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View Full Version : customer who wants to waste my time



huggytree
04-20-2009, 08:54 AM
i got another call this morning from a person who has called 3x now asking for advice..

i have spent 35 minutes + so far with her on 2 occations...she is a referral from my networking group, so i felt i should try harder than normal.....she has a water problem in her house (water is green or brown depending on the day)

i told her to take a sample into the water conditioning place i use and they will tell me what kind of equipment to install.

she has admitted to me they have no money and this is a couple thousand dollar project. she also sounds mentally disabled in some way (or very old). she's very hard to deal with...she just likes to talk....i cant make any call with her quick...i say good bye 10x before i actually am able to hang up.

i get the 3rd call asking 'what was that place again?' and 'could you come to do the sample for me?'

for $150 id do the sample, but i figure she means for free and it would also include another 15-20 minutes of phone time...

i have decided to ignore her call...i wrote down the phone # on a post it and wont answer her calls

its rude, but so is calling her back and telling her not to call me anymore. im not slow anymore and my time is valuable again.spending 30 minutes on the phone means 30 minutes i dont have with my family at the end of the day!

how do you handle these things? (she's the worst ive had since ive been in business)

cocoy
04-20-2009, 12:00 PM
You should have told her the price to do a sample before ignoring her call.

Even if you see a trend with certain customers...don't assume right away.

"I will go do the sample and it will cost you $150. Without a sample there's nothing else I can advise you about your water." Leave it at that.

If she asks for you to do it free of charge then starts ignoring her calls.

Vivid Color Zack
04-20-2009, 04:15 PM
She's wasted almost an hour of your time already - she's going to continue to waste more if you keep spending your time talking to her.

She is an expense you don't need, I wouldn't answer her calls either. People think because they know you that they can take advantage of you. Don't let them. You can feel bad if you want to but she's detrimental to your business - you have no obligation to accommodate her.

huggytree
04-20-2009, 08:36 PM
if i would have called her back to give her my $150 quote it would have cost me another 20 minutes on the phone....repeating everything i told her on the last 2 calls

she called a 4th time 2 hours after the 3rd time. this time saying she needed to hear from me very soon! and that she may qualify for a grant.

its been 3 weeks since call #2...suddenly its hurry time today...i have her on my call list as 'dont answer'

ill probably get a call from my networking friend...ill be honest with him...he should know better than to refer someone like her to me...i joked with another plumber i know today..i told him id send her to him...