Worst. Customer. Ever.

[dwain]

i was in a holler in eastern ky for a service call for direct tv and this gut looked like a member of zz top but alot skankier his dish was 300 ft away across the road up in a tree halfway up a mountain when i told him that i wasnt touching the job he got irate when i told him i needed a peice of paper signed he went in the house getting a shotgun got in my truck floored through his yard no time to turn around all of a sudden the back glass was shot out of my truck and my tail lights were hit too COO COO COO COO

 

[Claude Greiner]

When I was a smaller dealer and needed the money I would put up with alot of crap from customers to get the Job done. Today, since we a significant amount of activations over what we did in the past, it doesn't hurt as much to simply walk away from a Job.

One of the things that really piss me off is this mentality from customers that everything should be FREE and that they can dictate the terms and conditions of the sale because afterall they are the customer.

Perfect example is that just this week we got a new installer and it was an afternoon appointment and he was an hour late to the installation. So he finished the entire installation and the customer decided that she didn't have to pay the $49.99 activation Fee because he was an hour late. The install was done on Tuesday and I got the paperwork back on Friday and just about went through the roof. My installers reasoning was that he didn't want to loose the sale and offered to take the $50 out of his pay since 1/2 a loaf is better than none at all. Its not the $50 that I was pist off over, because if he would have called me I would have still paid him on the install reguardless of what happens, however the customer either pays the $50 or we we take out the entire system out of her home. Customers do not dictate the terms and conditions of the sale. As a retailer its up to me to make the rules and if the customer don't like my rules they can take their business elsewhere

As far as the worst customers, I can think of 3 of them right off the top of my head...

#1 I was subcontracting for another retailer and he wanted me to install an international only account for an arabic doctor who had a million dollar home on the water. The first thing this A$$hole says when I walk in the door that I have to run all new cable and that I cannot use any of his existing cable. So I spend about 2 hours with this customer arguing how and where im going to run the cable, and what it finally boiled down to was that the customer had a big cherry cabinet built into the wall with (2) coax cables. One was a piece of Rg59 which was run in the wall feeding cable to the Tv, the other was a piece of brand new Rg6 that went through the bottom of the cabinet into the basement to a splitter feeding 3 additional televisions.

The problem was that this was one of those customers who if you screwed up something, he would make you pay for it. The (2) coax cables where installed before he had the cabinet built, and it was impossible to run a 3rd cable up to the Tv without drilling through the cabinet. I could have done it, I was not in the mood for even risking screwing up this guys cabinet.

I could get to the Rg6 cable in the basement below the Tv, so the solution was to use (2) dioplexers to run the satellite through the existing piece of Rg6, or run a new cable Tv feed to the basement from the splitter in the back of the house so I could use the existing piece of Rg6 for the Satellite.

Dioplexing was not an option because the customer claimed it would "degrade" his cable signal, so I offered to run an extra cable run from the back of the house so I can use the existing 10 foot piece of Rg6 which was running up and behind the customers wall cabinet.

So like after 2 hours the customer made a comment that was going to call his electrician who knew how to fish cables through his cabinet, and he would call someone else to finish the installation that knew what they where doing.

Fine with me, I was not looking forward to spending an entire day at this guys house anyways so I pack up my tools and leave

I get home and the guy gets on the phone with this other retailer and starts complaining about me. The other retailer calls me and asks why I didn't do the Job and I explain to him what needs to be done, but he won't let me do it and when he said he was calling someone else, I took him up on his word and left

So the other retailer begged me to go back there, and I finally ended up doing the Job. The the customer has the nerve to call me 2 weeks later and complain about the picture quality on his cable. I was forced to go out there, and the thing is that this was not even in one of the rooms I ran the new line to. I told him to call the cable company.

#2 I did another subcontracted job for this retailer and somehow he managed to get a Dish500 Upgrade for a customer in another million dollar home on the water. I get to the house, and the Dish is 4 storys high, and I would literally need a 40 foot ladder and then have to climb a steep wood shake roof to get to the Dish. I told the customer they needed to rent a cherry picker for me to complete the install, ofcourse they didn't want to pay so I left.

So like 20 minutes later I get a call from the retailer complaining that I left and I told him he could do the Job, but I wasn't going on the roof. So we both go over there, and somehow this retailer finds a rope laying in the valley of one of the roofs as a way to get to the Dish using only a 24 foot ladder and placing it on top of a porch over the side door.

So the both of us go up on the roof, everything went ok but as we where coming down this other retailer slipped and almost fell off the roof. As he was sliding down the roof his foot got caught in a big old copper gutter or would have seriously been hurt.

But if that wasn't bad, what really pissed me off about this customer is that the board in the attic where the customer had all the cable and satellite wires going to was an absolute mess. I decided that if I don't spend the time to fix it right, there is going to be an issue in the future and since I was the last one who touched it im going to have to go back out and do a Free service call. so being the nice guy that I ripped every single cable off the entire board, and re-did everything the correct way.

So I got this big huge pile of old cable sitting in the hall way in the customers 2nd floor hallway as im re-doing eveything. The housekeeper must have got worried that I wouldn't know how to put everything back together since I had all the Televisions disconnected and then called the company that origionally installed the system to come out and see if I was doing it right.

Like WTF, the customer paid those A$$holes that installed the system origionally $100 for an emergency "Instant" service call for them to come out and see if I was hooking up everything right, when they where the ones who did the fuked up installation to begin with that I was trying to correct. The $100 she paid them for just coming out was more than I was getting for the entire upgrade!

#3
I think by far the worse customer I had was back in 2004 on an 811 installation. The guy origionally had Directv, didn't want to pay $300 for an HDTV receiver so decided to switch to Dish to get one for FREE. So along with the 811, we sold him a $99 Weinguard Sensor antenna for his HD local channels.

The problem was that the wife was a stay at home mother with 2 kids and all she did was watch Tv all day. She didn't want DISH to begin with, so she would give him hell over it and he would inturn call me and complain.

First complaint was that he couldn't get OTA HD listings in the guide. This was before Dish came out with the software to display the listings, so I went ahead and paid for the guys Standard Definition locals for 12 months to get him off my case.

Second complaint was that OTA antenna couldn't pick up 1 Digital Local channel. I tried to sell him a regular rotating antenna, but he was too cheap. So instead of arguing with him over it, I sent my installer over with a regular rotating antenna and told him to install it at no charge!

Third complaint was from his wife that the OTA antenna that was now working was too big and looked ugly on his roof, so I went over there and went back to the Sensor antenna, but we left it on a Rotor. It worked just fine, and since he had a rotor he could move the antenna to get the other channel in.

Fourth complaint was that his wife could only get 2 days worth of guide data on the 811 and then she was complaining that the listings where incorrect???? So the solution was that we sold him a DVR 508, and put both receivers on the same Tv. She would watch the 508 with the 9 day guide, and he would watch the 811.

Fifth complaint from his wife that her friend had Tivo and she wanted to record 1 show while watching another. So we sold him a 721 and took back the 508. Luckily I had 2 lines already behind the Tv so it was a matter of using a DP34 switch to get 3 feeds behind the Tv.

Sixth complaint was that his wife was reading the owners manual for the 721 and noticed the Caller ID was not working. Well DA, we didn't hook up the phone line. So we sold him a wireless jack and that took care of that problem.

Other than that, must have swapped out the 811 receiver about 3-4 times who knows how many referbs I got stuck with from the service department a DISH Network that I had to sell at a discounted price on the DISH Store

 

[Claude Greiner]

On the other hand I did do an install once for this girl with really huge fake tits who was in several adult magazines. She didn't say anything to me about it, but I didn run accross a stack of magazines in the basement while doing her install with her on the cover.

Real nice girl, just wish she would have needed a couple of service calls

 

[40_oz]

Ive been bit by a rottwieler, did the install, then forced to listen to the owner bitch about racism because he thought I was hispanic and could relate. All with blood running down my leg. I then went to the hospital and was lucky I did not need rabies shots.

A friend of mine(23 years old, engaged) did an install for a 57 year old. The whole things done, shes flirting a bit..he walks in to get paperwork signedand she is nowhere to be seen. Finally she says she's in the other room, go on in there and she will sign. He turns the corner and his junk is in her face. She is on all fours completely naked trying to take his pants off before he realizes whats going on. Needless to say he froze up a second, then gtfo of there.

One I just did the other week. Ran 1200 feet of cabling in an apartment, no place to ground through an a/c unit and (2)625's. Customer refused to pay for the 800' above and beyond the 200' requirement. Ok fine, ill do it, hopefully ill get reimbursed, but we all knew i wouldnt right? The entire time he is yelling and swearing at me. This is not a free install blah blah even tho I said I would do it at no charge. Get a call a week later saying i should have made it neater inside the apartment by tucking the cables under a space heater...

I did an install and went to get paperwork signed. 4 males sitting up stairs having a circle jerk. yay.

Of course theres the countless times where customers flat out lie. The tech said hed be here at 7am sharp! I did not give permission for him to drill holes. He stole my cigarettes(i dont smoke). I think we all have those all the time. Well over half the work ive done lately is in the ghetto. Ive installed for 3 people in the past year without electricity. Ya, for real. No electricity.

 

[Tekken]

I spent two hours explaining the buttons on a remote to a customer once. Each time I showed her how to do something she would ask me how to do the exact same thing again but in different words, does this count?

 

[Buji]

One of the best threads ever.

Lets just say, that when I have installers/service come out I always:

1: make sure the av cabinet is open and lit with a portable light, all tv's inputs are cleared and exposed.
2: offer them a beverage when they arrive (soda, water, tea?)
3: tell them that I will be in the sunroom reading comic books and will stay out of their way, but if they need anything to just holler
4: offer them a beverage when they are done

because I know that for every customer like me there's a filthy house somewhere with a co-aux only tv in a custom cabinet along a concrete/brick wall in a valley out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees.

 

[SummitAdvantageRetailer]

Ive been bit by a rottwieler, did the install, then forced to listen to the owner bitch about racism because he thought I was hispanic and could relate. All with blood running down my leg. I then went to the hospital and was lucky I did not need rabies shots.

A friend of mine(23 years old, engaged) did an install for a 57 year old. The whole things done, shes flirting a bit..he walks in to get paperwork signedand she is nowhere to be seen. Finally she says she's in the other room, go on in there and she will sign. He turns the corner and his junk is in her face. She is on all fours completely naked trying to take his pants off before he realizes whats going on. Needless to say he froze up a second, then gtfo of there.

One I just did the other week. Ran 1200 feet of cabling in an apartment, no place to ground through an a/c unit and (2)625's. Customer refused to pay for the 800' above and beyond the 200' requirement. Ok fine, ill do it, hopefully ill get reimbursed, but we all knew i wouldnt right? The entire time he is yelling and swearing at me. This is not a free install blah blah even tho I said I would do it at no charge. Get a call a week later saying i should have made it neater inside the apartment by tucking the cables under a space heater...

I did an install and went to get paperwork signed. 4 males sitting up stairs having a circle jerk. yay.

Of course theres the countless times where customers flat out lie. The tech said hed be here at 7am sharp! I did not give permission for him to drill holes. He stole my cigarettes(i dont smoke). I think we all have those all the time. Well over half the work ive done lately is in the ghetto. Ive installed for 3 people in the past year without electricity. Ya, for real. No electricity.

Wow, I'm surprised you did all that. The key in this business is: meet customer's expectations. The saying goes in the service industry, you can have 2 of the 3 in the following: CHEAP, FAST, GOOD. If you want it cheap and fast, it won't be good. If you want it cheap and good, it won't be fast. If you want it fast and good, it won't be cheap!

 

[ZandarKoad]

...The saying goes in the service industry, you can have 2 of the 3 in the following: CHEAP, FAST, GOOD. If you want it cheap and fast, it won't be good. If you want it cheap and good, it won't be fast. If you want it fast and good, it won't be cheap!

Thats some of the best poetry I've ever read.

 

[Van]

Im doing an install out north of Jackson michigan for a lady, pull up to her house and walk inside only to find that I have to hold my breath due to the smell of cat urine mingled with rotten food and other unknowns. I head back outside with my trainee a 6' 4" 270lb guy looking like he just left a job as a lumber jack asking me earnestly if I will not do this job. I radio my manager explaining the situation and that I will do the job but not send the rookie in and that I will be wearing a charcoal dust mask when I go back in, mind you the van is 20 ft away and she opened the windows and we can smell the home like we are in it.

So I do the install of the super dish upgrade and when I head in Im wearing the mask, check switch the living room and then the bedroom while doing the paperwork, have her sign and thank her for her time at wich point she slams the door in my face. I forgot to mention that the hard wood floors were sticky enough that my boots made a sound like ripping plastic blister packs open, there was cat hair everywhere you looked from roof to floor and cat food scattered all over the place not to mention cat crap and litter strewn throughout the kitchen and living room.

 

[sA :: Shaggy]

One of the best threads ever.

Lets just say, that when I have installers/service come out I always:

1: make sure the av cabinet is open and lit with a portable light, all tv's inputs are cleared and exposed.
2: offer them a beverage when they arrive (soda, water, tea?)
3: tell them that I will be in the sunroom reading comic books and will stay out of their way, but if they need anything to just holler
4: offer them a beverage when they are done
.

will do for my install on saturday! I hope I make the best install list.

 

[CPanther95]

I had one a few months ago. 2 guys, sharing a house. While I'm talking to the one, trying to figure out how to run cable and not piss off the landlord, the roomates girlfriend walks in. I go outside, put up the dish, and come back in to see the roomate and his girlfriend totally naked, having sex in the middle of the kitchen. I step back outside "to get something from the van" and come back a few min later. Now both guys, and the girl are having a 3 way, in the living room where the receiver is going. They tell me, "dont mind us, just hook it up". I went to the basement, ran the cable and tried to kill as much time as I could, when I hear another girl come in upstairs, and start screaming at all 3 of them. I walked out, on the way I left a note on the kitchen table to please call to reschedule. They never did.

Oh yeah, they were all 300+ lbs. I'm going to need therapy.

Now THAT'S how you tell a story. A good, fun read because you didn't ruin our active imaginations until the final line. Put that line up front and it would have spoiled the whole thing. Maybe you should add spoiler tags to the last sentence.

 

[SimpleSimon]

One of the best threads ever.

Lets just say, that when I have installers/service come out I always:

1: make sure the av cabinet is open and lit with a portable light, all tv's inputs are cleared and exposed.
2: offer them a beverage when they arrive (soda, water, tea?)
3: tell them that I will be in the sunroom reading comic books and will stay out of their way, but if they need anything to just holler
4: offer them a beverage when they are done

because I know that for every customer like me there's a filthy house somewhere with a co-aux only tv in a custom cabinet along a concrete/brick wall in a valley out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees.

Bless you, my son!

 

[sksatellite]

Oh where to begin with 5 years of this, there was the lady who overdosed on methadone and cheap wine while I was fixing her system, I come in she's draped across the bed looking %200 dead.

There was the 19 year old who broke down crying because he spent his last penny to get dish after directv stopped doing ppv of wwe and I wasnt going to install his system in a house with animal waste covering every single inch of each floor in the house.

Oh then there was the dog breader that bred dogs outside of his house and inside, will never forget when he opened the patio door in the dead of winter and a wall of amonia and urine odor crashed out all over me, I held my breath for the minute or so I was inside the home walking along the path made by the garden fence he put up for you to navigate through each room of the house. Imagine looking on either side and seeing things like a 10 year old xmas tree that had lost all its needles, stacks of boxs and newpapers reaching up to the 8ft cieling and drapes that were never opened. What was most unerving was this pale looking girl sitting on a couch in pajama's looking like something out of a ghost story.

The hillbilly home out in the woods that could have easily been the real life inspiration for deliverance.


So many strange, odd, eccentric, disturbed, angry, and psychotic people and so little space and time to put them all here.

I had a almost the same situation as you 7 years ago, customer is complained the system not working, a KU system for Jadeworld channels. the house smell like in the sh*t house, there looks like over 40 same type of dogs bucking on me, all small to medium size white dogs. spended about an hours to fix the problem, after home, I had to thraw away my sock, shoe and the pant that work at the location.