Behind the Counter: Miniature Golf

As a counterman for a public golf course, I have numerous and varied responsibilities, including but not limited to answering the phone,  scheduling advanced tee times, cancelling existing tee times, answering questions, maintaining  the appearance and order of the Pro Shop, cleaning windows, cheerfully greeting our patrons, checking our patrons into the system, determining the appropriate rate for play (as suggested in a previous article, 98 options), accepting cash/credit card payments and wishing our patrons the very best on their adventure. 

One morning, a week or two into my employment,  I received a call from a pleasant young man, wanting to schedule a tee time for later in the day, suggesting he had visited our property on countless occasions and as such, warranted preferred status (interpretation: a  deep discount off of our standard rack rate).

I immediately began to scour the system, attempting to confirm said status.  During those uncomfortable moments, the customer continued with a barrage of reasons for his earned distinction. Unfortunately, I was unable to confirm his perceived status.  As a responsible, revenue generating company-man, I stood my ground and didn’t waiver off of our standard rack rate. After a solid five minutes of conversation/debate, the caller finally elected to secure a tee time.

Hoping to end my shift prior to a second encounter, the pleasant young man arrived in the Pro Shop and, not hesitating for a moment, continued the initial discount conversation.  He was polite yet dogmatic in his approach.  After another five minutes or so, he acquiesced to the standard rack rate however he followed the rate conversation with a request for free tees.  I pointed to the clear container on the counter, filled with individual bags of tees for $2.00 apiece.  After yet another disappointing outcome, the customer followed the tee conversation with a request for rental golf clubs.  Believing we were on the verge of Armageddon over the $15 club rental fee, the customer didn’t even blink.

Feeling as if we were finally concluding our lengthy exchange, the customer returned to the counter in a Colombo-like manner, requesting complimentary golf balls.   Before I could respond, he, with conviction, stated that many golf courses provide complimentary golf balls and tees.  Stunned, I waived my arm (Vanna White-like) over our display of Titleist True-Soft, Tour-Soft, Pro-V, AVX sleeves as well as the bin filled with our logo balls.  The customer responded, and I quote, “But I don’t need to buy any golf balls, I have a basket full of golf balls at home.” 

Well (deep breath), I was certain the golf ball exchange was going to push the polite young man over the top or possibly over the counter, causing a divide in our relationship and a significant loss of revenue for our organization.  

Discouraged, beaten and bedraggled (those were my emotions), the customer shook his head, paused for a moment, then proceeded to purchase three logo balls for $7.50 to finalize the transaction. 

In summary, full rack rate, $15 club rental, a $2 bag of tees, three $2.50 logo balls totaling $7.50 and a free scorecard and pencil!  The customer exited our Shop and headed for the first tee. 

My training in sales and elite customer service prevented me from providing directions to the nearest miniature golf course.

Another day “Behind the Counter”!

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