Let's say that my company makes various widgets. And let's say that, due to machine capacity and the finite number of hours in a day, we are able to make 120 pieces of Widget F per day.
Now let's say that Customer wants 150 of Widget F per day. I tell the sales rep sorry, I talked to production, and 120 is the maximum. Sales Rep says she doesn't want to lose this business, and takes the order.
It doesn't take Customer long to realize that they are receiving 120 Widget F's rather than 150. They complain. Sales rep says "Can't we just make more?" I say "No, I already told you that production can only make 120." "Well, we need more" she replies (helpfully). I tell her she's SOL and needs to find a nice way to tell her Customer that they are SOL. She complains to her boss. Who calls me. I explain the facts of life. Ever the optimist, he says "Maybe things will get better." Yes, and maybe tomorrow I'll wake up to find a money tree growing in my back yard. Fingers crossed!
Customer is now mad because they keep calling customer service looking for their widgets, and customer service says they don't have any more. They say this is unacceptable, and tell Sales Rep that they no longer want to talk to customer service because they won't tell them what they want to hear. They only want to deal with Management from now on. Which means that it is now my job to listen to their endless bitching, and then pass their questions on to customer service, then pass the answers back to Customer. This is about when I think back over my education and career thus far and wonder where I went so woefully off track.
I am this close to telling them that Sales Rep should have told them that there's no more blood in this stone, and to do what they feel they must.
Thank you for listening. Dealing with these people is the worst part of my day, and my boss just shrugs. You can practically hear him think "Better you than me."
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