent. Now, onto my next mission\u2026 a new thing to do that didn\u2019t exist before: finding another company to work with for this project since I just canceled my order.
\nAs I searched for a replacement, I couldn\u2019t shake a creeping thought in the back of my mind. Damn, that was a solid product. Too bad I can never use them again.<\/em> I started to get a bit bummed. All of this was because of a ZIP file? Why was I so mad in the first place? It\u2019s natural that I\u2019ve never liked anger directed my way when I didn\u2019t do anything wrong.
\nBut, was this the best way to deal with the situation having added a bunch of extra work to my day? I continued my search for a new company to work with for the project.
\nAs I searched, I thought of a workshop my coworkers and I recently took\u2026 YES! Attitude. I realized that I forgot to add \u201cbeing wrongfully accused\u201d to my list of \u201cthings that give me negative feelings\u201d when we brainstormed our triggers. I took a breath. I calmed down. I checked my email. A new message awaited me\u2026<\/p>\n
\nWell, I liked the first half of his message. Before I jumped back into the ring for another round, I stopped and thought, Why am I spending so much time on this?<\/em> This could go on forever. I know I didn\u2019t do anything wrong, but what\u2019s the point of trying to make this person change the way they communicate? I decided to believe his initial email came off wrong. Could his initial email have been written more tactfully? Yes, but oh well.
\nAnd then I made a decision to break this cycle: instead of responding with another email, I picked up the phone. I gave him a call and talked. I thanked him for his apology and said I appreciated it. I asked if he could stop the order cancellation. And thanked him for being able to continue onward with the initial order. It was a good call, the project was saved, and, of course, he seemed like a nice guy. The company and I were on good terms again.
\nDid I learn something from this experience? I suppose I did. If I have a bad or unexpected experience as a customer I shouldn\u2019t then become a tough customer. I should stay calm, cool, collected\u2014and kind\u2014whether there\u2019s a ZIP file involved or not.<\/p>\n
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Billy, the Renaissance reMan, is here this week with this very first REMAN U article. Are ZIP files really all that dangerous? They can be – to your communication, attitude, customer service, and ultimate sales. Have you ever been a tough customer like Billy? How’d you turn it around? Comment below or