The customer can be horribly, horribly wrong…

As you might remember, I rent virtual apartments in Second Life. [1] I had a conversation with another resident inside Second Life that leads me to offer these PROTIPS (which that person completely ignored) for those wanting to buy goods and services both in Second Life and in the real world:

  1. Insulting a merchant’s product and prices does not make them want to do any favors for you.
  2. Telling an apartment complex owner that you found a better or different deal at another complex isn’t going to change anything.
  3. Insulting the merchant does not make them want to do any favors for you.
  4. Wanting to see if they can handle the pressure is a crappy reason to insult a merchant and their products.
  5. All of the above will get you thrown out or ignored, not get you a special discount.
  6. Suggesting that an openly heterosexual male performs sexual acts on females is not an insult.

I didn’t let this person get to me; it was puzzling and eventually amusing. But that drama llama did waste my time – including missing out on helping a customer who really did want my help. So the PROTIPS for the merchants out there:

  1. The customer is not always right.
  2. While you’re spending time with the pain-in-the-butt customer who will never be satisfied, you’re missing out on helping the customers who are genuinely interested in your products.

I have a lot of good tenants. I have added features, created new things, or – in a few instances – cut a deal [2] for polite tenants who have asked nicely. I’ve refunded money or given extended rental time when the customer experienced an inconvenience that was my responsibility.

But the asshat drama llamas simply aren’t worth my time.

[1] I find it amusing that I’ve heard people talk seriously about buying things for Farmville, but dismiss the idea of an apartment in Second Life.
[2] Though that’s only happened twice; both times were exceptional circumstances.