Keeping Faith....

...in your customers.

Sometimes it is hard to keep your faith in people when you work a customer service based job.

 After 30 years of grooming and dealing with pet owners, I have been surprised and hurt by the actions of some customers over the years, but for the most part, I have been able to keep my faith in my customers intact.

Yesterday that faith was tested.

 We had a pretty regular Self-Serve customer come in to bathe her dog.

 She bathed the dog, and I clipped the dogs nails.

 When it was time for her to leave, it seemed like all heck had broken loose.

 The Self-Serve customer was preparing to leave, another customer was in the lobby picking up a full groom dog, and our supply guy was also in the lobby with a delivery and waiting to get paid.

 I had to get back to the dog that I had been doing before I stopped to clip the SS nails, so my husband was taking care of everyone in the lobby.

After taking the full serve customer his dog, my husband came into the grooming room.

Husband: "Did the Self-Serve customer pay you after you cut the nails?"
Me: "No, why?"
Husband: "She left."
Me: "What do you mean she left?"
Husband: "She walked by everybody in the lobby and went out to her car"
Me: "She probably just took her dog to her car and will come back in and pay."
Groomer Daughter: "Mom! You are too trusting! We just lost a Self-Serve fee!"
Me: "No, I am sure she will come back in and pay."

My husband exits the grooming room to go pay the delivery man.

He returns a few minutes later.

Husband: "She's gone."
Me: "The Self-Serve customer?"
Groomer Daughter: "I told you!"
Husband: "Her car is gone."
Me: "She will be back, I know she will. She did not mean to leave without paying. She has been coming here too long."
Husband: "I don't know."
Grooming Daughter: "She is not coming back."
Bather Son: (shaking head at poor trusting delusional Mother)
Me: "She is a very nice lady. She will realize that she forgot to pay and come back.
Husband: "We'll see."
Groomer Daughter: "You're too trusting Mom. 
Bather Son: (still shaking head)

We do not keep customer records on Self-Serve customers.

So there was no way of contacting this customer.

Ten minutes later...

I see the Self-Serve customer walking up to the door.

A few minutes later my husband walks back into the grooming room.

Husband: "She said that she got half way home and something didn't feel right. Then she remembered that she didn't come back in and pay after she got the dog in the car."
Me: "I told you, you have to have faith in people to do the right thing."

Happy, Happy, Happy