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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

am I being too sensitive? Rude Avon lady

100 replies

AshleyWilkes · 25/11/2015 21:20

Had the same Avon lady for around 6 months now, she's always been ok. I never spend huge amounts, just the odd piece of jewellery or bottle of perfume.

Last week I ordered a body spray for my MIL, was £1.50.
Avon lady texted to say she would deliver tonight, I was working late so asked DH to pay her (he had afternoon off and was at home).
He had no change at all, so I told him to pay with his card (she had previously let me pay with her card machine for an £8 order).

So she turned up and basically got really pissy with him.
"I'm not using my card machine for £1.50. Haven't you even got £1.50 on you?" Her exact words.

He explained no sorry, had absolutely no change, he wasn't even aware that she was coming before I'd texted him.

She was apparently really snotty then and was all like "well I suppose I can call back tomorrow evening, how's that for you?" with an angry tone and a condescending head tilt.

So DH wasn't bothered when relating it, but I'm quite annoyed, as I'm giving her my business, (plenty of other Avon ladies in the area to choose from!) and a pissy attitude is not what I expect, simply because on one occasion we didn't have change.

There's a chance I'm possibly just being over sensitive though

OP posts:

hefzi · 25/11/2015 21:22

I think you're being a bit over-sensitive - but she's clearly not the most polite of individuals: that said, her card machine would probably be charging her a fair chunk of the £1.50, so I see why she wasn't keen to take it and end up out of pocket herself.

I agree, though, she might have explained that a lot more politely!

QOD · 25/11/2015 21:22

I think they actually pay out of its transactions less than £5?
3.5% and 20p Google tells me

WrenNatsworthy · 25/11/2015 21:22

They don't earn very much. It'd probably end up costing her money to use the machine. There are polite ways to talk to customers though.

scratchandsniff · 25/11/2015 21:23

I can see why she would be a bit put out. It's not like she's Tesco and set up with sophisticated tills, I imagine a card payment for 1.50 on someone's doorstep is a bit of a pain. However, she should have hidden her annoyance.

Original poster

AshleyWilkes · 25/11/2015 22:08

Thanks. Maybe she was being a bit arsey but I've had the day from hell and I feel better now I've had a large glass of chardonnay

OP posts:

WeAreEternal · 25/11/2015 22:40

Maybe you are being over sensitive, but to be honest if she has spoken to me or my DH in that way I would be handing her back the body spray when she comes tomorrow and telling her not to bother delivering another book as I will be taking my custom elsewhere.

CocktailQueen · 25/11/2015 22:43

Well, she's delivering a product to you for the measly price of £1.50, and you don't even have money for it, and she's taken time and petrol to get there, so I can see why she's cross!! Do you run your own business?

Maybe she'd had a bad day, but it's not the best idea to speak to customers like that...

ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight · 25/11/2015 22:49

You should have had cash ready to pay her
How much do you think she's making from that piddly order? How long will it take her to come to you twice to earn that 20p? And you wanted her to pay that and more to the card processing company? Think about it.

KingJoffreyLikesJaffaCakes · 25/11/2015 22:55

I'd tell her not to bother coming back if it's so much effort.

You can buy it all online.

Leelu6 · 25/11/2015 22:56

YABU. You should have texted her back to ask her to come back on a day when you will have change.

You should text her now to apologise for not having change when she came.

Wolfiefan · 25/11/2015 23:00

I've not done Avon but have done a similar job. It takes hours to prep, deliver, collect catalogues, collate orders, order goods, sort and deliver them. You drive and walk miles in the dark, wet and cold and earn a pittance.
If you order something worth less than £2 have the change ready. She shouldn't have been snarky but I can understand why she was pissed off.

Crackerjack9 · 25/11/2015 23:14

She was rude, but I can understand her not wanting to use the machine for that much.

lexigrey · 25/11/2015 23:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

GruntledOne · 25/11/2015 23:21

The thing is, no-one makes her do the Avon work, and if she's snotty to her customers she won't have any anyway. As pointed out, it's a lot easier to get that sort of stuff off Amazon.

Damselindestress · 25/11/2015 23:28

I can see both sides. She won't be making much profit from such a small order and the charge for taking card payments will eat into that. She's trying to make a living. It was incorrect to assume that she would let your DH pay such a small amount with a card because she had previously let you pay for an £8 order with a card, many small businesses have a policy of not accepting card payments under £5 because of the charges involved. If you knew there was no change at home you could have asked her to call by another time, saving her a wasted journey. She could've had a bad day too and this might have been the last straw. OTOH she should never have got angry at a customer, part of running a business and dealing with customers is handling these issues politely and professionally. She should have simply explained the card charges calmly. The main selling point of Avon is the personal service, since you can probably get similar items elsewhere cheaper. So I can see why she was frustrated but she shouldn't have showed it.

BlueMoonRising · 25/11/2015 23:30

Crikey, the poor woman. Not only is she only making pennies from your order, she is having to spend time twice to come to your house to deliver and get payment.

No wonder she wasn't entirely happy. I wouldn't have been either. I would have faked it on the basis that you might place a bigger order another time, but maybe she'd had a tough day.

Ball is in your court. You can choose to never order again.

Leelu6 · 25/11/2015 23:33

@Gruntledone -no one makes a cleaner do cleaning work but does that mean we shouldn't show them comsideration by being reasonable?

Same applies here.

Expecting Avon lady to accept a card payment for £1.50 is unreasonable.

iwantanewcar · 25/11/2015 23:36

You are totally out of order and very thoughtless. Nobody pays for an item of £1-50 with a card. No change at all at home? Really? My DC have money boxes, we have odd change in dishes, small change in the car for car parking. The commission to her on that £1-50 item might be 45p but I doubt it. The customer is not always right in retail.

Buttons23 · 25/11/2015 23:40

I can totally understand her annoyance. She came to deliver a item that you knew was coming and there was no payment available for her. W

Buttons23 · 25/11/2015 23:42

Posted too soon, it was not unreasonable for her not to want to use card payment for only £1.50.

I wouldn't make a big thing of it to be honest

KingJoffreyLikesJaffaCakes · 25/11/2015 23:47

I use my card for small payments.

Is 2015. We're in the age of technology.

She's being weird. Why have the machine if she doesn't want to use it?

TheOriginalMerylStrop · 25/11/2015 23:48

Get real. She's delivering an order for £1.50 (seriously was that all you wanted?) and having arranged to bring it to you, you can't pay her, and she's got to come back another time. If she uses her card machine it will cost her more than the small profit she has made by selling it to you.

KeepOnMoving1 · 25/11/2015 23:52

I would have felt bad to have someone come all the way for 1,50! and then to reduce that further I can understand why she's annoyed.

SpongeBobJudgeyPants · 25/11/2015 23:59

Ok. So the commission she makes on that sale is about 35p.... Does that alter your viewpoint at all?

SpongeBobJudgeyPants · 26/11/2015 00:02

And from that vast commission of about 35p, she pays for her own bags and catalogues.... Avon are very tight bastards and mainly have women trying to make extra money round their children etc. Very few people make much money selling Avon except Avon

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