It was 15 minutes to closing time and we are finishing the routine before we lock the doors in the library. We have already counted the money, verified, and signed the papers. We have pushed back the chairs, straightened the books, and turned off most of the lights and computers. One man who was making photocopies was leaning on the shelves.

"Pssst! Psssst! Hey, excuse me."

I turned around and saw this man looking like he was calling a servant, with his index finger gesturing me to come to him.

"I'm sorry, what is it?" I asked. Who on earth would call someone like he was calling a dog?

"Hey you told me y'all were gonna call me when the language program is returned. I haven't heard from you."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm going to check now to see if we have it. It's just nobody had a clue where the two discs were, even our library director didn't know. If they are already returned, I can check them out to you now."

So I went and checked and they were in the shelves. Meanwhile, he went to the fax station at five minutes before closing time. As mentioned, all our money has been counted and everything is pretty much closed and locked (including the cash box). But we still helped him send his fax.

"Okay, would you still want to check out these language programs sir?" I said.

He said yes, looking annoyed. We brought out four items from the box, including the instruction manual, discs, and laminated cover. They had to be scanned as part of the checkout. I brought him the sign sheet that will verify he checked out the software in good condition.

"Why are there so many items? How do I know they're in good condition? Did you test them first?" He argued.

"We check their condition before we scan them back to the circulation system sir." We handed him the receipt showing the due date. "It's good for three weeks."

"Three weeks? It used to be one month, didn't it?"

"No sir it has always been three weeks."

"But is used to be one month for this language program!"

I was thinking, how did you know? You never checked them out before! And I was telling him the truth.

After trying to convince him right past the closing time, he finally left.

And so goes the saga of bad customer experience, in the eyes of a business owner. Does this mean the customer is not always right? Or does this mean business owners have to be more patient with their customers? This blog/eBook will give insights on how to give better service and get more customer satisfaction.