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Strange business call last night
April 20, 2017, 12:00 PM
mark123Strange business call last night
quote:
Originally posted by vinnybass:
What does their former guy say about them? I'd bet you'll find your answer therein.
Strangely, no one can remember the guys name.
April 20, 2017, 12:05 PM
Jim777Sounds really strange and not good. I would be strained by such situation.
April 20, 2017, 12:07 PM
oddballI own my small company and I use a Red Flag system for detecting potential clients; if x-amount of red flags pop up, I walk away. Experience has taught me that these "red flags" almost always led to trouble.
In your case, I see more than enough for me to walk away.
"I’m not going to read Time Magazine, I’m not going to read Newsweek, I’m not going to read any of these magazines; I mean, because they have too much to lose by printing the truth"- Bob Dylan, 1965
April 20, 2017, 02:21 PM
Snapping TwigA large component of success in business is knowing which jobs NOT to take.
From what you posted, this is a no brainer.
Some folks just need to be avoided.
April 20, 2017, 03:39 PM
mark123quote:
Originally posted by oddball:
I own my small company and I use a Red Flag system for detecting potential clients; if x-amount of red flags pop up, I walk away. ...
If you've got a written list I'd love to see it.
My #1 red flag is when someone asks for a discount. Especially when they ask for discounts before even hearing the prices. I've never had a good experience with a discount seeker.
April 20, 2017, 06:46 PM
ZSMICHAELI never even quoted a price and that makes me leery of the whole thing. Why would they drop their old lawn care guy without even hearing an estimate from me? Am I that hot?? I mean, yeah, but still.
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I don't know if you are hot. Do you take your shirt off when you mow?
On a more serious note, you had this problem with nonpayment from another customer I believe. Call them back and thank them for thinking of you and refer them to a competitor that you don't like.
April 20, 2017, 07:00 PM
comet24When I managed a bunch of commercial clients at an old job I had a few clients that you couldn't make happy. Ones that liked to argue and bitch just because. I couldn't drop clients for being a PIA.
What I did start to do was when one of those contracts was up for renewal I added a PIA factor. This was justified by the fact that one PIA client could take up as much of my time as 10 normal clients. They would also suck up other resources.
Just give them a insanely high price. If they say ok you have enough room to deal with it.
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Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain. Jack Kerouac
April 20, 2017, 07:02 PM
RHINOWSOI wouldn't do the job without upfront payment, in cash.
April 20, 2017, 09:10 PM
sunburnThe best trick in business is giving a bad customer to the competition. That frees you up to make a new good customer and ties up a competitor with a jerk.
It takes 3 people to run a business:
A dreamer
A businessman
And a sonofabitch
Lick the lollipop of mediocrity once and you suck forever.
April 20, 2017, 09:33 PM
sigmonkeyquote:
Originally posted by mark123:
quote:
Originally posted by vinnybass:
What does their former guy say about them? I'd bet you'll find your answer therein.
Strangely, no one can remember the guys name.
Drive by and see if there is any lump in the lawn...
"the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" ✡ Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא שוב! April 20, 2017, 09:38 PM
Skins2881quote:
Originally posted by sigmonkey:
quote:
Originally posted by mark123:
quote:
Originally posted by vinnybass:
What does their former guy say about them? I'd bet you'll find your answer therein.
Strangely, no one can remember the guys name.
Drive by and see if there is any lump in the lawn...
OK, you got me, I just laughed my ass off. Damn now to go find it, just like an extractor spring. Let me get my flashlight.
Jesse
Sic Semper Tyrannis April 20, 2017, 10:04 PM
cmr076Ive been dealing with some business issues recently, and I've still been firing clients left and right. Our average ticket is very high for the industry, and sometimes the bullshit isn't worth the money. I dealt with a guy like that today, he told me I promised him something a month ago I know I'd never have promised. I told him I wasn't interested in his business.
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April 20, 2017, 10:45 PM
HRKThe other possibility is that the old supplier went belly up, or was not a full time company, or just stopped doing it or doing lawns, died, all kinds of reasons. Down here if you get a lawn guy to show up on time or return a call within a week it's a miracle
How did they get your name, were you referred, maybe someone with a similar company name was called lots of reasons
April 21, 2017, 07:51 AM
V-Tailquote:
Originally posted by HRK:
The other possibility is that the old supplier went belly up, or was not a full time company, or just stopped doing it or doing lawns, died, all kinds of reasons. Down here if you get a lawn guy to show up on time or return a call within a week it's a miracle
Yup. We had one really great guy. Showed up when he said he would, or in the very rare case that he couldn't make it he sent a text to let us know.
He did a great job so I lined up the neighbors on either side of me for him so he would have several jobs with "one stop shopping."
Everything was going fine. In fact it was too good. He went out of business, referred us to a replacement guy who is nowhere near as good.
Mark123 needs to relocate to Florida. Please?
הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים April 21, 2017, 08:27 AM
mark123quote:
Originally posted by HRK:
How did they get your name, were you referred ...
I have the #1 organic google result for my area.
April 21, 2017, 08:54 AM
sigmonkeyquote:
......I have the #1 organic google result for my area.
"the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" ✡ Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא שוב! June 14, 2017, 07:23 PM
mark123It happened again today. A business called saying I worked for them before, which I haven't. Never heard of them. They want a quote for mowing.
It's just so weird.
June 14, 2017, 07:38 PM
dsietsquote:
Originally posted by mark123:
It happened again today. A business called saying I worked for them before, which I haven't. Never heard of them. They want a quote for mowing.
It's just so weird.
Why did they get rid of you? Why do they want you back?
An old friend did mowing for a boat manufacturer on Lake Michigan. He gave them a quote and one of the suits signed a contract for mowing and bark beds. After a couple months of no payment, friend went to meet w/ them. They looked him in the eye and told him they didn't know who he was.
You need to tell these people the same thing.
Yeah, people go belly-up, because they aren't getting paid for services rendered and can't afford going to court over it.
June 14, 2017, 08:17 PM
Appliance BradIn a nutshell.......RUN AWAY!
I agree with the other business owners, this is not a client you want.
There is a reason I don't do weekend service or "emergency" jobs. They always turn out to be the ones who are a giant PITA and who are slow/no pay.
We give outstanding customer service but when they get demanding, telling you how much business the
were going ot give you, how much more emergent their job is than the other 9 people you had scheduled for today or the next, I always say no thanks.
I'm happy to see there are others who are firing customers. I just did that Monday to one that has owed me money for 2 months and complained about how I didn't fix her problem. She wasn't having any of the fact it wasn't her appliance, that I had diagnosed what the problem was but it was not the product that was the issue and told her she needed an electrician.
Mark, you can't afford this customer, trust me.
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Writing the next chapter that I've been looking forward to.
June 14, 2017, 08:26 PM
ZSMICHAELquote:
posted June 14, 2017 08:17 PM Hide Post
In a nutshell.......RUN AWAY!
I agree with the other business owners, this is not a client you want.
There is a reason I don't do weekend service or "emergency" jobs. They always turn out to be the ones who are a giant PITA and who are slow/no pay.
We give outstanding customer service but when they get demanding, telling you how much business the were going ot give you, how much more emergent their job is than the other 9 people you had scheduled for today or the next, I always say no thanks.
I'm happy to see there are others who are firing customers. I just did that Monday to one that has owed me money for 2 months and complained about how I didn't fix her problem. She wasn't having any of the fact it wasn't her appliance, that I had diagnosed what the problem was but it was not the product that was the issue and told her she needed an electrician.
Mark, you can't afford this customer, trust me.
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Good advice here. I run a small business as well. 2 percent of the customers cause 98 percent of the headaches. Refer to a lawn service you dont like.