Isn’t that the most ironic comment that there is.
The other day my wife took back something to a shop…she didn’t have the receipt but nevertheless the shop was good enough to give a refund – which they didn’t need to do.
You would have thought that this kind of service was a good thing wouldn’t you?
However, all of the great experience was negated by the fact that the person she was dealing with said “we wouldn’t normally give a refund, but on this occasion we will as a gesture of goodwill”
This is a good example of how the benefit our businesses can get by going over and above the call of duty can so easily be undermined by not doing it with good grace or by dressing it in anappropriate language.
If the shop had said “it’s no problem whatsoever, we value your custom and it’s the least we could do” they would have had a customer for life, but as it is she probably won’t be rushing back.
A good point. I think you should name the shop involved. Then we can all not return to it, buy off the internet instead and send Britain’s High Streets further into despair. Was it Bob Dylan who sang, ‘the times, they are a changing’? In our own ways, we’re all trying to help him bring this about – and it looks like we’re succeeding too.
I too have noticed inappropriate and over use of the phrase “gesture of goodwill”.
Most recently, in a well known pizza shop I personally received a gesture of goodwill that wasn’t.
My Pizza had arrived at the table, so badly charred that you could not tell what the toppings were meant to be. The waitress was very apologetic about it offered to get me another one but I didn’t have time to wait for another one to cook and decided to leave.
As I was walking towards the door I thought no big deal, these things happen, we are all human and make mistakes, it’s only a burnt Pizza and no ones died.
It was then that the manager rushed towards me and said don’t worry I have waived the bill as a gesture of goodwill.
I explained to him that I had only ordered the pizza and was drinking tap water and enquired what bill he was talking about.
His confident reply was “the bill for the burnt pizza”
I clarified “so the pizza I was given was inedible and as a gesture of goodwill you won’t charge me for it”
His ever confident reply “Yes sir that’s correct”
So that was another customer lost as a direct result of being given a gesture of goodwill.
Thanks Simon. Sometimes people just seem not to ‘get it’ when situations like this occur.
Perhaps in your instance you should have explained that as a gesture of goodwill on this occasion you wouldn’t punch him in the face!
That is the best line I have heard in a long while.
If only I could go back in time.