Customer Service – Please be Reasonable!

I recently took a day trip to Block Island, Rhode Island with my family during some much needed vacation time.  What a gorgeous and peaceful place!  After a long day of sightseeing and geocaching via bicycle, it was time for some rest on one of the beautiful beaches there.  Not having more than a towel or two with us, I was delighted to see that they had beach chairs for rent there.  The price was $10 per day per chair for rental (the kind that you can buy at Costco for $12.95). 

I was informed by the attendant that they would be closing in 45 minutes.  “No problem, that’s all we need them for.  How much for two chairs until closing?” I asked.
“That will be $25 please, which includes a $5 deposit”, she said.
“You’re joking, right?  You’re not really going to charge me the full day rate for less than an hour?” I asked.
“I’m sorry, sir.  That’s our policy”, she replied.
“Are you the manager here?” I politely asked, to which she replied “Yes”.
“You must be able to do better than that”, I pleaded.  “I really feel like I’m being ripped off.”
“I’m sorry sir, no exceptions” she said (plus a whole long explanation story which I completely tuned out).

At the conclusion of our little exchange, almost like it was staged, a guy walked up with his family to return two chairs.  While still standing with the rental manager, I sensed opportunity and quickly explained my plight.  He gladly offered the chairs to me, and I offered to split the cost with him, which he refused.  Five minutes later, I was sound asleep for a much needed half hour nap.

Time was up.  No problem…it was time for dinner anyway.  I then returned the chairs and collected a $5 deposit (courtesy of my earlier friend) from my inconsiderate attendant/manager, along with a no-charge dirty look.  In case you haven’t been following, the score is attendant zero, Len $5 ahead.

For all of you loyal Attivo Group customers out there, if we ever have a policy in place that doesn’t make sense, please notify me at once so we can fix it immediately.  Customers should never feel like they’re getting ripped off.  Also, please review your own customer policies on a regular basis, and solicit feedback from your customers on how to improve your products or services.  You just might wind up with more business, not to mention a whole lot of goodwill.