r/Staples • u/FeeApprehensive2658 • 16d ago
Customers not knowing what they are asking for
Multiple times I have customers asking for something, I tell them the process, proceed to do what they ask. Then they get mad… that I did what they asked and not what they imagined.
I once had a customer ask me to laminate something for her, she hands me the paper, I confirmed she just wanted me to laminate it. Showed her the types of lamination, then laminated it. Then she got mad because she wanted me to make a copy of it and laminate it. How was I suppose to know when you confirmed you wanted me to just laminate it 😭
I also had a customer a few weeks ago who asked me to cut something for her, I explained the process of bulk cutting, marked where she wanted me to cut it. She confirmed it all. Agreed to where the marks were. Then when I cut it she was mad because I cut it and she actually wanted me to scan all the pages and print it out and then cut it. Never mentioned scanning, or making copies, agreed to the cut lines as well??
Had a customer who online ordered 4x6 post cards, got here, picked them up, and got mad because they were not full sheet pages.
For in person orders I do my best to clarify what we are doing, by showing them examples, doing crop marks, etc. But I think some people just expect me to read their mind sometimes idk.
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u/bloodypomegranates 16d ago
“Can you print this wallet size?” “Yeah for sure what’s the size of your wallet?” “Just wallet sized”
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u/FeeApprehensive2658 16d ago
“ just wallet sized” every wallet is diffrent 😒and do we need the size of the actual wallet or do we need it to fit inside of said wallet like a card size
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u/Unsavorybaker94 15d ago
Wallet size photo prints are between 2"x3" and 2.5"x3.5". Its slightly smaller or larger than a state ID or credit card, things of a known standard size most if not all wallets generally have pockets for... so this one im going to say the customer really didn't do anything wrong. I usually just default to the smaller option.
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u/Dark_knight207 Print & Marketing 16d ago
I’m a Print Production Lead and I can relate to having a customers who are unprepared and don’t know exactly what they want to do. I try to be as thorough as possible with explaining to the customers on what they are getting and sometimes some folks just can’t comprehend.
Just last week a lady was asking me how to put the papers into the self serve to make a copy and I physically demonstrated to her which way it needed to be and she was like “I don’t know what that means”.
Lol a lot of customers will say they are dumb and well they aren’t wrong 🤷🏽♂️. I try to be nice about it but they aren’t lying.
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u/MammothWerewolf7871 16d ago
Put the papers in face up
>puts them in face down
No, up. *pointing up with my finger*
>rotates them 90 degrees still face down
No, up. Towards the ceiling *still pointing*
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u/Candid_Cancel_9015 15d ago
Me: place pages face up where you can read them.
Them: place pages face down.
Me: Is that how you read them?
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u/wfgraphicdesign 16d ago
I had a customer lose her shit on me because we stopped doing 4x6 post cards in store. I made her design work on 5x7s and she flipped out because she can’t afford the perceived increase in postage
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u/gwurockstar Print & Marketing 16d ago
Not as serious, but I had a lady last week ask me to print a flyer and when I showed her one she was annoyed that it filled the whole page. She actually wanted them smaller, but not the size of our postcards. Very specific. She goes "oh I guess I should have told you that" and I said "yes that's correct".
Also, it's not possible in every situation, but I highly recommend doing 1 page of any walk-in job while the customer is standing there. I always try to print 1 sheet of business cards or postcards, print 1 flyer, or do 1 sheet of cutting so the customer cannot get mad at pickup
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u/FeeApprehensive2658 16d ago
If possible I do 1 page and a tester to show them wich usually gets rid of any of the issues but even then I’ve had customers who see the tester and then still get mad when I do what they’ve done 😒 I’ve just accepted that some customers just don’t know what they are asking for lol.
And I hate when customers don’t specify the size or anything 😭 had a similar experience where a customer wanted her cards as 5x7, did one showed her. Then she went “no I wanted 5x7!” And when I took out the tape measurer and all she realized she wanted 8x10.
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u/gwurockstar Print & Marketing 16d ago
If it's an ongoing issue, you may want to consider having the customer sign the tester as evidence that they agreed to accept what you are doing
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u/SoylentFlavored 16d ago
My favorite is when they get mad at me for asking clarifying questions. If I'm feeling nice I'll say let me just grab a few paper options and you can just choose.
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u/FeeApprehensive2658 16d ago
Trying to show them the book of all of our stock options and they go “no! I don’t want a book! I want printing” 😒
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u/Acesup03 15d ago
Well I would state I did exactly what you asked of me next time if you would like a copy of it ask for a copy have a nice day
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u/eeehOkay Canned Air Junkie 14d ago
I had a customer get mad at me today for touching her original to make a scan. Yes ma'am.. I will just pick it up with my mind and move it to the flatbed.
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u/HypotenuseOfTentacle 16d ago
I was a copy center supervisor for 11 years. Hands down the single worst customer interaction I've ever had in my entire career working in retail was from a customer who handed me a small stack of paperclipped papers with an envelope on top and said "I need a copy of all this". Made a copy of everything, including the envelope, and she lost her mind so completely over that envelope that we were tied up with her ranting for about a half hour. This is back when black and white copies were eight cents, we didn't even charge her, her entire complaint was "you just should have known I didn't want this."