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I am so sick of customers

S

scarface

Guest
Hey everyone, Honestly i am so sick of cheap customers. I wish i could become successful enough like many on here and just work on jobs and have someone else deal with customers.

Had a guy call about some magnetic signs for a lawn care business hes starting (who doesn't have one, i mean everyone has a push mower).

He asks how much are they, i say $xx.xx basic 1 color line text and i suggest i have done many jobs for lawn care companies and if you want to stand out above the competition go with something nicely designed.

He then goes on out how he wants to get these just for now (great first impression to his customers huh?) and i mentioned cards and he went on about how he just got some from vista print. So i mention t-shirts and we get to talking and i say when would you like to place this order and he says "well my time is very valuable since i'm a single guy in my business so i don't have time to meet and chit chat and would like to check out your website gallery to see if it's something i want to get into" (get into what? nicely presented business advertising?)

Pretty much, hes a cheap customer who doesn't care about his business looking good and will have a mix and match of promotional pieces. I felt like saying well maybe my company isn't for you but i didn't.

I'm just so tired of getting people who are dirt cheap wasting my time.

End Rant For Thursday :thumb:
 
Techman

Techman

New Member
Pretty much, hes a cheap customer who doesn't care about his business looking good and will have a mix and match of promotional pieces. I felt like saying well maybe my company isn't for you but i didn't.

I'm just so tired of getting people who are dirt cheap wasting my time.
Click to expand...


Nope. I totally disagree on this.

He pretty much is trying to get started into a bizz and has no extra money. Or, he simply is at level one incompetence. He doesn't know what he does not know... What money he does have is into eating and paying bills.

And then he has no concept of what a branding image can do for him. All he knows is that he wants customers and knows that a phone number on the side of his truck will get him some calls while his truck is out doing work.
 
Jillbeans

Jillbeans

New Member
Until he actually buys something from you, he's not a customer, just a tire-kicker.
I get 'em every day. It's just part of running a sign shop.
Love....Jill
 
Craig Sjoquist

Craig Sjoquist

New Member
well I for one is enjoying ...no phone ..no customers ...no money being made ,...lol understand your point well after 35 years of this it's a nice break even though I really need to get back to it it does have some bennifit's lol... just cool your jets not the last of them vaction you forget about them even just a day or 2 go for it
 
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Cmind335

New Member
I agree with you. But what I find a little disheartening is when you've served a customer with no problems, always on time for the past 2-3 years, Rush orders, you name it and all of the sudden someone gives them a price $10.00 cheaper than mine and POOF! there he goes. What happened to loyalty? Times have changed indeed.
 
Circleville Signs

Circleville Signs

New Member
The only loyalty there that exists is the loyalty you engender. You don't engender loyalty ONLY through great service. Guilt also must be judiciously used. I remind my customers constantly how much extra we do for them - how much better our design is, etc. I then will often say, almost verbatim "It sure would be a shame to lose you as a customer just because some Johnny Com Lately beats my price by 5%. I sure hope you think our relationship is worth more than 5%".

Works like a charm.
 
dwt

dwt

New Member
Churches, housekeepers, auto detailers and landscapers are the most notorious time bandits. As soon as I learn who they are and see the junk pile they drove up in I tell them to save the pie-in-the-sky dreaming and come back when they are ready to commit some hard currency to these 'great ideas'. Or I gladly send them to the sign shop down the road.

Once you get a name for not being cheap AND having a quality, on time product your market will find you.
 
dwt

dwt

New Member
Yeah, I know. It's like feeding a stray cat. Soon all the cats in the neighborhood will be at your door.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
I see you left the 'Premium Section' again.

Perhaps, instead of looking for all of his flaws, you might've considered like tech said.... he's got 'lack of money' problems and is too proud to say so and wants to do as much as his shopping from his chair at home and save gas.

As you mentioned more and more ways he could spend money with you... you might just have scared him away. He could've been trying to avoid a confrontation by an uppity up salesperson in his mind. Possibly by telling him, you'll make sure he gets what he needs and can afford.... just stop over and I guarantee we'll strike up a deal.... maybe then, you would've made the sale for a set of magnetics.

You know darned well, you could produce a nice set of anything on your 300 VC for just about any price. Why don't you start getting these potential clients into your shop and stop scaring them off.

You said one thing that made sense...... I wish i could become successful .... well, that only happens by remaining level headed and using strong business methods. You gotta know when to hold and know when to fold. In other words..... you're still trying to attract customers... so stop using vinegar and start trying some sugar water and lure them in and snatch 'em up...............
 
heyskull

heyskull

New Member
This is an easy one.
When I get someone in my shop like this person I ask them "how much have you got to spend"
We all start at the bottom.
I have bent my prices sometimes to help a new business.
Sometimes it pays later..

SC
 
SurfaceSigns

SurfaceSigns

New Member
heyskull said:
This is an easy one.
When I get someone in my shop like this person I ask them "how much have you got to spend"
We all start at the bottom.
I have bent my prices sometimes to help a new business.
Sometimes it pays later..

SC
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more!

People tend to remember those that helped them get started. They can become your most loyal clients, if you would just be willing to give them a little break (on the price and the attitude), and perhaps some advice on brand building and marketing. They may not have alot of money right now, but if you help them grow, they will be needing more signs, and will probably have a better budget.

I find these "I'm so sick of/hate customers" threads so entertaining. You guys that start these do realize that without customers, you don't have a business, right?

I also find it highly entertaining that we as sign makers and designers bash our customers for not knowing exactly what they want their sign or advertising to look like, provide us with a sketch made in MS Paint, or commit some other form of design evil in their attempt to give us a starting point for their marketing - I mean, the nerve of them. So, we bitch about them and bash their attempts at marketing, seemingly not realizing that they are coming to us as professionals because they know they don't have a clue. We on the other hand, are in the marketing business. It is our job to turn those MS Paint files into marketing masterpieces. That is what we are paid (and sometimes not) to do.

Without customers, you are nothing.
 
Dave Drane

Dave Drane

New Member
Hmm, maybe you could have said that you are wasting so much time with tyre kickers that you are not making any money. Could he barter a deal to do your lawns for $2 each time until his bill is paid??
 
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denisbaldwin

New Member
I think this is true of every industry I've worked in. You'll always get those customers who are either too uneducated about the benefits of the product or service they're seeking or don't care about it, even though it may make or break their business.
 
Jillbeans

Jillbeans

New Member
Agreed.
Asking a potential client about their budget is a good way to begin the conversation.
It's not always an easy thing to do.
Some people see it as a direct attack!
But it kind of lays it all on the table, and helps you to know where to start.
I don't really agree about the bending prices part because then that might make someone think you are just fishing for numbers.
Sometimes I will throw in something at the end that they weren't expecting, like a quick "NOW OPEN" banner or something when they come to pick up the job.
 
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