Dealing with fussy customers

[Andy Gorman]

Isn’t it always the way? Those that are spending 53p on a piddly little job want you to spend a thousand years showing them colour samples etc. I don’t mind spending a bit of time with customers (although I prefer the term ‘enemy’) but some of them do take the p1ss. If she comes back, punch her in the face.

[David Rogers]

Wrong! Not at all!

I’ve got a ‘list’ of customers, well ex-custmers that just extracted the urine one too many times re: artwork. One guy (who was previous PITA customer) had me design upwards of 30 completly original logos for a business 7 or 8 at a time. And each time he’d come back and scrap the last lot. In the end I Emailed him the last bunch with a covering letter about artwork copyright infringment (it’s mine, all mine!) and haven’t heard from him since. Now I really don’t care that it was a £4k to £5k job. The upshot is, I’ve got a load of original ideas to re-hash for REAL customers. Another used to call me up to 4 times a week to ask stupid questions, and another logged my mobile number & would call at 10pm looking for me.

My main gripes are with eejits that assume a 10k web .jpg will produce stunning artwork when 6′ high and cannot fathom that you want images about 1Gb in size, or want to trawl through 5000 fonts looking for ‘just the right one’. Sorry misses, not gonna happen!

[John Childs]

Phill,

I wonder if you don’t sometimes make a rod for your own back. A bit of time spent on a shop of factory sign is to be expected, but designing a No Parking sign is ridiculous.

For a something like that I would ask what colours and size they want.

If I get an answer I will spend ten seconds sketching it on a bit of scrap paper. Do you want it or not?

If they can’t answer the questions then I tell them to come back when they can.

[steve geary]

quote Andy Gorman:

If she comes back, punch her in the face.

Right On “G”! :thumbsup:

Phil.. I hear Ya… I take that crap Way too much. You’re an inspiration!

[Rodney Gold]

The customer is not the enemy and what you lose on the swings , you gain on the roundabouts. Many times we have had real easy customers that spend megabucks and then the next one agonises. We have found 2 ways to stop this. Firstly “steer” the customer , be quite forceful in your direction and choices. Do not offer extra options , fonts , colours or worst – change your own mind!! (I have seen this often , a deal is about to be closed and the salesperson comes up with a new bright idea entailing a re-sell)
Secondly , advise the customer that design time , after 15 minutes , is now being added on the bill as this is no longer a “standard” job.

If you dont want to do piswily jobs , then just don’t take them on or charge above the odds for the small stuff so it DOES become an economical proposition. Beating up the customer cos YOU are p’d off cos the job is now no longer easy or pays well is YOUR fault , not the customers. Most laymen are not aware of what it takes to make or design a sign and the actual function of a signmaker and thus have expectations above what they are spending. I don’t think anyone who has taken the trouble to come in a few times and brought a business partner with to vet a layout deserves a punch in the face , it has cost them time and money too to do this!!!
I must say , If I went to someone to spend my money and that person demonstrated by their words and actions that I was an irritation , I would punch THEM in the face!! I would most certainly walk out and NEVER come back and wont have anything good to say about them. Imagine if one of YOUR suppliers had to act like that when you are purchasing a small piece of material. Take a lesson from stores like woolworths in terms of customer relations.

[Jayne Marsh]

Ive just had a customer like that who would ring me at weekends, evenings or whenever they felt like it to discuss their job, it was like their little baby and they nursed it every step of the way, I was getting a little impatient with them to say the least, but my patience paid off and what started as a very small job grew and grew into a really good earner. At the end of it all they thanked me very much for my limitless patience with them and said they would recommend me to everyone. I deal with trying customer by going to the gym and running or punching something (mainly Jeff) :lol1:

[Kevin.Beck]

way to go phil………

I try to suss out the customer on how much they are willing to spend.

If they come in my shop for I tee shirt. They get 10 mins and thats that. If no decision is made in that time frame, I send them on there way and tell them to come back when they know what they want.

Big orders are worth spending time with the customer, suggestiong ideas etc.

On a order of £25 or less, the maximum you can spend dealing with it is 15 mins. After that you are losing money and you might as well tell them to go else where. (this applys to me, as i am the only production worker)

I get this alot as we have a shop as appossed to a unit out of town.

like rodney says, if they don`t know what they want- TELL THEM. MAKE THE DECISIONS FOR THEM.

[John Harding]

Aah Rodney

quote :

The customer is not the enemy

you are so sensible 😀 I love reading your posts always informative, phil I understand entrely where your at however as others have suggested be pro-active with your punter not re-active to them and I reckon life will get easier.

If you do wack them post a photo tho 🙂

John

[David Rogers]

quote Rodney Gold:

If you dont want to do piswily jobs , then just don’t take them on or charge above the odds for the small stuff so it DOES become an economical proposition…………Imagine if one of YOUR suppliers had to act like that when you are purchasing a small piece of material. Take a lesson from stores like woolworths in terms of customer relations.

I don’t think Phill is making a point about low value jobs, I’m sure we all do them. It’s just the level of exasperation that what started out as ‘an easy job’, probably already slightly devalued as he reasoned “it’s just a no parking sign, why charge over the odds” turned into a labour of love for the people involved….it’s maybe a little unfair to compare that to buying a low value material from a supplier. I’m pretty sure that if it was the first time you’d dealt with a supplier and you were humming & hawwing over “do I want a metre of 610 wide or 760 wide, gloss or satin, hmmm, what colour do I want now, can you deliver it at 10:14 on Sunday to my aunties house..” It would be met with a little ‘tetchiness’, especially if you told them you want to think about it and ask a friend.

I adopt a method similar to Becky, sus ’em out, and set boundaries. The initial ‘visit’ in most cases is what, how big, text, colour – do two or three options and let them choose….as you said “steer them”. I’ve taken to not displaying a fonts list or colour swatches. Of course, this sometimes fails & you’re back to square one. 🙄

[Shane Drew]

I know what you say Phill, and I have the same experience many times over. But I must say, I would have humoured them myself.

I have a few clients that started off this way in the early days, and now they are my best earners 😛

But then I have others that were a pain, are still a apin, and will always be a pain.

Unfortunately it is in my nature to be helpful, my mum is the same. My dad and sister would have replicated your approach. I don’t think either is bad mind you, but they don’t enjoy the same relationship that mum or I have with the our clients.

Because I rely heavely on referals for repeat work, I tend to take a different approach. I try not to upset anyone, and I do get my fair share of loonies as a result, but if I have enough of their disorganisation, I just start raising my prices. Mostly they will stay because they have outlasted their welcome with other shops before me, but at least it is profitable for me to put up with the tooing and froing.

Hang loose Phill, take it easy. If it is really bad, do as I do, refer then to the sign guy down the road that you don’t like. You’ll feel much better 😛

For the record, I would not have done artwork at all. I would have sent a proof and told them to check the spelling before I produced it.

[Marcella Ross]

quote Andy Gorman:

If she comes back, punch her in the face.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I second that!

[George Elsmore]

I’m afraid we only make this ONE type of no parking sign madame however if you wish us to make up a custom sign it will cost a zillion squid ……………..usually works :lol1:

[David Rowland]

lol.. i find the answer to this problem is never do the artwork ‘with’ the customer present…

when you have done it, printed out on a confirmation sheet… then they can discuss it before signing, it will be much quicker.

keep away from computers when they are about, never make changes when they are there. Also keep the sales talk to a minimal on a lo-value job, pretend it is a simple sign.

[Phill Fenton]

In case anyone’s remotely intersted…I did actually get the contract to manufacture this masterpiece :lol1: :lol1:

[Kevin.Beck]

congrates

[John Harding]

quote :

In case anyone’s remotely intersted…I did actually get the contract to manufacture this masterpiece

You must be underwhelmed

i guess that means fisticuffs were out of the question then!

John

[Peter Normington]

Dont forget to post a pic when you have finished it Phill,

Peter

[Jill Marie Welsh]

Just say,
“Listen, bitch, do you want this sign or not?”
(regardless of the customer’s gender)
I feel your pain Phill.
I think her sister is one of my clients.
Love…..Jill

[Shane Drew]

quote Jill Marie Welsh:

Just say,
“Listen, bitch, do you want this sign or not?”
(regardless of the customer’s gender)
I feel your pain Phill.
I think her sister is one of my clients.
Love…..Jill

😮 Think I may have a clue why you may be working in a hardware store Jill 😕 :lol1: :lol1:

[Hugh Potter]

i wasnt gonna get stuck into this one, but me being me …… !

i guess at this stage in my business i will take what work comes along, i can understand your frustrations, but for me, since i’ve not long started to advertise, the bigger jobs aren’t too many right now, ten of those £30 jobs a week can kep me going ! so regardless of the occasional pain factor i see them as the bread and butter of what we all do, not guts, no glory, but cash in ones bank !

having always worked in some kind of service industry, face to face with customers (service engineer, builders yard shop boy to driver to yard manager, etc etc) i think i’ve seen them all, it dosnt really phaseme now, and on the whole i think i have to agree with Rodneys remarks, customers might be the occasional pita, but they are our bosses ! dunno who said it, might even be on here, someone said ‘self employment means going from one boss, to everyone being your boss’ ! . true !

i guess i’m guilty of bending over backwards for customers, make sure they get exactly what they want, and to date, it seems to be paying off, probably a 30-40% return rate for business customers so far,

of course… the real beauty of this self employed business, is taking the crap from an awkward customer one day, and having too little to make a days work today so i bugga off to the beach with my fishing gear !!!

[Kevin Frew]

I’ve been in business since 1967 and still haven’t mastered the art of being diplomatically rude.
You could say “I charge $50.00 per hour. $10 per hour for doing the job plus $40 per hour for knowing what to do…. Trust me!”
She will either say OK or walk out the door.
(Life is full of choices)

Cheers
Kev