Customers are the backbone of any business. As a business owner, customer satisfaction should be your top priority. A viral video captured a man in Walmart being asked to show his receipt upon leaving. The Walmart Shopper was arrested for refusing to show his receipt. Do customer service policies require customers to show receipts when leaving a store?
Every business has its customer service policies. So, it would be ideal if the policies clearly stated that customers must show their receipts. This Walmart shopper was arrested for refusing to show his receipt. So, is it a Walmart policy for customers to show their receipts? Let’s find out.
Are There Customer Service Policies For Showing Receipts?
In the video, Brenden, who happens to be the customer, is asked by Walmart to show his receipt. He then gives them a piece of paper different from the receipt.
When they asked him again for the receipt, he refused to give them and wanted to leave. So Walmart called the police. On reaching there, the police officer told Brendan that it was against Walmart’s policy and customer service policies to not show a receipt before leaving.
The officer also told Brenden that it was against the law not to show a receipt and proceeded to arrest him. In light of this, lawyer Ugo Lord said there is no legal requirement to show your receipt before you leave the store building, except for membership stores like Costco or Sam’s Club. He explained that under the shopkeepers’ privilege, they have the right to investigate whether you own an item if you don’t show a receipt.
However, based on customer service policies, they can’t legally require you to show the receipt when leaving. So, it was wrong for the officer to tell Brendan that it was against the law for him to refuse to show his receipt.
What Can Poor Customer Service Policies Do to Business?
If you have a business, you need good customer care services. Customers like to patronize businesses that respect them. They will leave if they experience poor treatment or feel unsafe, which can negatively affect your business. Let’s look at some of the things poor customer service can do to your business.
Reduction of customers
As you know, news spreads quickly, especially terrible news. If you treat a customer poorly, they will tell their friends and family, which can cause you to lose a lot of customers. Therefore, try to calm down when dealing with customers as per customer service policies. Also, monitor your workers to see how they treat customers. Always remember that the customer is always right.
Damage to Business Reputation
A good reputation is essential in every business because customers only want to patronize credible businesses. However, in the Internet era, it is easy to damage anybody’s reputation. For example, if a client tweets a negative review about your brand on Twitter or Instagram, it will affect your business badly.
Since nothing can be deleted from the Internet, you must be careful. Don’t start arguing with your client online because it will worsen things. Just contact them and sort it out calmly, per customer service policies. This way, people will see that you have room for improvement and will come around.
Revenue Loss Due to Lack of Customer Service Policies
You also lose revenue when you lose clients due to poor customer service. A business can only function with clients. So you must take good care of your customers. Also, always take responsibility and do not pass the blame on to your customers. If you do that, your business will stay strong.
Valuable Workers Will Leave
Just as customers are important in a business, workers are essential, too. If you have workers who don’t respect clients and customer service policies, the other workers must clean up their mess. As time goes on, the good workers will get tired and leave. So ensure workers assigned to customer service are good at their jobs so it won’t affect others.
Conclusion
Yes, poor customer service can ruin your business, but don’t let it tear you down. All you have to do is listen to your customers and resolve any issue quickly. Before getting involved in the law, ensure you are well within your rights.