GateWAy Blog

After delivering 14 Step 1 seminars of the Small Business Online program, it turns out that many of you already have a website. A lot of you have really good websites. So what’s next??

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A Californian couchsurfer told us about her experience with the service industry while visiting the region yesterday.

She is a marine biologist, working on various projects around the country and loves the place, although she cant quite get a handle on the complete lack of service she often gets hit with.

Having bought some batteries in a Walpole supermarket she realised that they were the wrong size, just as she was leaving the store. She tool them back to the nice girl at the counter, unopened, and asked if she could exchange them for the right size and pay the difference.

The girl had no problem, but had to call the manager over to show her how to do this on the till.

So far so good.

However, Mr Grumpy and Completely Unreasonable stomped over and scowled at his customer while the girl told him the problem. He said, “No we cant do that.”

Our Californian visitor explained again and said she was willing to pay the difference of course, and that the package was unopened. Again, exasperated, he said no.

She asked him politely if there was another solution.

He said yes there was. “Buy the right ones this time and as for what to do with the others, that’s your problem, they’re yours, you bought them,” and stalked off.

Too stunned to respond she turned to leave, and gave the batteries back to the girl at the counter.

“Don’t you want them?” she asked.

“Not really, you have them. They’re the wrong size, what would I do with them?’

Our Store manager from Walpole has now been quoted, described in detail and the name of his shop published in big black letters with his clear message of ‘bugger off’ plastered all over it. This has been blogged, messaged, text and discussed with her friends and family on five continents.

Someone in Walpole please get this fella to pull his head in, or send him on a long holiday, before he does anymore untold damage to the regional tourist industry.

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