A tale of 2 Customers.......

[mitchthephoneman]

I'm gonna tell ya a tale of 2 of my many customers and how they conduct business.....

I have a large trucking company in the Port Authority Newark Seaport area, they take forever to pay, but thats the way they do business and I never have to call to ask for money, they give me a lot of work and never question my price, I service their phone system and computer network wiring........ALL IS LOVE....

I have another customer who is a local doctor (I guess you can tell where this is headed)....He buys a 9 phone installation from me and writes a check....sure enough the check bounces and writes another......it clears.......(5 buck check charge that he refuses to pay...no big deal)

He calls me up and asks to install a phone system in his mansion, YES MANSION...I had to fill up my van with a tank of gas to get from one end to the other....the first quote I give him is for 9 phones also, he decides on another size of 13 phones with 3 cordless......He feels that since he did prior business with me, he should get the bigger system at the 9 phone price.......SEE THE HASSLE !!!!!!

Anyway, I proceeded to tell him to DROP DEAD.....dont need his headaches or business........

This is what I go through almost on an everyday affair here, I think I need something stronger then cigars!!!!!

Any of you that deal with customers have a better story to tell???????

Mitch:gangfire: :gangfire:

 

[tedski]

Mitch ... I think you should reconsider and do the doc's house. That way if he screws around with you on total payment, you can slap a mechanics lien on his mansion. :crackwhip


I wear many hats at work and one of them is dealing with internal "customer". Now I always treat everyone with respect and courtesy, but I honestly don't understand why some of these folks are being paid more than McDonald's wages. I seem to get calls every other week and need to provide a full explaination on why certain problems occur in the company databases. I explain that the programs are designed a certain way and that when you try and do something outside that design, then you will run into problems. Most seem to "get it" after a couple discussions ... but for others ... including folks that have been here for 5-10 years and should know their jobs like the back of their hand, the concept never sinks in.

Maybe I need a bigger hammer ... :hammersma

 

[PetersCreek]

Okay...I'm about to make a confession that's likely to get me a lot of grief...but here it goes. Many years ago, I was a pretty popular (locally) children's entertainer. More specifically, I was a magician, clown, and balloon artist as a part-time business. I performed up to six shows a day on weekends, advertised regularly and widely, and I received a lot of calls...and some of those calls were real doozies.

One woman who called balked at my price for the standard one-hour show and asked what I'd charge for 45 minutes. Well, since I had absolutely no problem booking all the shows I could handle and since the shorter shows pretty much blocked just as much of my schedule, I quoted her the same price. So, she countered with "what about a half-hour?" Again, I explained my standard rate and the reason for it, and offered to refer her to other entertainers I knew, who had "softer" pricing. Still, she continued to argue for a lower rate and finally, I had to get blunt with her. "Ma'am, it costs $95 to get me out the door, whether it's for a one-hour show or a half-hour show." Still not getting it, she replied, "Well, how much would it cost to get you out the door for 15 minutes?" :bigeyes:

Another woman called to ask if I also entertained adults. I replied that yes, I performed for audiences of all ages and even offered an adults-only comedy magic show. She said that she was in fact looking for a clown to perform at a bachelorette party...and I was thinking it kind of odd but okay...when she asked how much extra I would charge to take my clothes off. Oh yeah...that'd do my hard-earned reputation a lot of good. Oh, wait. I'm busy that evening. Sorry. :sarcastic

Some people...

 

[Kingston]

You mean parents don't like to hire male stripper clowns for their kid's birthdays?
:rolling:
Great stories!
I too suffer from customers similar to Ted's, just don't seem to understand despite several training classes, manuals, walk-throughs, and sometimes just repeating myself.

 

[indyrob]

I think Mitch's integrity speaks volumes. I wouldn't put up with any crap from anybody. I would ask if there was a price break for services and at what level do I get the price break, but that's it.

Ask the good doctor if he has the same scaled down pricing plan for his patients.

 

[caudio51]

Good for you Mitch, you have to stand up for your work and morals.

 

[cvm4]

Damn them people that try to get something for nothing!

 

[DocLogic77]

Yea docs are real turds. I can't stand em. :disappoin And yea most docs do scale down prices or give price breaks to the self insured.

 

[katietilley]

Actually, I think docs scaling down prices might be illegal but we do try to help them out in some way (ear-marking samples for them and giving them all the samples we can etc).
Personally I try to pay at least what the service is worth even if thats not whats quoted. I recently had a fence installed (750 feet) and it was done in less than a week and the guy wanted a pittance for his labor. Well, I doubled his labor because he deserved it.
In the customer service realm, I have to say that as a former waitress and bartender I know what you mean about how ridiculous some people can be. The ones you bend over backward for don't appreciate it and the ones that you would never expect to be, are ever so appreciative.
I think it all works out in the end and just keep doing what you're doing.
(sorry, no funny story)

 

[caudio51]

I agree 100% as an ex-pizza delivery driver. Huge house no tip, small house, big tip.

 

[Kingston]

Damn them people that try to get something for nothing!

Yeah, damn that guy for trying to get a better deal!
Damn free market economy!
:rolling:

Can't blame the doc for trying.

 

[cvm4]

Yea I said that a bit tongue-n-cheek, but ya can't blame the guy for trying :dunno:

 

[Kingston]

Yea I said that a bit tongue-n-cheek, but ya can't blame the guy for trying :dunno:

Can't blame Mitch for tell him to go pound sand either eace:

 

[DocLogic77]

Actually Kate our clinic gives a 30% discount to all self pay patients. If it's not legal then I'm sure we will hear about it soon enough. We got a discount on my wife's pregnancy because we were self pay. The discount reflects what we would actually receive from the insurance company. Why should the insurance company pay less than the self insured? I know there are laws about enticement but I don't believe that falls into this category. If the feds want to bust you for helping out the poor more power to em. I can't wait to see the government vs. the helpful doc in all the papers.

Kingston I have to agree with you on this one. What can you barter and haggle over? You can bust Tripps chops over a truck but you can't haggle over a new phone system? Mitch do you pay full price for a car? That seems like insane logic to me. I would haggle Krogers over a can of corn if it were worth my time. Or was it because the man had money? Are those with money required to pay full price on all items or just certain items?

I also agree with Kingston that you have every right to tell him to kiss your butt. But, you really have zero reason to be angry.

 

[indyrob]

Shit...I hope I didn't offend my two favorite doctors with my comment...

 

[DocLogic77]

Never Indy...I know you are a stand up guy. I totally hold your opinion in the highest reguard.

 

[indyrob]

Never Indy...I know you are a stand up guy. I totally hold your opinion in the highest reguard.

Thanks...I didn't realize that I might have slighted anybody until I read what you and Katie posted about your pratices.

 

[DocLogic77]

Ehhh it's not a biggie. There is some debate amongst physicians about what is legal and not legal when giving any sort of break to self pays. When it comes to life in general Kate is very generous. Me I'm more of a haggle type guy...I can't help myself I just like to haggle for a bargain. I come from an appalachian culture where family will haggle family. It's part of the fun. It really is a cultural type thing. I can remember my dad haggling at all hours of the night with his own dad over a gun trade. Both liked to brag the next morning they got the best of one another...lol. Very few understand that mentality. But, that culture is also very generous. Many would give a good man the shirt off his back to help someone. I understand why Mitch felt slighted but to me thats par for the course. Some people will take a look at your house or job and try to upcharge you. I'm sure mitch just wanted a fair price for his services. But, I'm sure Mitch will admit that the guys wealth played a role in his displeasure in the haggling. I just think everyone has the right to try to get the best deal possible. I'm sure if Mitch wasn't offended and stood his ground the physician would have caved to a much better deal than he was offering. I guess some people just don't like that kind of thing. If you go to a car dealership they expect it...go to Best Buy and they don't like it as much. I can tell you from experience that I wore the manager from Best Buy out about 2 months ago...lol. But, I think we both made out and both felt like we had a good day.