What would you do?

Jim Rehrer

Jim Rehrer

Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
686
I had a guy call and place an order months ago. The knife is completed and I emailed him a couple times and NOTHING...I didnt take a deposit on it so Im ok there...Im just worried because he was recovering from quadruple bypass surgery when he called...he was the nicest old man that like to chat...I dont have his phone # only email and I hate to fear the worst but its hard to say....Any suggestions on how long to hold the knife for him before I try to sell it? Id hate to sell it and then him contact me because he was in the hospital...
 
This may sound obvious, but do you know his name and state or city? Could try looking for him on the internet. Do you know where he came to find you from? that may help as well. That's quite an awkward situation you got! I agree, I;d feel terrible if someone just got out of intensive care and called for his knife and I had to tell him I sold it!:eek: :( I'd hold on to it as long as I could but then the obvious question is, "how long is too long?"
Matt Doyle
 
this happens alot and I have even had phone calls not returned.
This is what I do...................
Let guys know in advance...your knife will be done is say 4 weeks.
Then 2 weeks....
Then payment is due.
I have held a knife as much as 6 weeks but now I wont. I give that much notice BEFORE I even begin a job so tell me then, no its not a go at this time or yes, knowing I will need payment when the job is completed.

NOW - back to you, kindly let the gentleman know, that you can hold his job for whatever time you see fit, you will have to remake his job knowing that a new wait time may be in order.

Now - I will hold a job 1 week unless previously decided on before the job is even 1/2 way through. I am holding 1 job right now for the last 6 months and its not hurting me 1 bit.

I have also not had any email responce when a big job was recently completed. Emails were fine up untill the week it was completed. Job completed and I held it for 3 weeks sending emails every 4 days with no responce.

After the customer was notified I would place his job on the availiable list, I was responded to in 30 miniuts!!!

He is now on the wait list but I will require full payment from him down the road and noted that in my book.

If you can move on and work on other jobs, do that for a few weeks, since this situation is new to you.. remaking a job is more frustrating than waiting a few weeks if you can.
 
If it were me (and take this with a grain of salt since I've never sold a single piece :) ) I'd email again and try 411 if I had a name and a city/state. I tend to be more generous with time than most folks, and so long as it wasn't causing me any hardship I'd hold onto it for some number of months IN THIS CASE.

I'd also take it as a lesson to get full contact information from customers in the future. Email is great and all, but very often people lose passwords (or in some other way lose access to their email), don't check email frequently (especially older folks), computers crash, etc, etc, etc. I'd ask for a postal address and phone number so that in the worst case you could send a registered letter w/ a return receipt request if you can't get them on the phone.

Hopefully he's doing alright and just been busy or somesuch though.

Just my $.02.

-d
 
Thanks for the thoughts guys...I hope hes ok more then anything and i need to make sure to get better contact info in the future...
 
Sounds like his medical problems may be the cause of communication lapse. I haven't had any customers outside friends and co-workers...they're always a nextel or short drive away...but early in my LE career I learned about not gathering enough vital statistics info from regular calls and making sure the complainants/witnesses on reports always fill out all their info on our forms. You can't always reconstruct current contact information based on a name. I'm considering making up a little contact sheet or contract for the customer to fill out if I ever get to that stage.
 
At the store, the first thing we do when a customer starts talking about a job is to take a job order slip and write their info on the top. Later when we need to follow up on the job, or ask if they are still interested, the info is available. Nothing is worse than discovering that you don't have the persons phone number, or last name. A simple order form is easy to make on your computer, and says a lot about the way you do business. It also provides a permanent record of the sale and its particulars for later referrence.
Stacy
 
Stacy,
Talk about frustration :) I have even had phone numbers be disconected so I hope they get back to me one of these days:D
 
I should be better at taking peoples names and address when an order is placed too. I do the majority of my business online, so I usually only concern myself with their email address and what it is exactly they're looking for. I've been left hanging a few times. Luckilly I was been able to sell the knife quickly enough.

Here's an excerpt from my Ts&Cs on my web page:
Payment in full is expected when your knife is complete and ready to ship. We will contact you, and payment is expected in a timely manner. Knives not paid for after 30 days are subject to sale to the general public, and any deposits paid will not be refunded. Please be sure we have your updated contact information.
 
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