CHAPTER 18

Not So Smart

AN ELDERLY MAN walks into your electronics store and slams a box down on the counter. “This is the third time I’ve had to bring back one of your stupid, defective computers,” he says, loudly and angrily. “None of them have worked!”

You ask him politely what went wrong, and he exclaims that he can’t even select anything on the screen with the mouse. Noting that this was the third computer he has had to return, you offer to set it up in the store and test it for him. As you do so, he also shares that he is a retired professor who is “pretty smart” at most things.

After you plug in and power up the computer, he grabs the mouse, holds it in mid-air, and points it toward the screen like a remote control. Clicking furiously, he turns to you and says, “See! Nothing is happening! And that arrow thingy isn’t even moving!” How do you respond to this gentleman? In this chapter, we suggest how best to protect this person’s feelings and the sale.

Meet the Customer Where He Is

You are clearly seeing an example of someone who lacks the ability to use a computer. He does not see it this way, though. In his mind, he just made an expensive purchase that should have better directions and be easier to use, just like his television set or his telephone. And, in a sense, he is right! So start the conversation by validating his view of the world, as outlined in Chapter 3:

“You’re right. Computers can be incredibly frustrating to use. Let’s look into this.”

Notice that we are not starting the conversation by saying that people have trouble using computers. This would be placing the fault on the customer before we even investigate the problem. After you test the computer and make sure everything is working properly, you then can begin to discuss the issue of learning to use a computer by normalizing it, as discussed in Chapter 7:

“Computers often require instruction to use for the first time, especially if you’re new to them. I have some great options that I could discuss with you. First, I’d like to learn a little more about how you would like to use this system.”

A particularly powerful form of normalizing is the “I” technique that we described in Chapter 4, where we frame things in terms of our own experience:

“I found computers like these to be really confusing when I first started using them too. Here are some things that helped me come up to speed with them. . . .”

Explore the Deeper Question

Note that the statements above included a question about how this person wanted to use his computer. He may want to communicate online with his grandchildren, check his investments in the stock market, or write his next book in a world that no longer accepts typewritten manuscripts. Whatever he tells you is valuable data that will help inform your responses to him.

Once you know this customer’s reasons for using a computer, you can explore appropriate solutions. If he needs to become comfortable with a word processor and email, for example, computer training may be in order. If he simply wants to play games or chat online, a simpler device, like a tablet computer, may be more appropriate. For some tasks, you could even explore whether a knowledgeable member of his household could work with him once you help him set up the computer. Learn what his real wishes are, and then partner with him to help make them happen.

Make the Customer Feel Good

Finally, the most subtle point here is that this customer was really annoying at first. His behavior was a perfect trifecta when he came into your store: arrogant, wrong, and not terribly well-informed. Human nature often leads us to “correct” customers like this one—and when we do, we often pay a price in bad reactions and lost business. Instead, start thinking how to make this customer feel good for giving you his business.

In the middle of his bluster, this customer has handed you several important pieces of information. He used to be a professor. He feels he is intelligent (and perhaps, by corollary, doesn’t feel appreciated for it at his age). He is persistent enough to keep returning computers. You can leverage these facts to help build a relationship, by doing things like:

In Chapter 10, we talked about reaffirming the customer relationship, or even thanking a difficult customer, as you wrap up the transaction. By helping this customer feel good about a potentially embarrassing situation, and by helping this product benefit him, you may well gain an appreciative customer for life.