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View Full Version : Linked-In and Paranoid Customers



Blessed
03-14-2009, 01:04 PM
A few months ago I registered on Linked In and now have several "connections". Yesterday I received a phone call from one of my customers - she is a print broker and is always paranoid that someone else will try to steal her customers. She called yesterday because she noticed that a couple of her customers were in my "connections" list. She wanted to make sure that I wasn't doing any work for them without going through her first.

Most of the print brokers I work with have their customers deal directly with me on the graphic design part of their job and then I just don't discuss printing the piece with them. The customer pays me directly and it works really well. This print broker has me bill her and then she upcharges my work and bills the customer. Either way works for me, as long as the print broker and I have an agreement ahead of time. And, I've never had an issue with any of my other print brokers. This one though... she drives me crazy, because she's so afraid that I'm trying to "steal" her customers.

Yesterday I simply reassured her again that I don't do any work for her customers independently and we went on our way. Am I the only one that ends up doing work for these kind of people? Any suggestions for how I should handle it if one of her customers ends up contacting me directly at some point?

huggytree
03-14-2009, 04:17 PM
ive had homeowners contact me directly a few times about working for them directly when my bid was originally through a remodeler...I always am honest and say 'i probably cant. ill have to check with the contractor first'....its money out of the contractors pocket...im taking one of their leads and stealing the money from them....if they contact you you should say you'll have to get the OK first!

one contractor said he didnt care...i offered him a couple of hundred....i ended up firing the homeowner in the end anyways.

the other contractor said NO....i ended up passing up a $20,000 job at a time when i just sat at home with no work to do....$20,000 today or $1,000,000 over a lifetime...i choose to stay on the good side of my contractors.

vangogh
03-14-2009, 06:14 PM
Can't say I've encountered the same situation. I think you handled it right. All you can really do is reassure your client that aren't doing anything behind her back. If your relationship with her is good she should trust you and take you at your word.

The issue really sounds like it's with this particular print broker. Something tells me you're not the only one she deals with this way. At some point I guess you have to decide if the relationship with her is worth keeping. Does she send you enough business to put up with these occasional accusations? Could you replace her by working with another print broker?

If you want to keep the relationship you'll probably need to reassure her and stroke her ego from time to time. If not then you can find another client to fill the space she currently occupies.

huggytree
03-14-2009, 08:35 PM
You told her you will never steal her customers....but did you explain why you wouldnt?

"i would never let your customers bypass you because i want you as a customer for life and i know stealing from you would put that at risk!'

Blessed
03-14-2009, 09:24 PM
You told her you will never steal her customers....but did you explain why you wouldnt?

Yes, I have to give her this answer about every two or three months - basically I say "I think it is unethical to quote directly to your customers so I don't do that - if they contact me directly about a job I ask if they have talked to you first."

Vangogh - you are right, she is this way with everyone - I know a few other people that work with her too...

huggytree
03-15-2009, 01:09 PM
raise her prices or dump her when you get busy

problem solved!

Steve B
03-15-2009, 05:49 PM
I agree with HT. Life it too short - find another customer or make her pay for the PIA factor of dealing with her.

rezzy
03-16-2009, 09:55 AM
I agree with the above, if you are being hounded by someone and you can live without them, dump them. I would start looking to make a deal with another printer. I would hate having to constantly reaffirm a relationship.

With a person like that I could her going somewhere for thinking you were doing her wrong somehow.

KristineS
03-16-2009, 12:52 PM
If she's that paranoid it's likely that you'll get on her bad side through no fault of your own at one point or another anyway. If you can't dump her right now, the best thing to do would be to start cultivating other relationships and then dump her when you get to the point where that's financially feasible.

If someone is suspicious of you, they will usually find a way to prove themselves right regardless of what you do or don't do. Your best bet is just to find a way to replace the income and move on.

Blessed
03-16-2009, 02:37 PM
She is not one of my biggest customers - I'm thankful for that! I only keep doing work for her because she works at a printer where I do work for three or four of the other sales people too. She definitely isn't one of the people I call when I haven't heard from them for awhile... if she ever goes away, it will be ok - but I can't really "fire" this customer because of the other sales people I work with at the printer she works for.

She's try's to dispute me on my bills a lot of the time, but when I was in the prepress department at the printer and had no choice but to work with her I learned how to defend my time so that she couldn't dispute it. At this point it almost seems like she does it just to see if I'll give her a discount so I make sure that I never have to give her a discount!