Tuff customer

[visual800]

well whats done is done and I understand you trying to make this better in the future, SCREW THEM. I dont care how small the town is she is prolly the town "biotch" and most everyone knows it. SOme people will not be pleased no matter what.

So many decisions these days are made NOW, RIGHT NOW, gotta do i NOW, and in the process of that people screw up. Nothing ever comes good out of rushing stuff

 

[DizzyMarkus]

4R Graphics-- I didnt mean to stiryour pot lol -- and as quick as you wrote -- I knew this has happened to you -- you still sound bitter :0) Sorry there isnt a handbook or a manual for me to follow -- Why I asked for insight here. Thank you for responding and look foward to more from you.

--- I learned my lesson, have taken all the advice the experienced folks have given me here and will apply it in the future. It was almost easier to give it to her to rid myself of her. As for others in town thinking the same -- well LESSON LEARNED. I lived the deposit routine, and the proof routine -- now Im on to billing lol. I'm also learning somewhat how to read people by meeting with them. I'll get there hopefully

MArkus

 

[ddarlak]

so instead of being known as a true professional in your small town who doesn't take crap from losers, you want to be known as someone who folds to fools???

grow a pair, business and life is tough, you won't make it by giving your craft away....

 

[HDvinyl]

Go to her business(hopefully somewhere you like) and buy something. Go back and ask for half your money back and you're keeping the product.

 

[Jillbeans]

It was almost easier to give it to her to rid myself of her.

....and I'm sure she knows this and uses this tactic with everyone she deals with.
I can usually smell one of these types within 5 seconds of dealing with them in person.
She's probably smugly enjoying her deep discounted sign while bad-rapping you to everyone at this point.
Some people make this into almost an art form, I knew someone who bragged about their "free" driveway, pool, landscaping, etc.

 

[round man]

I know its easy to be a monday morning quarterback but here goes,...she comes to your store and buys a dress,...it doesn't quite fit her needs so she has you alter it,...it still doesn't quite suit her so she asks for a better alteration,...upon completion she decides the dress is not for her and she wants a totally different dress made from the existing one,...you have a product you can't sell to anyone else due to her personal alterations and cannot make a new dress from and she is angry you won't replace it,...so you refund 25% of the cost of the dress which in 99% of circumstances is the profit from the dress and part of the labor cost for the alterations,...what's wrong with this picture??????

 

[TheSnowman]

I've delt with things like this before, as far as the customer that just finds every little thing to gripe about after they approved it. I ONCE had a guy that I printed on some expensive poster material for, and I charged him for what I had to throw away too, and he flipped out when he came in. He was upset so I gave him the cost of only what I had printed, and guess what, he still never came back, and I'm sure he still is telling people how I "tried to charge him for something he never even got".

Morale of that story was...stick to your guns because rather you make things right with that person or not in your opinion, they'll still bad mouth you if that's what they're going to do. Some customers aren't like that and they are sensible and you do need to make things right with them, but generally with this type, they just think everyone is against them and there's no changing that.

 

[appstro]

I think your first mistake was taking the job in the first place. When I get a customer that cant make up their mind, keeps negotiating for a lower price and wont actively be involved in the proofing process, I fire em'.

I had one guy do this to me for several weeks. When he finally did approve everything I KNEW that he would be a problem in the end so i told him that I would not do his sign and that he should find someone else. I refunded his deposit and took my little losses over the larger ones that were surely ahead of me. He would have never been satisfied.

 

[Marlene]

you gave her 1/2 her money back on the total cost of the sign and gave her the sign? so pretty much she paid only 1/2 of the actual final cost? so you came out even I would think as the 1/2 you kept covered your materials and labor. if that is the case, no big deal as this was your choice to not have her bad mouth you all over town. I would have told her to go $hit in her hat, but it sounds like you did what you thought was right for you. as long as you came out OK and didn't lose any money, that's not a bad thing