So fed up with ignorant customers

[SimonG]

Well, there are a lot of you who I would love to have as customers with the attitudes described, and in fairness, we have a lot of customers who are like that.

But we also have a lot of customers who use us as part of a range of suppliers. One of my favourite conversations of all time went like this:

Me: "Hey T***, long time, no see. Where have you been hiding?"

Him: "Yeah, sorry Ray, I have mostly been using S**** at [competitor]"

Me: "Oh, why's that then? Is he beating our prices?"

Him: "No, its just that he took me to a golf day, and ... well... you know how it is..."

Me: "No worries mate. Anyway, how can we help?"

Him: "Well, I've taken this job on, and its a bit technically complicated for S****, so I though I'd come to you for some advice."

Me: "Splutter..."

Seriously - almost word for word.

And we did the quote, and made the sale, and then he went back to playing golf and shopping with the competitor.

No point asking any of the merchants round my way for anything technical (except hwos on the oil side), I would get more sense out of next doors cat.

 

[Ray Stafford]

I would get more sense out of next doors cat.

Tell the cat to get his post count up, and send a PM to Mark!

 

[SimonG]

Tell the cat to get his post count up, and send a PM to Mark!

I would but he really struggles without opposable thumbs. Ive told him try drinking more cravendale milk.

 

[Ray Stafford]

should have bumped the price so you could have joined him on the course for a day

What, and spoil a good walk in the country?

Seriously - I have never played golf, and whilst I have nothing against those who do, I hate the idea of doing business that way. Honest competition should be on product, price and service.

 

[kay-jay]

I use two local independants that for the most part are pretty good. On some items each can be way over what the other charges but when all materials on any given job are added up then theres not mich between them so its down to which direction im working in (opposite ends of town) or for ordered gear who can get it quicker.

For non immediate work which requires over a 100 of gear I now always give ray a shout to see how he compares price wise as money saved goes into my pocket but even without a saving ill use ray as he has a good service and I appreciate the effort he puts into the forum.

 

[Ray Stafford]

I would but he really struggles without opposable thumbs.

Since when did being thumbless flipwits prevent people posting on this forum?

 

[kay-jay]

Since when did being thumbless flipwits prevent people posting on this forum?

Doesnt stop you...

 

[cr0ft]

I have been hungry for work and still look on any new customer as 'gold dust.'However I am pretty sure I would not have even got inside and would certainly have walked had I done so.I wouldn't necessarily blame anyone who stayed,that is their choice.
However the question you have to ask is 'What sort of customers are you looking for?'I was going through some old paperwork the other day and saw a number of old ,failed quotes.The things that they had in common were,they were very cheap as I was finding it hard to get work and that even then they were not cheap enough for these customers who had one thing in common ,it was all about price.As is often pointed out in the forum there are customers who value you and your work and those who would drop you for a £5 or because you can't get to them immediately.A customer who had the bloody cheek to get 5 plumbers there at the same time was rude and brave.It is a wonder they were not shaken warmly by the throat!In effect they had wasted 4 people's time travelling there.It isn't the same as ringing for a ballpark figure.In any case ,even that is largely a waste of time because a good tradesman needs to see the job but not with 4 others!!!You will find that price obsessed customers are often a waste of time.

My experience exactly. I turned down even quoting for a large job for us tonight, full rewire of a house and totally replumbing the house. Why? Well, firstly, the customer asked me who I was as he had arranged so many quotes. I then asked him how many quotes he was getting. 5 for the plumbing and 5 for the rewire. He was also renovating the house himself, it was his first project. He wanted to do as much of the work himself to save money.

All I read into was this job would be a complete nightmare, even if I was the 'lucky' company that won it, i.e. by being the cheapest.

I always subtly quiz the customers in a polite way now before going to a quote for large jobs. It's amazing how much of an impression you get from asking a few questions.

 

[cr0ft]

Same principle applies though.

The job cconsists of labour and materials. Assuming that the materials are constant, the difference is between the quality of the workmanship in the case of choosing an installer, and the quality of service in the case of choosing a merchant.

I think there's another very important one for many people - who they are letting into their home. This is often a large factor in a domestic customer in particular making a decision.

 

[Ray Stafford]

However the question you have to ask is 'What sort of customers are you looking for?'I was going through some old paperwork the other day and saw a number of old ,failed quotes.The things that they had in common were,they were very cheap as I was finding it hard to get work and that even then they were not cheap enough for these customers who had one thing in common ,it was all about price.As is often pointed out in the forum there are customers who value you and your work and those who would drop you for a £5 or because you can't get to them immediately... <snip>...You will find that price obsessed customers are often a waste of time.

I missed this gem earlier. Excellent post.

If you really sell a premium product or service, you shouldn't see everyone as a customer. Your potential customers are only those willing and able to pay a premium price, and your marketing and advertising ought to be aimed at identifying those people.

Focussing on the correct customer group can save a fortune in wasted time.