cgardner
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jeremy_clay wrote:
Chuck,
I'm not sure if you've dealt with this situation specifically, or shoot weddings, etc - however, please note that MANY customers will take "..hey! I've got an inquiry for your date! Let me knowwwwwwwwww...!" as a straight sales technique and actually be put off by it as desperate - regardless of wording/etc.
I did shoot high end weddings for several years and have had a hand directly and indirectly running customer service for printing operations for the past 35 years. Last year the one I currently help run billed $320 million. How does that compare with your gross last year?
At any point in time we have 200-300 jobs in the works and the key to meeting the deadlines is good scheduling and clear communication. Over the years I've created all the scheduling and tracking systems and formulated much of the underlying policies and procedures for the operations I've managed. My philosophy of seeing problems as potential solutions are the basis for many of those procedures. When something doesn't work, we try to find out why and fix it. I'm indebted to my Filipino colleagues for that. As Production Manager of the USIA printing plant in Manila the early 1980s I found the local staff very reluctant to bring problems to light because in the past they'd get blamed. Filipinos put a huge amount of value on smooth interpersonal relationships - saving face - and its a huge insult to criticize someone publicly. So to put a good spin on things when someone said "Sir, we have a problem." I'd reply, "There are no problems, only opportunities to do it better next time!" Thats when the real problems started surfacing and getting fixed. That all I'm suggesting here; fix the real problem.
When customers get disappointed and PO'ed it is usually because they have unrealistic expectations about the outcome: delivery date or quality. To avoid that we give the customer proofs to approve and deadlines for every action expected of them needed to meet the delivery deadline: submitting materials, approving proofs, etc. We also jump through hoops of fire to deliver the job when things fall behind.
Back in the late 70s before the USIA job I was Customer Service Production Manager for a large web printer in Washington, DC. We scheduled our presses months in advance. On one occasion one of our customers, Yankee Magazine, fell a few days behind and was going to miss their press slot. The same publisher produced the Old Farmers Almanac. Back in those days we normally would courier a proof to the editor in Manchester, NH with a three day turn-around. To allow the customer to meet their press deadline I got on a plane, flew to LaGuardia, changed planes to New England Air and flew to Manchester where I rented a car then drove like a manic to the Yankee office to get the OK from the Judd Hale, the editor. I had to catch the same plane on its return hop from the next stop or be stranded in NH for the night so I drove back to the airport even faster and ran out to plane I'd left about an hour earlier as they were puling up the stairs to depart. The flight attendant, recognizing me, dead panned, "What, you don't like New Hampshire?".
So yes Virginia, I do know what customer service is all about. Sure we could have said, "Sorry Judd you missed your scheduled press slot, the next opening is in two weeks." but that wouldn't have engendered very much Good Will would it?
That's why in light of my personal experience in customer service I don't see picking up a phone and following up before selling a wedding slot someone else who inquired about as being unreasonable business practice or that great of a burden. If it its then perhaps the OP should get some help managing that aspect of the business as she suggested.
Let's put the emotions aside and deal with the facts.
For one reason or another this potential client didn't get the message about there being a deadline for making a decision. It really doesn't matter if it was tattooed on her forehead, she didn't get the message THERE WAS A DEADLINE. Had she called and the date been available she might have been all sweetness and light. The fact she went ballistic was at least in part due to the fact the day she thought was still open was given to someone else.
I see the root of the problem as being the lack of a mutually agreed upon deadline for making a decision. Instead it appears seems there was an open-ended "we need a deposit to reserve the date" message given. Was the customer made to understand she couldn't wait three weeks to make a decision? Lets say someone else showed up the very next day and wanted the same date and was ready to write the check. Should it be booked without the courtesy of giving the person who inquired the day before right of first refusal? How about two days later. Three? Where do you draw the line? How does the potential customer know where the line is?
We aren't selling sacks of potatoes under a blue light special to the first person who shows you the money we are trying to sell an image as a professional.
If you go to buy a house and there's already a contract pending, but you really want the house, what do you do? Wait to see if the pending contract goes through. That's the norm for many professional transactions, so its not unrealistic for the second couple to wait a day or so. If they aren't willing to do that then more than likely they are just shopping price, not looking for the intangible value your exquisite artistry adds to the equation. If you are good, they will take a number and get in line. I learned the wedding business from a guy that would have brides change their wedding dates to fit his schedule. When you are that good people will stand in line and wait  If you have the "problem" of several people inquiring about the same date your dance card will be filled one way or the other, so why employ a business practice which obviously has led to a misunderstanding in this case and pissed off a potential client. Why not find a way to fix the problem so doesn't happen again instead of just whining about it and looking for a shoulder to cry on?
Some might see a follow-up call as pushy, but the bride contacted the photographer in the first place. Assuming there was some reasonable deadline for a decision as the standard policy, it would simply be a courtesy reminder that the deadline was near, or that someone else in fact wanted the date and was prepared to give a deposit when the deadline expired. If there weren't any other inquiries and the first bride was still interested but not ready to commit to a date because some other part of the wedding wasn't nailed down yet then the deadline could be extended and there would be an other opportunity to make contact a few days or week hence.
Ever heard of Alien Bees? Opinions vary about the equipment and its owner, but there is universal acclaim for its customer service. There are a couple lessons there.
I suspect if Paul Buff was running the customer service desk the company would have lasted about a month before some irate customer he pissed off burned the place down. But Paul is smart enough to know customer service is not his strong suit and how to set good policy and find people with the right temperament to man the phones do it on the first ring with a smile. I'm much the same way. I'd rather chew nails than do sales or customer service, which I why I would never dream of running my own photography business. But having help run large businesses I know the value of good customer service to the survival of any enterprise, and the value of Good Will.
The customer isn't always right, but you always want them to leave with a smile and come back with their friends.
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