The customer isn’t always right, especially when they choose to punish you for your good deeds. We’re all human and that means that the customers themselves aren’t angels all the time—they can be incredibly rude as well. And it’s business owners and staff members who have to absorb all of their negative emotions when they don’t like something. However, as it turns out, some customers get worked up over something as small as... a free lolly.
Australian business owner Carissa Collins, the founder of TLC Body, turned to TikTok to vent her frustration after receiving an extremely rude email from a vegan customer. Carissa packed some free lollies with their order and this angered the customer so much that they sent her a strongly worded email. It brought Carissa to tears. You can check out her full video and the customer’s email below.
Carissa, from Queensland, told me in an interview via email that she was blown away by the support that she received after her video went viral. "I have received so many positive comments and messages from people who’ve come across my video, to the point I am unable to respond to them all straight away," she told Bored Panda. "There are the few occasional negative comments, however, if I’m honest, I was actually expecting a lot more. It’s been quite overwhelming seeing so many kind comments and people ‘sticking up for me.’ I guess it just shows how many people can relate to being on the receiving end of unreasonable customers." Read on for the full interview, Pandas!
A small business owner was brought to tears by a customer's aggressive email. You can watch the full video right over here
The founder of TLC Body adds free lollies with various packages to surprise her customers. However, one of them, a vegan, was angered by this
Image credits: tlcbody
Here's what the customer wrote in the email
Image credits: tlcbody
The woman couldn't understand why somebody would make such a big deal over some lollies
Image credits: tlcbody
Image credits: tlcbody
Carissa shared with Bored Panda that she'd never been a business owner before. "I’ve always worked for others and have never been able to respond to a customer how I felt right, until now. I chose to respond to this customer with kindness. However, I also chose to start my response to this customer by telling them that the way they worded their email was not called for, and it actually upset me," she told me how she responded to the email.
"This is not something I would’ve been 'able' to write if I worked for someone else. If I wrote an email that started that way for a previous employer, I would most likely have been 'spoken to.' My main reason for responding to this email was because I am a small business owner, and I currently do not have reviews on my business’ Facebook page. With how this email was worded by this customer, I was worried they would then leave my business a 1-star review using quotes from their email, which stated I could not be trusted," the businesswoman explained what exactly had her worried.
"I didn’t believe they would explain the whole experience: that a non-vegan lolly that was given with their (non-vegan) order upset them. This is also why I was quite upset in my video—I was worried about the future of my business as reviews like that: stating a business cannot be trusted, can destroy a business. This is the only reason I replied. I felt my business’ reputation was possibly at risk due to an unfair reaction to a lolly."
I was also curious to learn about how the Covid pandemic changed how Carissa approached her business. According to her, however, her way of working for herself hasn't changed much throughout the pandemic. Aside from a few minor hiccups here and there. "There have been the occasional delays with my suppliers, however, it has caused me to (try) and become more organized myself. Since leaving my full-time positions and now working from home, I’ve found I am more productive and complete my tasks a lot quicker than when I was in the office."
Things turned out well, however. The businesswoman received a ton of support after her video went viral and plans to continue giving out free sweets
Image credits: tlcbody
Image credits: tlcbody
Carissa thought that it would be a wonderful thing to add some free lollies to all the various body product and skincare packages she sent out to customers. Personally, I feel like it’s a wonderful gesture that shows customers how much this small business appreciates them.
Even if someone isn’t a fan of lollies, they could easily ignore them or give them away to someone else. However, one particular vegan customer couldn’t stand the fact that they received free “sugary junk” with their order.
“So once again I’m in a position where I will not be buying from you again because I no longer trust your word. I don’t even eat lollies—vegan or not—what do you think you are gaining by sending someone a bit of sugary junk in the first place? I’d rather pay less for my product than get something I never asked for or wanted,” the vegan wrote in the email that brought the business owner to tears and seeking sympathy on TikTok.
Usually, lollies are made using gelatin which is made out of animal proteins, so vegans can’t eat them. However, Carissa points out in her video that “if you don’t like a lolly, don’t eat it.” Instead of sending out vile messages and complaining about free things, the customer could have simply ignored the entire situation. Instead, they chose to make a mountain out of a molehill.
“I had a stressful day, so I took the email very personally. It is also the first negative email I have received like that. I really appreciated the response online, it blew me away to be honest. I also won't be stopping throwing in free lollies with my products, I think it is a nice touch... I guess the woman was having a bad day,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
Carissa’s video went viral, getting nearly half a million views in 3 days and racking up 59.2k likes, as well as 680 shares on the platform.
Fortunately, things ended well. In a follow-up video, the businesswoman exclaimed that she received a whole bunch of support from people who had seen her previous video. Carissa seemed extremely happy and thanked everyone for their warm wishes and orders.
Most people were very supportive of the Australian business owner
However, some people defended the customer instead and thought the businesswoman was in the wrong
