As
a sales associate in a call center that took calls for clothing
catalogs I have taken lots of calls, both good ones and bad ones, but
it is always the swimsuit orders that make me cringe. I understand
that to many people a new bathing suit, each spring, is a very
important part of their wardrobe. It seems to be even more important
to today’s modern teenage girls. To me it would be on the very
bottom of the list of clothing items that I would buy for myself.
Yesterday
I took the ultimate in bad swimsuit calls. It started out all right.
The customer had called before and all of her information was still
accurate, so we moved on to what she wanted to order. I didn’t
think twice when I keyed in the first item number, a swimsuit, and
the size, only to see it was on backorder for sometime in May. I
related this to the customer and got the first hint of a problem when
she said, “Oh! No!”
I
could hear her as she informed someone of the delay. I could then
hear what sounded like a young teenage girl began chanting “No, no,
no, no.”
“Did
you want to try ordering a different swimsuit?” I asked.
My
customer, apparently the mother of the teenager asked the same
question of her daughter.
“No!
I want that one. Now!” I heard the girl yell. I could hear what
sounded like someone stomping on the floor or kicking the wall. The
temper tantrum was in full swing, and I could hear her mom trying to
calm things down.
I waited a moment, and
flipped to the page in the catalog where the back-ordered
swimsuit was so I would know what it looked like. It seemed to be an
awful skimpy suit for such a young sounding girl.
It
didn’t take much thought to figure out that the swimsuit was needed
for something very important to the girl, and soon, so it had to be
available for shipment today. Doing as I had been trained, I offered
a couple of the suits that were on incentive. These were quickly
turned down.
Something
made me want to help solve this women’s problem and make this young
girl happy. I can remember having been a teenager once, too, and
wanting something desperately.
I
flipped through the catalog some more, making a few suggestions,
checking as I went for availability. I could hear the mother trying
to get the girl interested in something else. The daughter was
adamant about not wanting any but the original choice.
Out
of the blue I suggested another suit that was showing to be in stock.
I emphasized the well known name of the maker and seller, hoping it
would impress the girl even though the suit was a totally different
style. It was a two piece, as the other had been, but there was a lot
more coverage, the bottom being the shorts style, and I went over a
list of attractive colors. Surprisingly the girl was interested and
agreed to try it.
I
heard the temper tantrum calming down and the mom gave a sigh of
relief. So did I, but silently to myself, so my customer wouldn’t
hear it.
My
customers, mother and daughter then ordered several other items, and
I finished the order.
It
gave me a good feeling to complete this order that had started out so
badly. I may be wrong but I had the impression that this mom was more
satisfied with the swimsuit that had finally been ordered for her
daughter than she would have been with the one that had not been
available.
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