The point isn't booking two weddings on the same day but how to treat two potential customers for that date equitably and avoid one of them going nuclear.
If her preferred business practice is "money talks, everyone else walks" that's fine as long as that's clear to the potential customer. That apparently wasn't the case here. Net result is a bride who happy and another who is pissed off and will likely bad mouth her. That's not what I call a win-win situation.
How can she prevent that in the future? She probably can't unless she is willing to risk occasionally not booking the date. The extent of the risk would depend on the demand for her services and how far she schedules in advance. Back when I was shooting weddings we called the occasional weekend without a wedding booked a vacation
The intangible question is whether over the long haul she will book fewer dates if there are pissed off brides running around town bad mouthing her. It is after all a word of mouth business and "good will" is an intangible asset
@cgardner OP stated that the customer was specifically told the policy. People hear what they want to. I don't think this is an issue of bad customer service. I think this is an issue of bad *customer*. This person doesn't like an outcome that clearly could have been avoided by putting a deposit down. The only thing that would have alleviated this situation is if the date had still been open which isn't a realistic expectation.
cgardner wrote:
I did shoot high end weddings for several years
Pics please. Towel-less preferred.
cgardner wrote:
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?
God, I can tell you're p*ssed when you start comparing my self-run business gross to the gross of a large corporation you assisted in customer service with. I can just see you getting steamed reading all of the people disagreeing with your post.
I'm so proud of my son. While still in high school, he helped run a company that did 3.2 billion in sales! It's called Chik-Fil-A. He was a junior manager.
Just checked back to this thread. The girl just needed to vent.... wasn't looking for advice or correction, just venting, like the title says. People need to chill...
Think about what happens when your spouse says they need to vent and you try to correct them. Bad times.
"Bob, this is Hank down at Mainway Ford calling about that Explorer you took for a quick test drive last Saturday. Just wanted to let you know that another guy is here looking at the same vehicle, and wants to pay cash for the car right now!
I'm only calling you because I know how much your girlfriend liked the roomy back seat, and I wouldn't want her to go around bad-mouthing me because I sold it to somebody else. So I'll tell this guy with the cash to just cool his heels for a few days while we wait for you to make up your mind. Call me when you get a chance"
jeremy_clay wrote:
God, I can tell you're p*ssed when you start comparing my self-run business gross to the gross of a large corporation you assisted in customer service with. I can just see you getting steamed reading all of the people disagreeing with your post.
Actually its part of a government not a corporation. The part of it I run nowadays are all systems I build to track the jobs and count all that money. I do it on a consultant basis now two days a week, but that still probably grosses more than your business.
I've worked for mom and pop operations too and by comparison most have been abysmal at things like customer service because: 1) they are limited by the skills of the owner, and 2) don't see the bigger picture on things like customer service. One of the exceptions was Monte, the wedding shooter I worked for, but that was only because he was married (with two kids still in school) at the time and his wife Sandi handled the administrative side of the business. I had the opportunity to observe several other husband/wife teams who took Monte's classes and concluded its one of the better ways to run a wedding photography business due to the scheduling and impact on family. They worked out of their house and business and family blurred together.
I don't get "steamed" at people, amused would be closer to the mark. I'm an ENTP (google it) and we like to debate for sport on either side of a question. Its part of being curious. One doesn't learn much if all one does is hang around with a bunch of people who agree and give pats on the back. I've learn some interesting things here.
If people treat their customers with the same level of respect as they do to others here in the forums I can't see them staying in business very long. Most one man shows in any business fail because the owners lack core skills. Consider this: just the need to publicly ventilate about a customer shows a lack of maturity and good business sense. That's the bigger picture I'm talking about.
it's unfortunate that you spent as long as you did on your reply because I'm afraid the context is so different that your well-thought out post isn't really applicable.
The example you cited where you flew out and drove like a maniac etc. etc. etc. was a situation with a CLIENT, not a PROSPECT.
And if you're now going to come back with "look at what we would do for prospects" ... well it's a whole different ballgame. If someone were looking to get married once a month except for in December when they would get married twice... I might go the extra 3000 miles to get them into the slot. Most folks only get married once or twice and theres a huge time gap between those, and you can only squeeze one per day.
cgardner wrote:
Don't underestimate the value of good will.
...than again, a bird in hand is worth two in the bush. OP needs some thicker skin. If she is intent on making money, biz is biz....she's not out to make friends. What OP did seems appropriate to me. Unless client 'A' was a repeat, they were never a client so alas, they can never be right.
Just checked back to this thread. The girl just needed to vent.... wasn't looking for advice or correction, just venting, like the title says. People need to chill...
Think about what happens when your spouse says they need to vent and you try to correct them. Bad times.
The girl just needed to vent.... wasn't looking for advice or correction, just venting, like the title says.
Think about what happens when your spouse says they need to vent and you try to correct them. Bad times.
5 tips for Empathetic Listening:
1. Provide the speaker with your undivided attention.This is one time “multi-tasking” or “rapid refocus” will get you in trouble.
2. Be non-judgemental. Don’t minimize or trivialize the speakers issue.
3. Read the speaker. Observe the emotions behind the words. Is the speaker angry, afraid, frustrated or resentful. Respond to the emotion as well as the words.
4. Be Quiet. Don’t feel you must have an immediate reply. Often if you allow for some quiet after the speaker has vented, they themselves will break the silence and offer a solution.
5. Assure your understanding. Ask clarifying questions and restate what you perceive the speaker to be saying.
I'd like to add a sixth: Don't take someone else's situation as an opportunity to work on your ego project.
dmacmillan wrote:
5 tips for Empathetic Listening:
1. Provide the speaker with your undivided attention.This is one time “multi-tasking” or “rapid refocus” will get you in trouble.
2. Be non-judgemental. Don’t minimize or trivialize the speakers issue.
3. Read the speaker. Observe the emotions behind the words. Is the speaker angry, afraid, frustrated or resentful. Respond to the emotion as well as the words.
4. Be Quiet. Don’t feel you must have an immediate reply. Often if you allow for some quiet after the speaker has vented, they themselves will break the silence and offer a solution.
5. Assure your understanding. Ask clarifying questions and restate what you perceive the speaker to be saying.
I'd like to add a sixth: Don't take someone else's situation as an opportunity to work on your ego project. ...Show more →
I'll add one more...
Tip #7: Don't be dumb. Think about if your response seems dumb, and if it does avoid saying the dumb thing.
Mike Mahoney wrote:
A telephone message you will never hear:
"Bob, this is Hank down at Mainway Ford calling about that Explorer you took for a quick test drive last Saturday. Just wanted to let you know that another guy is here looking at the same vehicle, and wants to pay cash for the car right now!
You might not get that call from the Ford dealer, but you might from one selling a premium brand. In fact every time I get my Acura serviced I get a call a few days later from a real person asking if I was happy with the service. Acura corporate pays for those calls to monitor the dealer network for a simple reason: most of what separates Acura from Honda isn't under the hood, its in the level of service provided.
I've never gotten calls from sales people saying there was someone else with cash in hand, but I gave gotten follow-ups to see if I was still interested and what factors caused me not to do the deal. That's part of what makes some sales people better than others.
Its really difficult to be good at everything. That's why teams are always better than individuals and why many solo businesses fail.
The problem here was a failure to "fire the prospect" in a way that was understood and that didn't piss her off. A follow-up call to any prospect is tried and true way to do that..
"Hi this is _____. We spoke about your wedding on the ____. As we discussed I don't hold dates without a deposit. I realize you are really busy and might not had a chance to make a decision yet, but I don't want you to be disappointed if someone else books the date. So if I don't hear from you today or tomorrow I'll assume you've made other plans for your big day. If so please keep us in mind for any of your future photo needs: we have some great kids packages and do "Day in the Life" custom photo books the grandparents just love."
Nothing "hard sell" there. Just a courteous "don't want you to be disappointed" follow-up that allows the photographer to keep the day clear without pissing anyone off, leaving the door open for future work not yet on the potential client's radar. They might not get the wedding but four years get a call saying, "You didn't do my wedding but I remember you said you do Day in the Life books...." Its just a matter of seeing past your nose towards the horizon
If you can't find 5 min in your day to make calls like that, then do what Acura does. Find someone with an ideal temperament for customer service and pay them to make the calls for you
cgardner wrote:
In fact every time I get my Acura serviced I get a call a few days later from a real person asking if I was happy with the service.
Asking someone if they are happy with their oil change service is quite different than having them wait outside the garage with cash in their pocket while the mechanic chats on the phone with a non-paying "customer" to see if they would like to come in for an oil change.
Your suggestion of contacting non-existent customers while making real customers wait is the very antithesis of customer service.
on topic- I ran into this scenario twice in a one week period in September-- inquiry about a date from couple #1, meet, get inquiry from couple #2 for same date.
My policy has always been to tell clients at the initial consult that someone may book ahead of them; that if an inquiry comes in I will inform both parties as a courtesy. I am also truthful and let them know I have no open queries at the moment. If they also have an offbeat wedding (off season, Friday/Sunday) I tell them that it is unlikely someone else will inquire.
It is a colossal opportunity to lie and manipulate-- I felt that when it happened to me-- because both times, the first couple I met with jumped up and booked quickly. Perhaps they sensed I was being honest when I provided details about the additional inquiry, or perhaps they just sense that I value honesty period and trust that what I'm saying is true.
I can just see you getting steamed reading all of the people disagreeing with your post. 