Suggestions How do you get rid of unprepared customers?

[rossmosh]

Most people walk in semi-prepared. They know 3-4 pieces of information out of 6 and we can either fill in the blanks through a quick conversation or they'll leave and email it later. Some people know very little, but will leave with a list of things to do, and then follow up at a later date.

But some people, come in with no info. These same people won't leave until their task it complete. So they'll spend an hour in the showroom, calling all sorts of people, disrupting my day, all because they have a task and won't listen to reason.

What are my options here? We give them hints. We're straight forward. We're nice. We can even get prickly. But they're just people who only want to do what they want. I'll be honest, it really drives me crazy. I find their actions to be rude, disrespectful, and disruptive. I understand they're just trying to get their task done, but it drives me absolutely crazy.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Most people walk in semi-prepared. They know 3-4 pieces of information out of 6 and we can either fill in the blanks through a quick conversation or they'll leave and email it later. Some people know very little, but will leave with a list of things to do, and then follow up at a later date.

But some people, come in with no info. These same people won't leave until their task it complete. So they'll spend an hour in the showroom, calling all sorts of people, disrupting my day, all because they have a task and won't listen to reason.

What are my options here? We give them hints. We're straight forward. We're nice. We can even get prickly. But they're just people who only want to do what they want. I'll be honest, it really drives me crazy. I find their actions to be rude, disrespectful, and disruptive. I understand they're just trying to get their task done, but it drives me absolutely crazy.

Find someone more patient to handle your customers and you stay behind closed doors

 

[unclebun]

I don't get rid of them. I educate them, work with them, help them. If they need to make phone calls to find things out, there's room for them to do that and I go back to work until they have the necessary information. Ultimately, they are paying my paycheck.

 

[Gino]

Find someone more patient to handle your customers and you stay behind closed doors

Pick me...... pick me....... pick me............ I'm a good people person. I know what to tell them.

I usually assess the situation and if they start taking more than 5 or 10 minutes and close down to any help, I just tell them, you can sit over there and call whomever you like or find out whatever it is you need to know and when you have it figured out, just yell. I'll be within shouting distance. This will either give them a clue that they are being silly stupid or an idea that they need more information..... if they even come back.

 

[rjssigns]

Tell them you require a deposit to start. Works like magic.

 

[2B]

Remove the chairs, waiting area, etc.
Make them stand at a counter. Standing people are more likely to "DO" vs waiting to be coddled.

having them browse the showroom is GREAT, they see other items.
If they are on the phone, they then tell the person what they are looking at, great for up-sales

 

[Malkin]

The best part about this post was that halfway through rossmosh's opening paragraphs there was an ad (tailored to my location no doubt) for an organization whose reps have occasionally done this to me. Albeit with the further irritation of me having been called to their campus for said fruitless discussion.

 

[Jimmy Burds]

If you would prefer to not have their business, let them know you are incapable of meeting their needs and you would feel like you would be short changing them if you took their money.

 

[E Coloney]

If you prefer they take their business elsewhere, lead them to do just that. Don’t lie, be truthful in a tactical way. Example, “Under present circumstances, we can’t take your work right now. Suggest you go visit XYZ shop. They can likely help you more than we can at this time. Apologies and thanks” and reach out to shake their hand as if to say we are finished. Then DO NOT CHANGE YOUR MIND if they start whining.

 

[Stacey K]

I've been told I'm a very good people person by my customers but when someone comes in wasting my time and is rude, I lose patience quickly. I have no problem saying, "I'm going to finish a couple things up, I'll give you some time to figure it out, just yell when you're ready."

I find our local non-profits to be the biggest time wasters of all. I have nothing against older people but it's usually retired women who are the ones in charge of signage projects, then they bring it back to 10 other older people none of whom know anything more than she does. Some of them don't text or email, just land lines. UGH. I went way out my way once giving "Judy" samples, etc. to bring to a meeting and I didn't get the job over a few bucks - I mean I REALLY went above and beyond! I was REALLY PO'd. Next time she came in, I did not bend over backwards, but I did get the last 3 jobs. I more or less took the lead and said, "This is what I am going to do, in this size with these colors, with this material, this is the cost. Take it or leave it" If they come to me they get option A, maybe and option B - compare to option A,B,C, D, E at the store down the road. I don't care, I'm not wasting any more time explaining the difference between 5 different sign materials, continuing to provide samples, etc. for an indoor sign that gets screwed to a wall - too many options is just nonsense. I know exactly what they did with my first estimate, they handed to the company down the road and she knocks a few bucks off and got the job but didn't put the customer service into it like I did. Luckily for me, I got those other jobs because I went above and beyond! But, at some point you gotta put your foot down! I'm guilty of it too...I've gone to a carpet store and wasted their time learning about carpet then end up ordering from somewhere cheaper once I know what I need. It's the same thing. Paybacks are a b*tch LOL

 

[kcollinsdesign]

In the contracting business the GC spends all their time preparing bids, getting insurance requirements and lien waivers, scheduling, and working with attorneys to collect payments. If you are good, you will get about 1/5 of the projects you bid on. Actual production is a seperate line item.

The sign business is an odd duck. Up to about 30 years ago, you needed to be an artist. Nobody shopped you around because you were probably one of the few people in town that could do the job. A quick sketch was all you did up front, and the customer got what he got (and was usually happy).

Nowdays, it seems most shops do a complete design for the customer to review before committing to purchase. If the customer wants something else, they either demand it or go somewhere else. It's their money, after all. You should be so lucky they even considered coming in to see you!

For all those reasons, I am doing far less sign work today, and much more design work. I won't lift a pencil until a desposit is paid. I set out the terms up front, and if we fail to come up with a satisfactory design (very rare), there is a kill fee (usually half). Needless to say, nobody is beating a path to my door, but I have plenty of dedicated clients who like my work and manage to stay busy.

 

[kcollinsdesign]

Most shops these days are making their money on installation, service and maintenance. A well equipped local shop with trained technicians will do well. Original design often takes a back seat, and is considered an additional overhead cost. The bigger shops may have some talent in the design department, but they are under pressure to bang stuff out. The smaller shops generally suffer in the design department, but at least the letters are straight and there is always clip art.

 

[Jun Lanon]

Prepare a checklist for your potential clients. If they walk in with limited information, hand them the checklist. They would then be unable to argue with what they want. That means they have to come back with complete info.

 

[visual800]

I would ask what they need, where is the location of signage going, do they have a logo and then tell them you will do an estimate and email it to them. Im sure the price will ensure they will not be back. If a client is unprepared chances are the job will never be done anyway. Im nice but firm and I tell them I will do everything I can for them BUT DO NOT go overboard until they figure it out