customer trying to blame me for his idiocy!!

[gabagoo]

I do work for a large company comprised of 5 or 6 different busineses. I unfortuantely at times have to deal with the owners son who is in his 40's but still has no grasp on reality.

Whenever he has any involvement in anything pertaining to what I do for them he always tries to knock me down in price. Unfortuantely I never know when he is lurking around so if I knew he was, I would jack it up a bit to cover for the reduction he expects.

It's hard to be to defiant as for the most part I never have issues with them and the others I deal with are good guys.

I get a request for a couple of 48" x 72" coro signs as they need drivers for some new operation. I set it up and send it off and the guy I working with likes it and says, OH "John" (not his real name) says do it for "x" amount and we can proceed. I tell him absoulutely not, and if he wants it for "X" amount he can have them printed on banners and he can screw them to plywood.

In the end I knock my price down a bit and we get the go ahead for coro

Today I get a call from the guy who ordered them and he tells me the signs are not visible from the road.
I say "and thats my fault , right?"

He says "John" wants to reduce the copy and we want you to reprint and apply them to the back of the existing signs.
I said and you want me to do this for next to nothing, and he says "John" is there and he cant say what he wants but yea.

I said to him....when did you ask my opinion on how far away from the road these signs were going to be placed, and he says I know, I know, I can't talk now he is here.

He calls me later and has reduced the amount of copy and I told him that I will print them on banner and you can screw them on top of the plywood backer but I am charging.

he says Yea yea, send me a proof.


what the heck can I really do? Can't upset the guy or maybe I lose all the other work that never really involves him.
I will redo it but I am charging it at a discount but not for free.

 

[CheapVehicleWrap]

a) kill, kill, kill

b) ol' shrimp in the door trick

c) tracking GPS in John's (not his real name) vehicle

 

[Gino]

It's strange how all these people always say..... just do it, you know what you're doing and then they second guess you every step of the way, until its your fault.

If someone new or repeat comes in with most any sign request, I always ask how far away will this be viewed, to prevent this very thing from happening. Most people can't judge distance..... [you know this for sure by how many people cut you off in traffic, not realizing how close and fast you were really going]. Anyway, this might sound time intensive, but it eliminates the need to do things over....... and out of your pocket.

Many times we will tell them how far something can be seen and they say.... geese, I didn't think that was that big. I'll point to the sign a quarter of a block away and tell them..... that sign is 6' x 10' with 16" letters. They'll answer with.... are you kidding me ?? I thought that was about 4' x 4'. Most people don't have an eye for proportions or sizing.

I wouldn't jeopardize this company with this bad call on their part, but at least you could avoid it for all future jobs by asking a few preliminary questions.

 

[Tim Kingston]

I say try and take your emotions out of it and remember, it's business. For example, if the situation were someone you really liked had called you after the fact and said that they really screwed up and the signs aren't visible enough from the road, totally his fault. But, he's in deep now, is there any way you could reprint them and please give him as much of a discount as you can. Who knows, he might get fired over it. This nice guy has given you lots of business in the past. What would you do?

My guess is you would probably give the same discount as you gave , maybe even better?

If that is true, then what's the difference? The fact that the first guys is an arse and he pisses you off. Don't let him get to you; that gives him too much power that he doesn't deserve. You can't control the idiots in this world ( there's way too many of them ) but you can control how you react to them. Then, you can come here to vent and get some group therapy!

 

[gabagoo]

It's strange how all these people always say..... just do it, you know what you're doing and then they second guess you every step of the way, until its your fault.

If someone new or repeat comes in with most any sign request, I always ask how far away will this be viewed, to prevent this very thing from happening. Most people can't judge distance..... [you know this for sure by how many people cut you off in traffic, not realizing how close and fast you were really going]. Anyway, this might sound time intensive, but it eliminates the need to do things over....... and out of your pocket.

Many times we will tell them how far something can be seen and they say.... geese, I didn't think that was that big. I'll point to the sign a quarter of a block away and tell them..... that sign is 6' x 10' with 16" letters. They'll answer with.... are you kidding me ?? I thought that was about 4' x 4'. Most people don't have an eye for proportions or sizing.

I wouldn't jeopardize this company with this bad call on their part, but at least you could avoid it for all future jobs by asking a few preliminary questions.

Normally I do Gino,

But I have dealt with these guys for a long time and they know whats going on.
I think this particular guy was intimidated by the Dickwad son and is afraid to stand up to him.

 

[ddarlak]

do you like being a doormat???

if you let them wipe their feet on you once, they will think it's acceptable. do the right thing and chips will fall where they are supposed to....

stop letting fear rule you.

 

[andy]

I do work for a large company comprised of 5 or 6 different busineses. I unfortuantely at times have to deal with the owners son who is in his 40's but still has no grasp on reality.

Whenever he has any involvement in anything pertaining to what I do for them he always tries to knock me down in price. Unfortuantely I never know when he is lurking around so if I knew he was, I would jack it up a bit to cover for the reduction he expects.

It's hard to be to defiant as for the most part I never have issues with them and the others I deal with are good guys.

I get a request for a couple of 48" x 72" coro signs as they need drivers for some new operation. I set it up and send it off and the guy I working with likes it and says, OH "John" (not his real name) says do it for "x" amount and we can proceed. I tell him absoulutely not, and if he wants it for "X" amount he can have them printed on banners and he can screw them to plywood.

In the end I knock my price down a bit and we get the go ahead for coro

Today I get a call from the guy who ordered them and he tells me the signs are not visible from the road.
I say "and thats my fault , right?"

He says "John" wants to reduce the copy and we want you to reprint and apply them to the back of the existing signs.
I said and you want me to do this for next to nothing, and he says "John" is there and he cant say what he wants but yea.

I said to him....when did you ask my opinion on how far away from the road these signs were going to be placed, and he says I know, I know, I can't talk now he is here.

He calls me later and has reduced the amount of copy and I told him that I will print them on banner and you can screw them on top of the plywood backer but I am charging.

he says Yea yea, send me a proof.


what the heck can I really do? Can't upset the guy or maybe I lose all the other work that never really involves him.
I will redo it but I am charging it at a discount but not for free.

Never quote for anything without getting the client to email you a written brief of what they want.

Never agree to proceed with production without getting an email from the client telling you to start work.

Do all your important communication by email and request that your customers make their verbal instructions official by emailing them to you.

If you want to cut people like "John" off at the legs you can't afford to work on verbal agreements or instructions.. you've got to be able to show a set of written communication which clearly shows John in a way he can't wriggle out of that yes, you've done exactly what you were instructed to do and no, you haven't deviated from the terms of the contract so won't be doing remedials free, gratis.

Lots of people don't appreciate that everytime they accept an order from a customer they are entering into a legally binding contract. This being the case you REALLY need to work using written communication methods so you've got an audit trail to shove under the nose of people like "John".