Simon and Garfunkel had a song called “Keep The Customer Satisfied.” That philosophy is important when you are making Metaphysical Cookies. Let me give you a case in point. Last weekend I was at Florida Pagan Gathering. There I sold books, canes, wands, and boxes. One of the boxes was an apothecary box that holds 114 small bottles. The main part of the box held 90 small vials and the top and front both opened up to hold 24 larger bottles. The unique part of the box was that the front and top held the bottles upright when opened, even though when closed the bottles would fall out when the box closed. Therefore to everyone I showed the box to I made certain to say ‘you must take the bottles out or they will fall out. That’s why there is a shelf built into the box to hold the bottles.”
A woman came to my booth and I gave her the speech. She asked some questions and then bought the box. Two days later she writes me saying she’s been trying to get in contact with me for days and that the box has a design flaw. She posts on her Facebook that the box has a design flaw without talking to me or contacting me. She assumes that the box is the problem, but at that point I had no idea what was going on.
After I talk to her I learn that not only did she ignore the fact that I told her to remove the bottles but she closed the box and broke the oil bottles on the shelf. She tells me the box is ruined and she wants her money back. Here comes the satisfied part. When we sell to the public we must deal with more than the ‘prudent man’ philosophy. The prudent man theory says that an average man with average intelligence will act in an average way in a situation. It is what most legal cases are based on with damages. This woman was not a prudent man.
I tell the woman to mail the box back to me by UPS or FedEx and I’ll cut her a check for the box and the shipping. “Oh, you want the box back before you refund my money?” she says. I explain I can’t refund her money until I know how much is shipping and what the box looks like. Again I mention that she was told about the box and again I was told by her that I never said anything.
When the box is returned I will cut her a check for the refund. The woman is at fault; there was also a staff member of the event in the tent when I sold her the box who witnessed me tell her about the bottles, but that is inconsequential. The customer is always right, even when they are wrong. Those who know about this situation know what actually happened. The woman will go about her business until she tries this again with someone else, but by then, the other venders will be fore warned. Eventually Karma will knock on her door or if it doesn’t then that’s not my problem.
This is the important part about making and selling cookies. For every one hundred or one thousand happy people there is always that one stupid person who really angers you. If you let it get to you then eventually you will quit making cookies and the stupid people win. Recover what you can from the situation and move on. People will remember you took the high ground and appreciate that. The stupid people of the world will always be stupid. Revel in that and the fact that you are not one of them.
A woman came to my booth and I gave her the speech. She asked some questions and then bought the box. Two days later she writes me saying she’s been trying to get in contact with me for days and that the box has a design flaw. She posts on her Facebook that the box has a design flaw without talking to me or contacting me. She assumes that the box is the problem, but at that point I had no idea what was going on.
After I talk to her I learn that not only did she ignore the fact that I told her to remove the bottles but she closed the box and broke the oil bottles on the shelf. She tells me the box is ruined and she wants her money back. Here comes the satisfied part. When we sell to the public we must deal with more than the ‘prudent man’ philosophy. The prudent man theory says that an average man with average intelligence will act in an average way in a situation. It is what most legal cases are based on with damages. This woman was not a prudent man.
I tell the woman to mail the box back to me by UPS or FedEx and I’ll cut her a check for the box and the shipping. “Oh, you want the box back before you refund my money?” she says. I explain I can’t refund her money until I know how much is shipping and what the box looks like. Again I mention that she was told about the box and again I was told by her that I never said anything.
When the box is returned I will cut her a check for the refund. The woman is at fault; there was also a staff member of the event in the tent when I sold her the box who witnessed me tell her about the bottles, but that is inconsequential. The customer is always right, even when they are wrong. Those who know about this situation know what actually happened. The woman will go about her business until she tries this again with someone else, but by then, the other venders will be fore warned. Eventually Karma will knock on her door or if it doesn’t then that’s not my problem.
This is the important part about making and selling cookies. For every one hundred or one thousand happy people there is always that one stupid person who really angers you. If you let it get to you then eventually you will quit making cookies and the stupid people win. Recover what you can from the situation and move on. People will remember you took the high ground and appreciate that. The stupid people of the world will always be stupid. Revel in that and the fact that you are not one of them.
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