Crossed lines over a mobile phone

Brendan Murphy recounts a festive memory from his time working in a mobile phone shop in Nenagh when an elderly customer got his lines rightly crossed on buying his first mobile phone:

I have several fond memories of Christmas from the many years I have worked in retail.

The Yuletide season has always been my favourite time of year in retail. There is something quite magical about how the atmosphere suddenly changes as you approach the Christmas shopping season.

The evenings getting darker, the shop fronts and streets illume with Christmas lights, and there’s the sounds of festive music on the streets as people wander from shop to shop to buy gifts for their loved ones.

Christmas Eve has always been my favourite day in retail as I loved the chaos. Particularly amusing are the husbands and boyfriends who leave it to the last minute to buy a gift for their partners.

LAST MINUTE

I always ordered in extra inventory for these last-minute shoppers. There was a sense of relief and delight when they looked for a particular item and I told them, “You are lucky, I think I have one of those left” - even though there might be several more in stock. Telling them they got the last one might not have the same effect, which for them was a sense of achievement and delight. And isn’t that really what it is all about - making the customer feel happy.

I do recall one particular story that has always stuck in my mind over the years and brought a smile to my face. One particular year I had a gentleman (since sadly passed away) who call into the store around Christmas time to buy a mobile phone for himself.

I recall he came up to the counter and said, “I would like to buy a mobile phone, I have never had one before, so I would like something simple and easy to use”.

Taking his instructions into account, I went into the stockroom and brought out two options for him, one being a very simple Nokia button phone, which he took an immediate liking to. I patiently set up the phone for him and went through all the details and instructions, including how to charge the phone and how to make and receive a call.

He wanted to try it out, so I asked him for a number that he knew so we could dial it into the phone. We heard it ringing, but there was no answer on the receiving end. After a moment or two he said, with a smile: “That is my landline number and I live alone so I don’t think I will be able to answer from here - I didn’t think of that.” He left the shop happy with his very first mobile phone.

The following day we were extremely busy as we were approaching the final days before Christmas.  I spotted the old gentleman who had bought his first mobile waiting in line with the shop bag in his hand. He was looking rather cross.

He eventually got to the counter and placed the bag down in front of me. He looked at me sternly and said: “I told you I wanted a mobile phone when I came in to you yesterday and you sold me this,” he said, pointing to the phone I sold him the day previously, with the charger attached.

He argued in a loud voice that what I sold him wasn’t a mobile phone at all, and he proceeded to demonstrate why.

In front of all the customers he walked over to the mains socket on the wall of the shop and plugged in the charger, extending it out  attached to the phone.

He looked at me and everyone in the shop, speaking loudly so they could all hear:  “ I can’t go very far with this now, can I ?”

SNIGGERING

I could hear some sniggering from the queue of people behind as I looked blankly back at him. I knew I needed to handle this one carefully. I walked over to him and detached the charger from the phone. “My dear man,” I said, “you can remove this charger when the battery is full and the phone will work away for at least a day.”

His face reddened up with embarrassment as he now understood. “Anyone could make that mistake,” I said, in an attempt to ease his embarrassment.

He smiled and said, “I’m sorry, and thank you for your understanding.”

The mood immediately changed from being what looked like a tense situation to a much more pleasant, if not humorous one.

I met the gentleman a number of times passing on the street and we would always acknowledge each other with a smile. I’m sure we both recalled the mobile phone story in our minds every time we met.

This story made me realise that not everyone is going to understand how to charge their first mobile phone, or how to set up their TV, or assemble that flat pack coffee table, or whatever product or service we provide. People in retail have always had, and will continue to have, an important role in giving customers the human interaction and experience that you simply can’t replicate with online shopping.

That is why we need to support our local shops and business, not only this Christmas but all year round.

Happy Christmas.