Customer Thinks He Knows Better Than A Technician And Insists They Do A Destructive Test To Prove Them Wrong

Dealing with annoyed customers is a subtle form of art. Employees must know what to say to appease them, or else they run the risk of them exploding in the store and yelling at the manager. Sometimes employees will do their darnedest to help upset clients, putting up with the shouting and the pouting without a single word of thanks.

In u/JohnDGardner’s case, finding common ground with the customer was impossible as he demanded things be done his way. For his arrogance, he got burned, literally and figuratively.

More info: Reddit

If a customer refuses to listen to you and a colleague at their own risk, there is only so far you can go to stop them

Image credits: peakpx (not the actual photo)

The poster was working as a circuit breaker tester and for one job, he had to do two different tests for each breaker

Image credits: u/JohnDGardner

The customer saw the poster doing only one test for a specific piece of equipment and demanded that he perform two tests as usual

Image credits: u/JohnDGardner

The technician tried his best to talk the customer out of the second test which would have broken the equipment, but he just wasn’t having it

Image credits: u/JohnDGardner

Undiscouraged by the warnings of the poster, his colleague, and even after signing a waiver saying that he knew the risks, the customer had the test performed

Image credits: u/JohnDGardner

A mere minute later, the breaker was billowing in smoke and someone needed to run out to get a replacement breaker

The Original Poster of the story used to work as a circuit breaker tester way back when. He used to test the kind of circuit breakers that are in electrical panels at homes, but only bigger, industrial versions of them.

An important thing he details – circuit breakers may have two over-current conditions – thermal and magnetic. Most of the time, they have both, but sometimes, in special cases, things may have only magnetic, for example, fire pumps.

The poster was working with a customer representative and checking many breakers for him. When a fire pump came up, he only tested the magnetic components, but the customer demanded he check the thermals too, which it didn’t have.

The customer even signed a waiver that he knew what he was doing, and against OP’s better judgment, he demanded they start the procedure. OP, knowing they were in for a show, invited a colleague over and started testing. The testing was supposed to take 300 seconds, but smoke started billowing out of the breaker before a minute was up. The customer rep ended up not only embarrassed but also needed to run out to get a replacement breaker for the pump.

Image credits: Pete (not the actual photo)

Sometimes, well-informed customers are awesome. They know what they want, they’re more open to your suggestions, and you can have fun by having a conversation with them. The flipside of that is that sometimes you get people who think that they know your entire industry way better than you.

Sometimes they’ll want to show how much more they know than you, others are just looking for that small feeling of superiority. In OP’s story, they had the chance to teach a lesson to that customer, but knowing how to make the customer feel good and sell them what they want is often more tricky than it seems.

Cedia suggests that you should avoid being angry and smile and be friendly. And if you let them talk long enough, it’s possible that they may end up buying something. Especially if it matches their sensibilities – those of a well-versed buyer.

The know-it-alls may also be unwilling to believe you without any sources, so it’s usually good to speak only the facts about the product without providing your opinion. Another good play may be to show them what it says about the product on the box, as that is often a reputable source in their eyes.

It may also be very difficult to take a perceived assault from a customer, but you should remember that this isn’t personal, Customer Service Zone says. It’s likely a way for the customer to feel good about themselves, and if you try to get defensive or fight them, you’re most likely going to lose in the end.

Image credits: pxfuel (not the actual photo)

If they make a mistake that you must correct, it’s a good idea to correct them indirectly. Instead of calling their mistake out, you may pawn it off on the manual being incorrect or a similar technicality. You could also leave some wiggle room for doubt so that they don’t feel too upset with this confrontation.

You may also win out by stroking the customer’s ego, even a little, praising their knowledge in that area. Finally, you should tread carefully, as there may come a time when the customer DOES know it all. After all, there’s no shame in making a mistake or not knowing something and owning up to it.

The post collected more than 4 thousand upvotes, with nearly 300 comments. Commenters laughed at the client rep, especially emphasizing the guy’s cluelessness for still going through with the test even after having to sign a waiver. People also enjoyed the fact that the person who touted himself as being an engineer got schooled by technicians he was looking down on, which must’ve made it difficult on the ole self-esteem.

If you’ve got interesting or funny stories about know-it-all customers who were actually clueless, share them with us and our readers in the comments!

Commenters had fun laughing at the customer, especially for having his “I’m an engineer” mindset confronted

Image credits: Douglas Paul Perkins (not the actual photo)

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