Dealing with an angry customer
#1
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Ok so i have just had to deal with an angry bloke, basically he decieded that he was going to kill me ![Lol1](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/lol1.gif)
And called me quite a killer names, before realising that i was not intimidated at all, and told me he was going to get out of his car to smash my face in
![Lol1](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/lol1.gif)
Basically he was lied about being a regular, and how the staff usually give him freebies, although he could not remember the last time he was in, could not remember the lads who give him the freebies, and thought i was a newbie who would not give in to his demands![Lol1](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/lol1.gif)
Regardless, for being a regular, he had no clue on how the system worked, no concept of the saftey signs, or stopping when the big red stop sign lit up![Whatever Anim](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/Whatever_anim.gif)
IE, he is a chump trying it on, not the first time, wont be the last.
This bloke got out his car (while it was in the carwash) to give me a good pasting, and was right in my face, jabbing his finger about and doing the "twitch" thing that kids do to each other to try and scare them![Whatever Anim](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/Whatever_anim.gif)
I am not the most nervous of people, so it had no effect, i found it much funnier to simply look at his finger and then listen to his waffle.
My question is, if this bloke appears to be about to strike me, and i take that in the way that it is intended and drop the ******, would the police end up charging me with assault due to me striking him first?
![Lol1](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/lol1.gif)
And called me quite a killer names, before realising that i was not intimidated at all, and told me he was going to get out of his car to smash my face in
![Freak3](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/freak3.gif)
![Lol1](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/lol1.gif)
Basically he was lied about being a regular, and how the staff usually give him freebies, although he could not remember the last time he was in, could not remember the lads who give him the freebies, and thought i was a newbie who would not give in to his demands
![Lol1](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/lol1.gif)
Regardless, for being a regular, he had no clue on how the system worked, no concept of the saftey signs, or stopping when the big red stop sign lit up
![Whatever Anim](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/Whatever_anim.gif)
IE, he is a chump trying it on, not the first time, wont be the last.
This bloke got out his car (while it was in the carwash) to give me a good pasting, and was right in my face, jabbing his finger about and doing the "twitch" thing that kids do to each other to try and scare them
![Whatever Anim](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/Whatever_anim.gif)
I am not the most nervous of people, so it had no effect, i found it much funnier to simply look at his finger and then listen to his waffle.
My question is, if this bloke appears to be about to strike me, and i take that in the way that it is intended and drop the ******, would the police end up charging me with assault due to me striking him first?
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Letting somebody hit me is not really what i would prefer to be honest, i had somebody attempt to push me over once and it really pissed me off for the next 24 hours as i felt i should have clobbered him
I am not really sure on the ways of doing things legally, if you are supposed to let the other bloke hit you first, it could be a reasonable sacrifice if you can then whirlwind him to feckery
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I am not really sure on the ways of doing things legally, if you are supposed to let the other bloke hit you first, it could be a reasonable sacrifice if you can then whirlwind him to feckery
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Last time I was told the law, just raising the arms with the intention to strike is deemed assault.
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I know this is a joke, but at the same time its kid of valid, what can you actually use in regards with somebody approaching you with intent to hit you ?
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#8
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i,m no lawyer but if in your opinion you believed he was going to hit you could use reasonable force
how you define reasonable force is the key -- hitting him once maybe, hitting him more that once -- and when he is on the ground i think would leave you exposed to legal action
the Dave Martin burglery shooting case rested (i think) on the fact that the boy was shot in the back leaving his property -- this did not meet the reasonable force test
how you define reasonable force is the key -- hitting him once maybe, hitting him more that once -- and when he is on the ground i think would leave you exposed to legal action
the Dave Martin burglery shooting case rested (i think) on the fact that the boy was shot in the back leaving his property -- this did not meet the reasonable force test
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This bloke was "pretending" to start a few punches, probably to see if i would jump or run away
![Whatever Anim](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/Whatever_anim.gif)
Although i did not, so he then started poking his finger towards my face, telling me i was going to be burned down, straightened out, and generally dealt with in an inhumane way
![Lol1](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/lol1.gif)
And then i was going to be in the local paper for bad customer care
![Lol1](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/lol1.gif)
Funny thing is, the same thing happened at my mates local site 2 weeks back, although i don't think it is the same bloke
![Sleep](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/sleep.gif)
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I am 6 foot one and built quite large, this bloke was actually bigger then me, although he had a huge belly, and mine is not that big
![Lol1](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/lol1.gif)
![](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Sticky/Stuff%20for%20forums/Knock_Ya_Block_OFF.jpg)
I suspect he has used the same tactics to intimidate others in the past and they have probably worked.
The cctv footage has already been passed on to a somebody else, just in case the knobber plans to claim he is an innocent party, one of his final threats was that the local paper will be around for a story
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Before or after he "burns me to hell" i am not so sure
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This bloke was "pretending" to start a few punches, probably to see if i would jump or run away ![Whatever Anim](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/Whatever_anim.gif)
Although i did not, so he then started poking his finger towards my face, telling me i was going to be burned down, straightened out, and generally dealt with in an inhumane way
by the hardest people in the area.
And then i was going to be in the local paper for bad customer care![Lol1](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/lol1.gif)
Funny thing is, the same thing happened at my mates local site 2 weeks back, although i don't think it is the same bloke![Sleep](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/sleep.gif)
![Whatever Anim](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/Whatever_anim.gif)
Although i did not, so he then started poking his finger towards my face, telling me i was going to be burned down, straightened out, and generally dealt with in an inhumane way
![Lol1](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/lol1.gif)
And then i was going to be in the local paper for bad customer care
![Lol1](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/lol1.gif)
Funny thing is, the same thing happened at my mates local site 2 weeks back, although i don't think it is the same bloke
![Sleep](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/sleep.gif)
A good approach is you ask politely for them to settle down, you then warn them that you will not continue an interaction unless they calm down, then you walk away. If they continue, you threaten to call the police. At which point if the behaviour continues, I'd say you had reasonable grounds to protect yourself and your business.
Easy to say on a BBS but it's a bit different when some loony is screaming in your face, I know!
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I was told by a copper a while a go that if someone comes at you with intent to harm you can take steps to deal with it with appropriate force. The crucial bit though, in taking that action, is that you state you feared for your life. Not that you thought your life was at risk, you knew it was. If you see the distinction.
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This bloke was "pretending" to start a few punches, probably to see if i would jump or run away ![Whatever Anim](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/Whatever_anim.gif)
Although i did not, so he then started poking his finger towards my face, telling me i was going to be burned down, straightened out, and generally dealt with in an inhumane way
by the hardest people in the area.
And then i was going to be in the local paper for bad customer care![Lol1](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/lol1.gif)
Funny thing is, the same thing happened at my mates local site 2 weeks back, although i don't think it is the same bloke![Sleep](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/sleep.gif)
![Whatever Anim](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/Whatever_anim.gif)
Although i did not, so he then started poking his finger towards my face, telling me i was going to be burned down, straightened out, and generally dealt with in an inhumane way
![Lol1](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/lol1.gif)
And then i was going to be in the local paper for bad customer care
![Lol1](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/lol1.gif)
Funny thing is, the same thing happened at my mates local site 2 weeks back, although i don't think it is the same bloke
![Sleep](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/sleep.gif)
#15
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just drop the fottage into the police station and let them deal with it, threatening behaviour is against the law, you dopn't have to strike some to be arrested, thinkt he video shots are pretty clear cut.
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A good approach is you ask politely for them to settle down, you then warn them that you will not continue an interaction unless they calm down, then you walk away. If they continue, you threaten to call the police. At which point if the behaviour continues, I'd say you had reasonable grounds to protect yourself and your business.
![Lol1](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/lol1.gif)
As has always been the case in the past with incidents like this, they usually come back for more, and this bloke did, he parked up and came back around for another turn.
I had told customer care that i would not be dealing with him any more due to his aggression, and i would be passing him on, when the knobber came back around for more finger waving, i told him i refused to get into an argument with him and that customer care will now be dealing with him, and he should ring them up for a chat
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The bloke is a tool, he deserved to be knocked out IMHO
Its not the first time, probably wont be the last time either.
Some bloke last year tried to grab one of the staff by the scruff of the neck and drag him into the carwash while he was still in the car once
![EEK!](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/eek.gif)
Hence why this new camera was put up in the ideal position, right at the front of the wash
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![Lol1](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/lol1.gif)
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if you can prove in court you "knew" he was going to atack you, then yes, you can punch first. It rests on the strength of how you prove you were about to be attacked though. If you have independent witnesses saying the other bloke was loud and aggressive, using threatening body language and words, then yeah, **** him first
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He wanted some paint sealant stuff put on his car before he went into the wash, i told him that we dont do it, and explained that the policy is that everybody gets the same prewash treatment to stop people arguing, he then proceded to tell me that everybody else who works here does it for him, and that he is a regular customer.
When i asked him if he was sure he had been here before, and he was not mistaken, he told me that he comes in every week, and asked how long i had been here as i must be new.
It all started kicking off when i told him i had been running things for the past 5 years, and i have instructed the staff to do the standard prewash on every car, he could not remember what these mystical staff actually looked like, nor could he remember the last time he was at the wash, he was full of crap, i knew it for a fact, it was just reinforced when he did not know what he was supposed to do, ignored the saftey signs (that i pointed out 3 times and explained to him) and then refused to switch his ignition off while inside the wash, when the machine started up, he then started driving forward into the machine, this has happened before and usually results in an insurance claim LOL!
"Mate are you sure you have been here before? you are not supposed to actually drive?"
"DONT YOU CALL ME A ****ING LIAR?"
"i am not calling you a liar, but i think you might be mistaken, you don't seam to know what to do? are you sure you have not been using a different wash?"
"RAHHHH RAAAHHHH RAAAHHH BLAAAHHHH AM GONNA PASTE YOU ONE"
etc etc
His wife was not much nicer, although she kept herself in the car while shouting things
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I can't imagine for the life of me why somebody would get so irate for the sake of a car wash. I guess you just made him feel a bit stupid by standing up to him rather than caving in like your other staff. They're the ones who, in my opinion, shouldn't be setting precedents like that, no matter how insecure they feel by refusing.
#23
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Purely for comedy value you should have said: "Can I ask you a question, does your mrs take it up the sh1ter?"
All the cameras would show were you speaking calmly to him when suddenly he lashed out at you
All the cameras would show were you speaking calmly to him when suddenly he lashed out at you
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He looks to be driving a micra or some small car.... he probably feels totally emasculated and uses this type of bullying in an attempt to feel macho. I'd have offered to wash his small car for free seeing as though it would only take a quick wipe of the sponge to do the whole thing.
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I can't imagine for the life of me why somebody would get so irate for the sake of a car wash. I guess you just made him feel a bit stupid by standing up to him rather than caving in like your other staff. They're the ones who, in my opinion, shouldn't be setting precedents like that, no matter how insecure they feel by refusing.
This is EXACTLY how i feel about dealing with ********* like this.
My mate has an identical site 10 mins drive from me and has to deal with the same kind of problem now and again, only he tends to to back down and cave in when the going gets tough, me personally i would rather lose this kind of customer, then let the smug gits return with that knowing look on the face that screams "i ****ed you over and i am now wearing the t-shirt"
I personally don't want these punters, let somebody else deal with them, i would rather lose a bit of business then deal with the knobbers.
I take people how they present themselves, and if they present themselves as bellends, then i usually don't have much time for them
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Last edited by StickyMicky; 11 August 2009 at 04:22 PM.
#28
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From your picture he looks a bit like Tommy Walsh....
Maybe he was upset that he couldnt get his van insurance through direct line quick enough as his advert suggests.
Maybe he was upset that he couldnt get his van insurance through direct line quick enough as his advert suggests.
#30
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This is EXACTLY how i feel about dealing with ********* like this.
My mate has an identical site 10 mins drive from me and has to deal with the same kind of problem now and again, only he tends to to back down and cave in when the going gets tough, me personally i would rather lose this kind of customer, then let the smug gits return with that knowing look on the face that screams "i ****ed you over and i am now wearing the t-shirt"
I personally don't want these punters, let somebody else deal with them, i would rather lose a bit of business then deal with the knobbers.
I take people how they present themselves, and if they present themselves as bellends, then i usually don't have much time for them![Big Grin](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
My mate has an identical site 10 mins drive from me and has to deal with the same kind of problem now and again, only he tends to to back down and cave in when the going gets tough, me personally i would rather lose this kind of customer, then let the smug gits return with that knowing look on the face that screams "i ****ed you over and i am now wearing the t-shirt"
I personally don't want these punters, let somebody else deal with them, i would rather lose a bit of business then deal with the knobbers.
I take people how they present themselves, and if they present themselves as bellends, then i usually don't have much time for them
![Big Grin](https://www.scoobynet.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)