Regarding difficult customers?

Question

I used to work retail. As anyone who has ever worked in that field (or similar field) can tell you, customers are not that easy to deal with sometimes. You get some that you wish would just go away---or fall over dead, ha! (tongue-in-cheek).

I don't mean to generalize, but it always seemed to me that the customers who were the hardest to deal with were either (1) old men or (2) women between 35 and 50. Now, don't get me wrong, I did have bad customers from other groups as well; and there were also gracious people from these two groups. But these seemed to stand out the most. And again, I am certainly not trying to generalize.

Has anyone else in a service job noticed this?

Answer 1

Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one who has noticed this. heh

I, too, used to work in retail (*cough* Wal-Mart *cough*). And it always appeared to me that older men and women within your specified age group were the hardest to deal with. I have some ideas as to why this could be. And like you, I'm not generalizing, for I did deal with a lot of nice people within said age and gender brackets. So, those of you reading this can take that into consideration before pelting me with thumbs downs. = )

1. By "old men," I'm assuming you mean men aged 65 and up. If that's the case, I think we should consider their generation. In days gone by, men were sort of expected to be strong and assertive...perhaps a little aggressive. Plus, they were the head of the house. The wife and kids had to consult him about almost everything that happened within the family. I can see where this type of environment would inflate a person's sense of importance and perhaps erode their manners.

2. As for the 35-50 year-old women, all I can guess is that they are heading toward middle age and perhaps see a service person, who is probably in their late teens or early twenties, and get reminded of their "younger years." Perhaps they feel they wasted them, or just want them back, or whatever. They may also have young children, and they might envy the freedom of someone who they think has more of it than they do.

I have also noticed that women in this age group tend to have the biggest chips on their shoulders about men. They are also very picky about how they want things done, generally speaking, and have tendencies to be terse. Okay, I guess I am starting to generalize a little.

I guess that when you get right down to it, most people---male or female----are just crass and grumpy. lol

Answer 2

I currently wait tables in a well-known theme restaurant and I've noticed a similar trend. The first thing that comes to mind is that the 35-50 demographic is probably the highest represented as far as what kind of customers we get. It could seem they are more difficult when in fact there are simply more of them so you recall more instances of the behavior. Other ideas:

- Kids and teenagers are just happy to be out somewhere, and they don't make the decisions so they don't tend to complain.
- Young couples are usually very friendly and chatty.
- 35-50 men usually don't seem to care as long as they get beer and food.
- 35-50 women tend to be very demanding. Especially the ones with the family in tow. These are by far the most difficult customers. I can't tell you how many times I get the table with the bitchy mom, embarrassed dad, and their 3 kids. She's running the whole show and he's mouthing the words "I'm Sorry" over her shoulder as she's berating you about how the crab cake doesn't taste like an authentic Maryland crab cake or something equally out of your control. I will say this about them - if you do a good job of putting up with their crap they do generally tip better than most other people.
- As far as old men or even old women for that matter I don't see too many grandpas or grannies at my job so I wouldn't know.

So yeah, basically I agree for the most part.

Answer 3

I am one of the "difficult customers" you describe. I am a woman between 35 and 50, and when I am in a store, a restaurant or patronizing a business, I expect the person serving me to be polite, competent and address my service needs ahead of their need to count inventory, do paperwork or attend to countess other duties that can be done when there is no customer standing in front of them needing attention.

Please take a moment to consider the customer side:
In retail in particular, I have encountered many associates who 1)cannot answer the simplest question, 2) act annoyed by my very presence, 3) pretend they do not see me while they are counting, hanging or folding clothes, or 4) are so engaged in conversation with their co-worker that they ignore me.

When a person accepts a job in retail, isn't the customer the highest priority?
I know you cannot please all people at all times, but from my perspective, the people working in the industry are not meeting service standards, and thay is why you are encountering complaints. When I complain, I do try to be polite and constructive. I know you get lots of rudeness, too, but if you are doing the job right, those complaints should be few and far between.

Answer 4

I agree. Old women are not trouble because they're from a generation where they didn't stand up for themselves much.

But I would add people between 14 and 29 to your list, for those times when teens and young adults are with their friends and playing games. Those customers can be the worst!

Answer 5

..and some u want to reach thro the phone and strangle people!!!
u are right tho, older men..talking to them over the phone, i hate that and women 35-50....i take phone orders and have to talk to some of the dumbest ppl on this earth...
and looking at it from the customers side, still...when i am a customer, i dont ask stupid questions, and im not rude to people.

Answer 6

i haven't noticed it in the categories you describe, but in my years of cust service on the phone or face to face, i found that after receiving their answers, elderly people tend to carry on a conversation much longer. i also found that many calls were placed by wives on behalf of the husband while he's in the background telling her what to say. i found that younger customers get frustrated because they don't know how to ask the questions to get the right answers, so they need prodding, and fewer men than women apologize when they're wrong.

while dealing with the public or internal customers can be frustrating, i love customer service.

Answer 7

ah, yeah.. i notice it a lot... my husband and I own our own business and people will come in or call and chew my butt and tell me to have him call them back... when he calls they are nice as peaches n cream.... what is up with that!??!

I think you have to add 12-17 year old girls into that mix as they can be over the top rude and nasty as well... (i know i am generalizing... so i will say 60% are in this group)