Bad mouthing my product cus the customer was to inferior to read instructions

What can I do about this. Before I could even come to terms with this guy, he was running his mouth off like a little 10 year old kid, This person is IMing my partner cussing her out (which she had nothing to do with the sale and was not there at the time) just running his mouth to anybody about my product when I know for a fact they do work perfectly fine. My instructions are very simple and because he neglected to read them he claims Im selling things that dont work. I even offered to give him his money back but he just contiuned to ramble on like a kid and I dont even think that would had made a difference in his crappy attitude.

Im not some hustling fool just trying to get a buck on something that dont work.
I know my items I sell work perfectly fine.
Now cus some fool dont know how to follow instructions he wants to create a big mess of drama. I feel that its just a waste of time reporting his behavior

Has anyone had this same problem before? If so, what did you do to get things worked out? This guys intentions where to make me mad and he's doing a good job of it.

My advice: Let it go and don't let him upset you. He will shut up eventually. If he is spamming abuse to your partner, AR him for it.

(This is why I hated working with "the public" in rl, heh)

Agreed. Im not much of a people person when it comes to working with real life customers. Mainly due to self esteem issues. Pretty easy to just walk up to ppl and start a conversation in SL though. Anyways, thx for the advise. Just wish there was more I could do. Dude IMing my partner when she had absolutly nothing to do with my products. Blah, Wish SL didnt add the partners last name cus these griefers will do anything to get under someone's skin.

What do you sell? ;0

I agree, just mute him and forget about him. Anyone he talks to about your product will see that he is a total loon and will most likely not believe a word of it.

I have worked in a pharmacy for years and see a lot of psychotic (for real) people that come in for their meds. From what you say, this person is probably mentally ill in rl so there is no way you will be able to reason with them. Don't bother trying.

Right click, eject & ban.

Fixed it for ya

I had a similar situation with some little runt noob. He bought my Orbit Protector (which, while practical, is NOT a 'shield'), and is priced ad L$50. Some noobwipe bought it, and apparently expected it to be a discount ProTEK or something, because, well...

"I bought your Protector and whent to a combat sim and got killed!"

Um... it rezzes a PLYWOOD BOX. TO SIT ON. There is a 'large' option that rezzes a hollowed box, to stop, say, cheap bullets. As a gag.
Well.... they don't use cheap bullets in Rausch.

I gave him his money back, since it's transferrable only.
If it wasn't transferrable, I would have told him to go screw.

Hey JR

Sorry you got one of those customers, but it happens. This is the main reason I don't want teens/children in the grid. I don't want to have to deal with their immaturity.

But, sucks to say, there's no easy solution to it. My approach is to be polite, direct, and try and show patience.

"Can you explain your issue in more detail? How do you reproduce the problem?"
"I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're trying to say, can you try rephrasing?"
"I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're trying to say, can you try rephrasing?"
"I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're trying to say, can you try rephrasing?"
[repeat]

Sometimes they eventually calm down and attempt to express themselves in a language approximating english. Usually then I can answer the question usally with, "Oh, you need to [explanation], this is fully documented in the manual" and hopefully they'll realize that all the answers to their questions are already in their hands.

It really takes a bit of lip biting sometimes. I've had the occasional urge to scream at them, "Well no kidding! A Lamborghini isn't fast enough if you don't learn how to shift!"

Yeah, and the engine started smoking before it even got up to 60MPH

Some people think that "partner" means _business_ partner... as well as being in a relationship-type partnership.

I've had this problem!

WHat did I do?

I made the customer happy, I gave a personal lesson on how to use my product, answered any questions, and made sure they didnt leave wanting to bad mouth my product.

I just hate when they get mad because I'm not online to answer their questions immedietly. Sometimes they forget most of us have a real life that takes priority. That is a rare circumstance though.

Those types come around ever so often. Got a little story about it, like to hear it, here it goes.

I had a customer come into the store and purchase some animations. Nothing we sell is copy. I know this prevents me from selling a bit more, but I'll take the less headaches with the less money any day. She IM's me later to ask if she can get copy version and I say "I'm sorry we don't sell copy versions, if you would like I can give you a refund." (I give refunds pretty easy if I can verify the sale was within a week, otherwise you get to jump through some hoops first.) She says "NO! I want copy versions. I'm putting them in an AO and I will have to buy a copy for every outfit."

YIKES!! I offered her the refund again but she was determined to bully me into what she wanted. I'm a very stuborn person and this actually started getting kinda funny to me. I wondered how time I coudl say "I'm sorry they aren't what you wanted, I'll gladly refund your money" before she gave up.

Turned out it was about 10 times at which point she start IM'ing my business partner to tattle on me about what a horrible business person I am and how he should kick me out of his shop.

Now most people would hear from their business partner about this, but I got to watch it first hand as we're married in RL and his chair and my chair are back to back so I can turn and see his screen. She ranted and raved and did his best to talk her down from the ledge, she was not having any of it. I was to be strung and quartered for this.

He kept her busy while a few of our regulars came and went all the while sending me IM's sympathizing about the apparent crazy person in the shop.

I can't remember but I think she kept the animations in the long run. Never did get her copy versions. Poor dear.

If they start getting to you and you think your going to snap, get up and act out their part of the conversation using an accent you'd find in a popular shakspeare drama, or if your more into Trek.. Do it as Captain Kirk..

I will have my way Spock..

I sell prim hair and for new people it can be a complicated thing for them to understand at first. I had a customer come in one time and try a demo hair ( bald base then prim wig attachment that is the hairstyle in an unnatractive green color, its just to show the hair). First she IM's me very angrily that the demo is not the hair, its green and has a box saying demo above her head, she assumed the demo would be exactly like the hair. I explained that would defeat the purpose of the demo and it would just be giving free hair.

A few minutes later she Im'd to tell me she took the demo off and now she is bald. How dare I make her bald. She was too furious to understand me trying to explain that she needed to put back on her original base and went on to say that she would tell everyone in the game that my store plays cruel jokes on its customers by making their hair either green or bald :| She said she would pickit and stand in front of the store and warn everyone that came by

After making a few more attempts to explain the whole just put back your original base thing , I gave up. She eventually got over it I guess.. I never did see a protest of angry noobs in green demo hair .

If you know your product works and that the person was just unable to figure it out, and refuses to follow the directions or listen to you explain it.. any attempts they make to bad mouth you or your product wont succeed.

How ironic that she threatened the woman that has been one of the most generous to newbies in game (with your free newbie hair voucher).

Not that this is the problem in this specific case but one thing I have noticed is that the instructions, even from major SL sellers, are sometimes written in English by someone who is not a native English speaker. What may seem clear and obvious to the writer may use words in ways that a native speaker wouldn't use. If you are supplying instructions in English have a reasonably literate native speaker review them. This might well save you some problems.

Tess

Oh it's become one of thooose threads has it?

It's all I could do to help but scream.

20 minutes ago:
[21:05] Random Avatar: Ugh I just baught your Neko car/ship and it doesn't work!
[21:05] Francis Chung: Hi Random I don't sell the Neko car/ship
[21:05] Random Avatar: it has your name as creater
[21:06] Francis Chung: I don't sell it Maybe it was [Person who actually sells it] who sold it to you?
[21:06] Random Avatar: well whoever sold it lied out their teeth about it's features and it's just a model
[21:06] Random Avatar: cost me 500L
[21:07] Random Avatar: Neko Masaru Pod
[21:07] Random Avatar: and I'm reporting it as abuse and it has you name all over it
[21:08] Francis Chung: Sounds like [Person who actually sells it]'s pod. You should try contacting him, I'm sure it works and he can probably help you figure out what's wrong.
[21:08] Random Avatar: I wil try
[21:11] Random Avatar: no answer
[21:12] Francis Chung: Maybe he's AFK? I can't really help you with something I don't sell.
[21:12] Random Avatar: it has your name
[21:13] Francis Chung: I think you mentioned that already.
[21:13] Random Avatar: well how could your name be on it as creater and you have nothing to do with it?
[21:14] Francis Chung: If it was built from prims that I created, my name will be listed as the creator, even though I am not the one selling it.
[21:15] Random Avatar: yeah sometimes people to that to rob others and put the blam off them
[21:15] Francis Chung: I have to run, good luck in getting your pod working
[21:16] Random Avatar: it won't work there's not script
[21:16] Random Avatar: it's a scam

I sympathize..

I spend many many hours writing and reviewing the instruction manuals for my more complex products - trying to think of everything that I might have put in and an easy way to explain it.

In some cases the manual actually takes longer to produce than the product.

Then it goes on sale ( with web links to manual, notecards, little buttons taking you to the help etc etc ) and the first thing I get is an IM

"How do you dah di dah ? "


I do take the time to explain when I have it - but sometime i just want to scream "READ THE INSTRUCTIONS"


I am afraid it isnt just SL, it is a fact of life in the "plug and play" world where IM'ing ( or emailing - or posting on a forum ) is easier than actually coming away from the product for 30minutes and reading the manual.

Buy it - try it - ask about it - give it up.
( Use the documentation as a doorstop ).

I write horrible instructions

I think the fact that some play this as a game only, forget that these things take a lot of time to work on to make.

The way things are in Sl today he probably IS a kid.

You know what annoys me is people im'ing me asking if they can buy something and don't take the effort to open my picks and find my shop, especially when i'm not even online.

Second thing is people who ask me if they can demo the new Dominius. *Shakes fist at Francis* This happend only once.

I bought one of those last night and it didn't work for me either. Not a big deal, I figured I'd politely IM the seller when I had time. I don't think I saw Francis's name anywhere it though. I migth have to look harder to I can hassle her about my broken kitty car!

As for the more general issue; yes, those customers are difficult but you can't avoid having them occasionly.

I can't really remember how many times i had the following conversation:

Random Avatar: Hello. i have a problem!
Shiryu Musashi: Hello, what kind of problem?
Random Avatar: i bought a *insert the name of one of my cars here*, and it goes terribly slow, i can almost walk faster than that.
Shiryu Musashi: have you tried shifting up the gears? ^_^;;;;

To think that my cars auctually TELL the user how to receive the manual as soon as they are activated, and the manual explains quite clearly that the cars have a manual transmission and how to operate it (not to mention that my test drive cars do remind the tester to shift up)...

I have to say that given that experience, I would make all the cars explicitly tell the user that they need to shift gears to change speed, as well as that they can get a manual, like the test drive ones.

The Dominus Shadow *does* do that. Every time you get in the car, until you change the default setting, it reminds you how to shift.

But you know what they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

I wouldn't worry about it at all.

I tend to get a customer that may not know what they are talking about.

Keep in mind with how many people play in SL, you are bound to get a few of these even if you do everything correctly. I generally give a refund after the customer proves they removed the item from their inventory. Since my items are copy/no trans I would have them take a screenshot of their inventory with the name of my store in the search. This isn't failsafe, but it really is rare for someone to ask for a refund to begin with.

I figure if someone buys something of mine (and I do have demos) and they don't like it, then I'd rather give them a refund and not have them say anything bad about my store.

I work as an escalation manager for an online store RL so I only deal with angry customer's.

No press is better than bad press unless you are in the movie industry....lol

My partner deals with this all the time because she can't have demos. If you decide to refund, which I recommend, it seems to just go away.

Either way users buy the product. Sure bad word of mouth may cost you one or two sales, but if your product kicks ass...it really wont matter.