What to do when a long time customer uses a competitor

[Sticky Signs]

Who cares?!
Do you think grocery store A gets upset when you shop at grocery store B? No. They're just glad that you shop there when you do.
Take the money when you can. If you didn't get the job, than it wasn't yours to begin with so at the end of the day, you haven't lost anything.

 

[visual800]

Contractor I was doing work for left me and went to the new guy in town. His prices were cheaper. We worked well together and it made me sick. Well after giving new guy several hundreds of bucks worth of signage they called me one day to do some address signs "RIGHT NOW" for a fire inspection....I told them not to call me anymore and to call their new *****! ( i knew the womn in the office that called me) she laughed and told me she was told to call me and she was embarassed to and she did not blame me.

today I ride around and all of this contractors 4x8s and basiclly leaning, some have collapased, they look like sh**! and IF this guy was to come back to me I would say no. It aint no better than a beat woman moving back in with an abusive bf!

 

[BobM]

Your customer is only your customer whilst you are working for them. Don't go asking what went wrong and NEVER bag your opposition. If you were supplying quality work and your opposition was giving them garbage they will come back, and don't try sticking it up them. Say nothing and and continue as if nothing was different and they will respect you. You know what rate you need to charge for labor and materials to keep your shop afloat so don't vary on the price.

Your former customer chose someone else for any number of reasons on that job. Price, avaliabilty, similar type jobs they saw, brother-in-laws/ neighors/friends buddy? Who knows - who cares, he's back. He chose to come back be thankful and only worry about the new job he's are giving you. He may chose to tell you why he went with someone else or just chose to go forward on the new job. Just worry about making him happy on the new job.

Business is business. Nothing personal, it's just business. Customers are very expensive to replace.

 

[Circleville Signs]

The problem with being good (whatever you are good at) is that you are very rarely cheap. In this economy, that means you have a narrow niche. Dan Sawatzky is a great example. He is amazing at what he does, and you cant get what he does from very many other people. Realistically, not very many of us stand that far above the crowd. However, if you aren't quite a bit better at at least one thing than your competition, then you are nothing more than a commodities dealer.

There's nothing wrong with being a commodities dealer, but if that's what you are, then there is no such thing as loyalty.

In my area town there are 2 shops, and in my county there are 5. One is a great craftsman - they make really great signs. One is an electrical shop. They do nothing but electrical and repair work, and do it well. I'm the design guy. The other two fight for our scraps because honestly, they aren't really good at anything. All they can compete on is price. I don't worry about them because the customers who are only worried about price are the customers I don't want anyways.

Your situation is a little different, but either way, your reaction is wholly inappropriate. Turning down future business because you got your feelings hurt is the reaction of a petulant teenager - not a business owner.

 

[Jillbeans]

Do nothing.
They'll either be back...or they won't.
Life goes on.
Love....Jill

 

[Marlene]

The guy seen the invoice so i know it was more than i quoted originally because the employee told me the number.

looking at his employer's invoice and passing private info along to you is a pretty scummy thing to do so I sure wouldn't bring up how you knew what they paid to the customer as I'm sure he would be thrilled with both you and his employee. since you don't know why he went somewhere else, why on earth would you not do business with them again? this isn't like a marriage and they did not cheat on you, they just bought something they needed from another sign shop. questions to ask yourself is why. was your last project with them done on time? was the quality of the project what was promised? something made them purchase from another company and pay more for it so you know it wasn't because they were cheaper.

 

[WYLDGFI]

Hey John...I run into stuff like that more than you can ever imagine. 99% of the time...its over PRICE. Yes, you want to continue doing work for them. Dont turn the work away, just give them the best reason to come back to you that next time. If you want to raise the price, go for it...especially if you were giving them a "loyalty discount". Have a face to face talk about it, may learn something new doing that.
Had an issue recently where someone lowballed a job that my client was bidding on..and we Both could not believe the pricing that came back on it. It turns out they did the job on none of the material we based our quote on...and the end user was ultimately pissed at them. Maybe they'll think twice about using a lowball printer in the future....again you get what you pay for, even in this industry. Keep trucking...look for the new opportunities and take care of the people who take care of you.

 

[Billct2]

Seems to me there's more to this story...
but in any case you can take it personal and refuse to do their work, IF they come back, or you can be businesslike about it and move on and accept their work should they come back.

 

[royster13]

It seems to me many folks here are far too "passive" in getting and retaining business.....I get the impression a "few" have simply opened their doors and waited for business to come to them....

 

[10sacer]

For $200 a month i wouldn't lose any sleep over it. I would maintain the relationship as is from your end like you don't even know and continue to provide good service at competitive prices.

 

[Hicalibersigns]

Here's what I would do. It's just me, but anyway. My philosophy is that you never own customers; you earn them everyday, or someone else does. I would stop by and say that I noticed that he had someone else do the job for him. I wouldn't mention anything about price or the employee, just that you noticed that he had taken his business elsewhere. I would then ask if there was something that I had done or not done. Was he unhappy with the last work I had done for him? In other words what can I do to win back your business?

Business is done through relationships. Pure price is not usually the reason. People often do business with someone because they know them, and they know that the person CARES about their business. They feel that they will take care of their needs. Show them that your are that guy.

If it doesn't work, what have you lost? 10 or 15 minutes? If the customer isn't worth spending 15 minutes on, then just move on.

 

[TyrantDesigner]

You are in business to make a profit.
No matter how personal it gets. Nothing is personal in business.
No one owes any one anything.
Always raise your prices a few percent every year. Always.
He wants you to do his work.. Take the order, take the check and cash it.
Never get involved with why he picked the "other guy" All to often we do not know the real reason why. And it is irrelevant.
Develop a business model that does not depend on all old customers to keep using your services. You will lose a small percentage every year not matter what. Market and keep developing new clients.

+1 to that. Customers come and go, repeat customers are great, but once the job is done I always expect to have to wrangle up a new customer to replace them. If a customer goes up the road and gets work done, I know they will be back eventually ... not everyone smiles and shows them the same quality of work I do.

 

[HulkSmash]

john went MIA?

 

[FireSprint.com]

The best thing is to act like you don't know or care. Rise above this. I know it can seem personal, but rise above it and you will be far better off. The old Mosh would have banned the customer (and/or got put in jail again), but the new Mosh is all about forgiving. Forgive, but DO NOT forget. Tell them your thoughts and you will feel much better adn the air will be cleansed.

Yes.

There is no room to make this personal. Start making this stuff personal and you'll go out of business!

Treat your customers the best you can nomatter who they are. Some will walk, some will stay. We're in a marathon here, just keep your chin up and do the best job you can and the customers that truly appreciate the work you do will stay.

 

[TammieH]

One of the most common reasons a customer/business switches suppliers, is the hiring of a new purchaser/buyer/marketing manager, or whomever is in charge of buying signs. I would suggest asking whomever you dealt with in the past, if that person is still with the company or find out who to talk to. Ask them if they were happy with the job the new Sign Co provided. Also definitely ask why they might not be happy with your work. What ever happens don't take it personal. Learn from this.

 

[john1]

john went MIA?

I'm here, Just giving it a day or two to read and think about the replies.

I will continue to do business with them but i am going to raise pricing on the normal jobs that come in from them. Not much, just enough to establish my minimum since most of their jobs are super super small and before i was going about $10 below my minimum since they stayed with me for so long.

Thanks everyone, I hope you all can understand the frustration when seeing a job you talked with them about and was told you were doing it is taken from under you. This damn local guy flat out sucks on his design work and will put any number of monster wrap fills together to make a "wrap" or any design and doesn't even have customer support if there is a issue.

 

[MichaelAlmand]

I'm here, Just giving it a day or two to read and think about the replies.

I will continue to do business with them but i am going to raise pricing on the normal jobs that come in from them. Not much, just enough to establish my minimum since most of their jobs are super super small and before i was going about $10 below my minimum since they stayed with me for so long.

Thanks everyone, I hope you all can understand the frustration when seeing a job you talked with them about and was told you were doing it is taken from under you. This damn local guy flat out sucks on his design work and will put any number of monster wrap fills together to make a "wrap" or any design and doesn't even have customer support if there is a issue.

You where told that you got the job?

Did you take too long? Did you not follow through or follow up keeping your customer in the loop or kept them posted on the next level.

I have some big jobs, some take longer than normal to do but I keep the customer posted on how the project is coming along. If you take too long without contacting them they will think you are not doing it and will go somewhere else.

And about a loyal customer; two years ago my biggest customer who we did 50 vehicles a year for split up half their fleet. Our sales went way down. What can you do? You never know what the next day brings. Go out and get another customer that can fill that void use that negative energy that you are stooping over with this and put it towards finding a new one. Harder said then done but it can happen.

Glass is half full not empty.

 

[john1]

You where told that you got the job?

Did you take too long? Did you not follow through or follow up keeping your customer in the loop or kept them posted on the next level.

I have some big jobs, some take longer than normal to do but I keep the customer posted on how the project is coming along. If you take too long without contacting them they will think you are not doing it and will go somewhere else.

And about a loyal customer; two years ago my biggest customer who we did 50 vehicles a year for split up half their fleet. Our sales went way down. What can you do? You never know what the next day brings. Go out and get another customer that can fill that void use that negative energy that you are stooping over with this and put it towards finding a new one. Harder said then done but it can happen.

Glass is half full not empty.

It was during a meeting with the client, They simply wanted a panaflex sign face with their logo on it which i had from years and years ago from doing all their signage. All i had to do was get it printed onto the panaflex material and install. I was awaiting the client to get the electrical work for the panaflex sign box done then i was printing and installing the material.

Then BAM, it's done by someone else and the electrical work isn't even working (it's not lit up).

Oh well, No biggie.

 

[kylebrk]

The best thing is to act like you don't know or care. Rise above this. I know it can seem personal, but rise above it and you will be far better off. The old Mosh would have banned the customer (and/or got put in jail again), but the new Mosh is all about forgiving. Forgive, but DO NOT forget. Tell them your thoughts and you will feel much better adn the air will be cleansed.

I like the new MOSH!

Pride is expensive. Unfortunately, that's all this is. Business has always been and will always be....BUSINESS.

I had the same thing happen to me last month. I fixed a guys wrap for free with the understanding his next one was coming to me. NOPE! drove by two weeks ago and the new one was sitting outside my competitors shop done. When I asked him about it he said the other shop was cheaper.

I just shut my mouth and moved on. What I wanted to tell him was that if I charged him what I should have to fix the old wrap, there would have been no cost savings. However, it's my fault. I should have charged him for the quality service I provided.

Just don't address it for a few weeks and let it all simmer down. A clear head will see this completely different.

Just my $0.02.

 

[Locals Find!]

John, If the other guy did the job for $200 more than you would have charged. The problem is not your customer. The problem is the other guy was a much better salesman.

You should spend some time sharpening your selling and closing skills. When you found out they needed electrical work done you should have had someone you could refer to immediately.

I carry with me a business card holder full of contacts for just about everything my clients could ever want from an Electrician to a Hair Salon. Sales is a lot about relationship building. Having a network of business owners that I can refer to helps me out a lot. My customers and other businesses come to me because I am their go to guy. They know I have someone reliable that I can refer to for just about every situation. That helps me build a relationship with them beyond just their printing and sign work.