to start choosing the easy life

[leastresistance]

Namechanged, too identifiable and details deliberately vague.

I work in a customer facing role, in a big team although we are lone workers. We provide a service for which customers pay, some customers are eligible for specific discounts and all customers can use limited availability offers to reduce the price. If they do this, additional terms and conditions apply, which are stated at the time.

Last year a complaint was made about me because someone was trying to use a discounted service outside the terms and conditions and I didn't allow this. I charged them the extra. I could have allowed them to use the service at the discounted price, no one would have known, but officially that would not be doing my job properly. I am well aware that the majority of my team do not always check eligibility when people attempt to use the discounted service. Customer alleged that I was rude.

My manager asked for my version of events and seemed to support them, although she wasn't hugely vocal about it.

Today another complaint has been made. In this case the customer had purchased (or said she had) two services and was midway through using the first. She couldn't provide proof of eligibility to use either service at all. Nonetheless, I allowed her to complete the first service but warned her that she would need to either find her proof or pay again before using the second service. I was at pains to say that I could see how she had lost the proof and that I wasn't accusing her of dishonesty but that unfortunately the documents she had weren't sufficient. I did not charge her anything and would not have been the one charging her for the second service.

Again, the customer has complained that I was rude. I am known for being friendly and bubbly with customers, my manager has commented on it several times and it always comes up in overt observations and mystery shopping. I am not perfect and have certainly made errors in judgement in the past but having spent the last couple of hours going over both events again I am confident that I wasn't rude, I was unfailing polite but in both cases didn't say what the customer wanted.

Many of my colleagues do not bother asking for proof of eligibility and would have just shrugged their shoulders in the second case. While this does cause a small financial loss for the company, the reason I normally do my job thoroughly is because I don't think it's fair for some to be paying full price for something when others don't pay at all or pay a discounted rate to which they're not eligible.

The complaints will stay on my record, at some point I suppose a number of complaints will trigger performance management and hinder my progression in the company. I'm confident that I'm not near that level yet but AIBU to just stop bothering when all I get is potential career damage and unfounded complaints?

Sorry it's so long!

I would ask for a meeting and check on policy. Tell them that you know others give discounts when there's no proof of eligibility but you don't...and you want to know if you should...to stop complaints.

Also...is your tone of voice perhaps more abrupt than it needs to be or than you're aware of?

My DH has a "rude" tone sometimes without knowing it....I've had to work quite hard to let him know without offending him and to help him notice when he does this....so he can stop.

Thanks for your reply. Officially policy is set by a trade body but as we are lone workers we are told to use discretion if we feel it necessary/to avoid confrontation.

Perhaps there is something in my tone of voice, I just don't know. There's cctv but no sound and it's hard to be objective about yourself isn't it? The industry cops a fair amount of bashing from the general public and as such a lot is done to appease people who complain (generally, not in every single case but in most). It feels a bit as if the customers are trying to get revenge on me by complaining but perhaps I'm wallowing a bit. I'm not exactly the only person to get complaints. it's just that I feel I didn't deserve either of these, that they're malicious. I feel particularly frustrated about the most recent one, where all I did was warn her (she could be, in unlucky but far from impossible circumstances, taken to court over her failure to have proof). I have made decisions which are complaint worthy, in hindsight, but I wouldn't put these two in that category.

I have yet to meet with my manager over this but I'm leaning towards saying to her that I'm going to have to start following in my colleagues' footsteps as to do otherwise leaves my career vulnerable.

I know the above all sounds petulant and defensive and possibly it is, I'm just tired of doing my job properly and getting flak for it. Been a bad day!

I would maybe get a cheap dictaphone and start recording conversations so that you have evidence.

I have been on the receiving end of this sort of crap from customers and from colleagues but luckily calls were recorded so it could be heard that I wasn't rude and I had independent witnesses to other events.

cover your own backside is my strongest advice!