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ARGH!!!! DID NOT PLACE BID!!!

J jabbergahMember
Funny how this thread was wandered into this topic.

Just a couple weeks ago, I was a victim of "road rage" myself. I was tooling down a 4-lane commercial stretch of road in my area. I think the speed limit was about 40 mph along that stretch of road. I have no idea how fast (or slow) I was going at the time, but I wasn't in a hurry. I was in the right lane & a tractor trailer truck was in the left. When the truck merged over into a center turning lane, an old Jeep Wrangler that was behind me jerks into the passing lane, roars past me, cuts over in front of me bearly missing my front fender, and skids to a STOP in front of me! Eek I bearly got stopped myself! What the heck?!? Mad We were dead stopped in the right lane of a 4 lane road in between traffic lights. I quick looked in my rear view mirror because I was concerned I might get rear ended since we stopped so quick. There was a truck behind me that got stopped with plenty of distance.

Out of this jeep jumps a fairly young (I'd guess 20's) bearded guy with a Indiana Jones style hat and leather jacket who comes stomping back toward my car yelling and screaming and carrying on! I thought he was nuts! I locked the doors and made sure the window was up. I was so rattled, I forgot how to turn the volume of my radio down, and 'til I did, he was done yelling and stomping back to his jeep. I still haven't a clue what he was yelling at me about!?! Confused

Dang thing about it, I followed the guy into town. The whole time there was 1,2,or 3 cars in between his & mine. He never drove fast like he was in a hurry, so I assumed he didn't think I was going too slow. The whole time >I< was stoking a pretty good batch of rage myself!! Mad I didn't really want to hurt the guy -- well not badly. I was just mentally reviewing a menu of nasties I wanted to do to his old jeep -- everything ranging from lighting a gas soaked rag stuck in his gas tank to slashing his tires to unscrewing the valve stem guts out of at least 2 of his tires, putting them in a plastic sandwich baggie, and leaving the bag under his windshield wiper along with a "Have a nice day!! Smile" note!

Well, I managed to refrain from doing anything rash, and managed to cool off, though I've rehearsed in my mind what I might of done differently. I kinda like the dozen road flares bundled with duct tape with a length of cannon fuse sticking out of it! When somebody forces me to stop, I jump out the same time as them, lighting the fuse and yelling in my best hick accent, "I GOT som'em fur YOU!!!"

Oh well. The incident DID give me an interesting story to tell! Wink

Jabbergah                                                    
bartelbybartelbyMember
WOW Jabber!!!

The most agressive road rage we have around here is a bit of bird flipping and some nasty words (which I am hoping tyler doesnt pick up Eek )

I have had some guy abuse me for the way I was parked and I was very proud of myself for pointing out that the dork in front of me had created the domino effect to why I was not parked in the lines correctly. Batting your eyelashes doesnt seem to make matters any worse either - although I dont think that particular act would work for you quite as well Razz

I am a fairly patient driver, but I do have a foul mouth when it comes to idiots - just pays to keep the windows up.

I can understand why you were rattled though - he does sound a bit nutso Confused

Lexie
S shirleyMember
Thanks for the story -- it's nice to know we're not the only ones who have close-calls with crazies once in a while... Or who spend the rest of the day dreaming of what we MIGHT have done or said!

My closest "close call" was kind of similar, but with a much more satisfying outcome. I was on my lunch break one day, driving down a one-lane-each-direction road, carefully obeying the speed limit but otherwise minding my own business. After a while, I noticed that the guy behind me was swerving all over the road. Watching him in my rear-view mirror, I realized he was swerving to get my attention, and making all sorts of rude gestures, tailgating, and generally doing whatever he could to protest my lawfullness. Finally he pulled over onto the shoulder, and roared past me, nearly taking off my bumper in the process. What he didn't know, and I did, was that Austin's Finest had set up a speed trap around the next curve... By the time I got there, they already had him stopped. I laughed all the way back to work!
S shirleyMember
quote:
Originally posted by Bartelby:

Couldnt agree more Shirley Smile You have such a wonderful way with words.

Lexie


Thanks, Lexie, I needed that after the day I just had. And you have such a wonderful way with smilies!



quote:
Originally posted by Rick:
Would Customer Service apply in the case of an employee? Since the employer is purchasing the employee's time, would the employer be the customer?


Actually, Rick, there's a whole system of management that's used in several of the companies I've worked in (in the last ten years or so) where service providers are concerned with "internal" and "external" customers. External customers would be the ones who actually buy your final product, but internal customers would be, say, your coworkers who are down the line in your process. Whoever depends on you to do your job before they can do theirs. They set up service contracts between departments ("service level agreements") and everything. Great idea but, unfortunately, the only company where I've seen anyone do more than lip service to it was an IBM subsidiary. No surprise there!

Customer service is one of my hot-button issues!
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rickrickMember
quote:
Originally posted by Shirley:
Customer service is one of my hot-button issues!

Do YOU provide the same level of customer service for your employer (the customer) as you expect your employer to provide to their customers?

Another question - do you think the customer is always right? If yes, is your employer (the customer) always right?

Not trying to offend. Just exploring.
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J jabbergahMember
Shirley posted:
quote:
And isn't it nice that you had a forum to unload that on, Jabber?

Actually, yes! Wink

Another true story comparable to delicious moment you experienced:

Let me get the relationship correct -- it was my cousin-in-law's sister -- going to work one of the snowy mornings within the last few weeks (seems like we have had quite a few of those lately in Pennsylvania!). Was tailgated by a fellow in a SUV. She ignored him and drove the speed at which she felt safe on the slippery roads. Both of them pulled into a gas station and ended up on opposite sides of the gas pump. "Is that all the faster you can drive?", the SUV guy sneered at the gal. She simply ignored the guy and continued refueling her car. SUV guy finishes first, and roars on down the road. The gal finishes up, and continues traveling down the road herself. Less than a mile down the road, around a bend, Mr. SUV is spinning all wheels trying in vain to get out of the ditch into which he had just slid off the road! As the lady drives by, she just taps her horn a couple times, smiles broadly, and gives a "friendly" wave! It was a divine moment that can put one in a great mood for days on end! Big Grin Razz

Jabbergah                                                    

[This message was edited by Jabbergah on January 26, 2004 at 06:50 PM.]
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S shirleyMember
I try. But it's easy to forget on a day-to-day basis that those people you're working with every day (and eating lunch with, and gossiping with, and going to happy-hour with after work) are actually your Customers. Until you're the one who's been "wronged"... Like I said, it's easy to forget about the customer service function when you're among a gathering of friends.

As for whether the customer is always right, the answer is "It depends." (Consultant's Bible, Rule #1: The most appropriate answer to any question is "It Depends".) I don't believe that the customer is ALWAYS right, but then again, in Service, "Who is Right?" isn't the question. If you tell the customer they're right when they're not, you may be teaching them bad habits that hurt both of us in the long run. A true customer service professional will educate their customers on the "right" way of doing business, while still keeping them happy. Sometimes this means saying "You're right, and I'll make sure our mistake doesn't happen again". Sometimes you have to say "I'm sorry if I wasn't clear when I explained to you what we need from you -- here's a credit to compensate you for your trouble, and would you please do it this way in the future?" Sometimes you have to say "I understand your concern, I'll do what I can to address it, meanwhile, here's how you might handle this situation in the future".

The customer isn't always right, and a service-provider doesn't really have to pretend they are. However, a service provider DOES have to remember who pays the bills, and do everything they can to keep the customer happy.

As for the Employer... I'm a consultant, and I work for placement companies. Which often means that *I* am the customer of my employer. But I have to keep in mind that my employer's OTHER customer is the Client, and THEY are the ones we have to keep happy. The client is my customer as well, but at the same time, the project manager that I work for has to give me what I need to get my job done. So I am THEIR customer at the same time that they are MY customer. It's a triangle that makes for some interesting dynamics...
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T tommy-tom-tomMember
Hi all,
I too signed up for the forum during the last outage to try and find out what was going on. First let me say that I have had a few bids dropped, and was shocked to see one bid placed almost 2 minutes before auction end allowing another bidder to win the item. But...Auction Sniper is 150% better at placing late bids than I AM. This service has given me my life and marriage a whole new dynamic. Before I began using this service I was glued to the puter with my back to my wife, and trying to balance 6 or 8 explorer screens open at once with preloaded bids. The prices I am paying for wins, and the fantastic snipes I have pulled off are worth way more than the price of this service.
I look at it like a stock portfolio, if 7 are going up, and 3 are going down...I am still making money!
I had road rage twice, and was ashamed both times, I used to have this beat up old Jeep 6 cylinder ( because of the divorce..) and I live on a steep hill. So when I looked both ways and pulled out it took 100 yards to get up to speed. Of course others rushing to work come flying around the bend, up on my tail. Here is the kicker, 300 yards up the road I have to make a turn, on comes the signal, and that's when they hit the horn. BEEEEEEEP. Twice I slammed on the brakes and left my car to confront the evil doer. Neither time did I have control, the expression "seeing red" is a truism..been there done that. When I am on the receiving end of road rage, I figure the guy just got another registered letter from his wifes lawyer...

Tonight I am not getting any e-mail from Auctionsniper, and they owe me 6 or 8. I figure they will get that fixed eventually. One of the telling me I won an $85 Westmoreland Glass cut crystal sandwich plate for $15.00...Ya complain? I think NOT.
J jabbergahMember
Shirley posted:
quote:
As for whether the customer is always right, the answer is "It depends." (Consultant's Bible, Rule #1: The most appropriate answer to any question is "It Depends".)


Reminds me of the usual answer you get when you ask an "old geezer" the question: "Boxers or briefs?"

Answer: "Depends!"
Wink

Jabbergah                                                    
rickrickMember
quote:
Originally posted by Jabbergah:
Reminds me of the usual answer you get when you ask an "old geezer" the question: "Boxers or briefs?"

Can't remember what Clinton said he was - "Boxers or briefs"?


"Of course America had often been discovered before Columbus, but it had always been hushed up." Oscar Wilde
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