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July 22, 2011
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Has any of you ever told someone to come get their stuff because you were tired of them calling about it being ready?
It seems like it is getting worse, or I’m getting older and less tolerant.
I just wonder if some of these guys have been burned so bad by other taxidermist that they don’t trust any of us?
It is really starting to irritate me.
D;
I had a customer this past fall that dropped off a life size bear, two weeks later the calls started and continued every week for about 3 months. I had fleshed and salted the hide by that time, I packed the hide up in a box I kept $150.00 of the deposit for hide prep and shipped the whole works back to him UPS with the remainder of his deposit. I too have become much less tolerant of this kind of behavior from customers.
D, this is the way it is, period. For as long as I can remember, my dad had to deal with it too. It’s the way people are. In this industry, a piece takes a long time to do when it’s 1st come 1st serve. i mean, you can have a 4,000 sq ft house built in 2-3 months, but a deer head takes a year usually, if your full time. But I did find that the cheaper a piece costs, the more aggravation you tend to have. As my prices got higher, the calls lessoned. And since they had a larger deposit involved, they were quicker to pick it up. Once you get your deer heads over $550, the calls will slow down, alot.
July 22, 2011
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Page it seems to me the higher I go with prices and deposits it gets worse.
Thats why I was wondering if they have been burned by other taxidermist and are a little paranoid.
I am at $500 and probably going to $525 this fall. I get a $200 deposit on my deer.
I’m just about ready to tell them all to kiss my @$$!!!
I tell someone 8 months in December and they are already calling. They sound disgusted when a say a couple of months still. I just don’t get it.
Its today society, They want it yesterday and pay for it next week……DC
These are usually the same ones who once the mount is finished have a million excuses why they cannot pick up right away. The truck had to go in for repair, daughter broke a tooth, water heater went out, etc!
Scott, when I was in the electronics repair business more than once I told my customers to pick up their unit because at that point I refused to continue to work on it any longer. I don’t blame you. He may think twice about hounding the next taxidermist (well, maybe not also!)
Well I see things have not changed. When I had my taxidermy business I would put a estimated completion date (which was always 1 to 2 months past when I thought it would be done) which I put on their receipt. When I got a call I asked them what was the date on the receipt and then said ‘that is still the date’. Normally this stopped the calls. Most of the customers were just anxious and excited over what was being mounted. I always felt this is a service business and tried to show the customer that work was being done on their mount
As I said in an earlier post this week, I really don’t have a problem with customers calling much at all. Occasionally I will have a call but it really doesn’t bother me. You guys know how I call EVERY customer prior to mounting their piece. Maybe my customers are just used to me calling so they don’t call. Had 2 customers here at the same time yesterday, one was picking up a deer and the other was dropping off a base for another deer. We sat around and talked for probably 45 mins or so and I enjoyed it. Especially since they are paying me!!!!
It will drive you nuts! worst of all since they are aggravating you to death. You will tend to rush through their head. You will let minor flaws go that you normally would not.
I have one guy that has been with me for 5 years ( usually 6 shoulder mounts each year and europeans, turkey’s, bobcats )and he will drop a deer off and start calling 2 days later to see how his deer is coming and this will continue every week till I get it done.I have been tolerant with him I know he is excited to get them on the wall and when I call to say deer is done he will be through my door within 30 minutes to pick up.And he only checks on his deer don’t bother me on other mounts,But now he has decided to text me all the time and it is getting to the point I am annoyed ..He texted How’s my deer …..Me..Last time I saw him he was still dead if you have to have him now please come pick him today.You brought him in April and knew the wait time…. Him …Oh I am not trying to rush you just checking.People like him drive me nuts I will not take anything from him this season.I will snap on him next text I get and I will not bump him up on the list for anything.
Rhonda that type of person has us figured out and trained.
They know if they keep calling and texing we will move them forward to get it out of the shop.
The only thing they haven’t figured out is why we do it. Its not to make them happy its to make me happy. Happy i’am not going to jail for beating them in the head with a bat. LOL
Maybe if you guys didnt spend so much time on the internet you would get your work done sooner. Maybe then you would not get all those annoying calls from the customers. :biggergrin:
i tell these people that its ready when i call, not when you call. then explain that i had to stop working to answer the phone and that adds more time to the turn around of there mount. so far that has helped but you still get one or two who want it done yesterday. funny how the ones that call the most are slowest to pick up when the balance is due.
I refuse to bump him up on the list,I prefer to torture him and make him wait till its his turn :biggergrin: My computer is in my shop always on,My friends help keep me sane.
Funny thing how this business works. Through the years we have drawn the analogy that the person who calls constantly is asking permission to spend the money. It never fails if we fix that sqeaky wheel & call to tell them it’s ready you won’t see them for 2-3 months. But you also notice through the wonderful world of Facebook that they bought a new boat, gun, or went to six flags, etc. at the same time they didn’t have to bring you money.
Now on to the fix that D is looking for… Ask the customer when he drops off the item to be mounted when he wants to pick it up? Usually they are taken back a bit by this. Whatever the answer if it is shorter than your usual turn around you say ” My normal turn around time is (whatever that is, in our case it is 9 months) I can get yours done in lesser time for twice the money.
When they ask why twice the money my answer is because I will have to put you in front of other customers who brought stuff in before you. I have to have a reason to tell these customers why yours came first. No one has ever taken me up on the offer but they now know & seem to remember my turn around from this conversation. There’s some who jump the gun a bit but we try to nice them to death & go back to work. The customer doesn’t know just how much work you have. He only knows about his 1 mount.
John9861 wrote: Funny thing how this business works. Through the years we have drawn the analogy that the person who calls constantly is asking permission to spend the money. It never fails if we fix that sqeaky wheel & call to tell them it’s ready you won’t see them for 2-3 months. But you also notice through the wonderful world of Facebook that they bought a new boat, gun, or went to six flags, etc. at the same time they didn’t have to bring you money.
Now on to the fix that D is looking for… Ask the customer when he drops off the item to be mounted when he wants to pick it up? Usually they are taken back a bit by this. Whatever the answer if it is shorter than your usual turn around you say ” My normal turn around time is (whatever that is, in our case it is 9 months) I can get yours done in lesser time for twice the money.
When they ask why twice the money my answer is because I will have to put you in front of other customers who brought stuff in before you. I have to have a reason to tell these customers why yours came first. No one has ever taken me up on the offer but they now know & seem to remember my turn around from this conversation. There’s some who jump the gun a bit but we try to nice them to death & go back to work. The customer doesn’t know just how much work you have. He only knows about his 1 mount.
And always end the conversation with “Appreciate Yah”, right John?
