Snappy Comebacks to Customers who Give You Lip

by **Raccoon** » 6 May 2007 11:52

Yes, I've complained in the past about customers who complain about price. They'll hem and haw over the phone about how it's too much or that they'll find someone else, or claim that someone else quoted them cheaper... In the end, I usually hear back from them.

This thread is dedicated to handling customers who complain about price, and shouldn't delve into the prices themselves (plenty of other threads on effective pricing).

It should be noted that there are essentially 2 levels of communication: Initial approach/quote of your price to the customer, and defense of your price to a reluctant customer in order to retain their business.

I'm going to begin with a new post and simply recite a number of situations I've encountered and how I handle them. I'd like to see more of the same (original content), rather than opinions on how I should do it differently (i'm fine).

by **raimundo** » 6 May 2007 12:29

If you know a locksmith in your area who does poor work and charges high prices, just keep his card near your phone and send the trouble to him. If your a locky in the UK you probably know some drillerkiller to refer them to. (yeah, coon, I know youre in the land of brujeria, Im just putting that in for the UK members.)

by **Raccoon** » 6 May 2007 19:16

First Contact. These are abstract examples of how I quote over the phone.

(note: I use the phrase "The fee is" rather than "I charge" or "MY fee" to make it sound impersonal and removed from me/my pocket. "The fee is" sounds less negotiable and out of your [and their] control.)

At this point, a number of responses can be expected. The most preferred response from the customer would be "Alright, I'll be standing outside... The car is blue... I'll turn my porch light on..." etc., but this not always the case.

ELDERLY LOCAL:

Customer: "I don't have that.", "I'm retired.", "Can I [I can] give you $$."In most cases, I'm willing to work with the elderly, especially if they are local. Most out-of-town elderlies are actually quite happy to pay my rate, and give me the largest tips, but the local town's elderly are usually on some sort of government assistance and have little to their name. Though, there are a few exceptions, and I've had a $50 stuffed in my shirt pocket twice by people to whom I've said "no charge, sir". Usually, I'll go for 1/2 to 1/3rd my rate, or write it off as community service. This is entirely up to you.

HEALTHY CUSTOMER:

Customer: "I don't have that.", "How about I give you $$."One universal option is to offer to invoice them for payment after 30 days. Remind them that you DO accept credit cards (you really should), failing that, invoicing often does the trick.

Customer: "Another locksmith said he'll do it for $$."This is the most entertaining retort a customer can ever give you. It reveals their hand-- a complete bluff and ready to fold. Never give into this statement by offering to negotiate, because they are bullshitting at this point. If necessary, allow the conversation to escalate into the finer points of running a business, because they'll be surprisingly receptive. It's a personality type I most enjoy. Sometimes they'll hang up to "call" said other-locksmith, but they almost always call back. It does help that I'm the most reliable and available, so your results may vary.

Locksmith: "That's a pretty good deal, sir. Though, while I price my services competitively, I'm afraid that I can't match their quote."Knowing the locksmiths, towing companies, and mechanic yards around you does help. At this point you can go into more detail if you have an idea of who the locksmith is, or if they reveal a name. Remember, they're still talking to you for a GOOD REASON, otherwise they'd be off the phone by now utilizing the services of said "other locksmith". The #1 reason is time frame. After all, you charge what you charge because you're an emergency service-- more on this later.

Make sure you can live up to these claims, of course, as it would be illegal to make such false statements. Also be careful of slander-- I will push the limits, but I'm honest and forthcoming.

Customer: "I guess I'll do it myself then."I have also heard this one, and that's fine. More often than not, they'll call back requiring additional services from you. Make buddies with a body shop to send customers to for dent and paint work. Even go so far ask to ask for a cut (body shops are great at inflating prices arbitrarily). But most of all, encourage the customer because they are, for the moment, a lost cause and are more likely to call back if you leave them with some helpful advice.

Locksmith: "Ok sir. If I may give you some advice though; A slim-jim will not work on a vehicle of your make and year, and will only cause damage to the electrical wiring and linkage inside your door panel. (examples: power locks, power windows, door ajar light, side-impact airbags). I would recommend using a terry cloth to minimize scratching the paint around the area you're working. Let me know if I can be of further assistance. Again, I can get you in without any damage to your vehicle."This leaves the door open (no pun intended) for future dialog. Just don't go so far as to walk the customer through any actual techniques. That is where you simply remind them that you're still willing to come out. A note about slim-jims; many automotive parts stores and truck stops do sell slim-jims, where local laws permit, but the majority of the population is no longer even familiar with the tool as it became largely ineffective in the 80's and early 90's. Only mention it if you see its use in your area.

I guess this has turned into more of a guide than a post of snappy remarks. So I will follow up with those in my next post. Feel free to comment though on how you handle these situations (without it carrying off into a debate

). It's all very subjective anyway.

by **Raccoon** » 6 May 2007 20:13

PERSISTENTS IS FUTILE:

Both of these gets them to make a decision quick, and stop harassing you, because you're a busy person who doesn't need their work. If you don't like them, choose the first response and take your time, otherwise the second one will make them feel slightly important else risk waiting over an hour until you become available again.

Not exactly snappy, but if you think a guilt trip will work, there you have it.

I have actually used this one, and they even tipped me! I just so happened to be at the pool with some friends so my hair was still wet. Don't be afraid to dunk your head in the sink, though.

Word of advice, however. You are always with your girlfriend, or your wife and kids. You might be at the bar, night club, party or spam with your buddies... but you're actually at a park, pool, restaurant, theater, recital, birthday, wedding or funeral with your girlfriend, or wife and kids (even if you're single).

Men know that there are certain responsibilities more important than money-- it's primal instinct, and women know that they wouldn't want to be neglected because some cheapskate customer called her b/f or husband while spending time together. When all else fails, this one is a certain win. Use it and abuse it.

by **Raccoon** » 6 May 2007 20:23

You know what; so many phone conversations are coming to mind now. I should write a book called "Tactical Phone Skills for Service Professionals".

All posts Â© me.

by **RodVT** » 6 May 2007 21:47

Raccoon, you are a master! I love your tactics, er, helpful ways you use to encourage the customer to overcome their initial reluctance. I spend a lot of time apologizing for the cost (to make them understand that I know it's not a trivial amount of money) and explain that the charges are more related to business expenses, and primarily advertising.

Keep the ideas rolling. Sooner or later you will have at least an article, if not a book!

Rod

by **Chucklz** » 7 May 2007 1:27

I don't do any kind of service work, and I am a snarky SOB, but if a customer told me that they would just do it themselves, I would tell them to have fun, and to call me to fix it when they break it.

by **Shrub** » 7 May 2007 8:20

Rather than give generalizations as i deal with each customer on their own merit at the time, i shall give a couple of examples of how ive delt with issues in the past, some are polite and some arent as some customers are polite and some arent, treat me with respect and you shall be treated the same, swear at me and youll get the same back,

Me, i can be with you in 10 mins,
Customer, thats quick you mustent be very busy,
Me, i was fitting you in before my next job but i can easily book you in which will be at the earliest a week on friday,
C, ill see in you in 10 do you want a cup of tea when you arrive?

Customer, 40 QUID!! it only took you a few seconds to open the door,
Me, your paying for the knowledge and experiance, i can lock it again and act like i dont know what im doing for 30 mins if it will make you feel better?

Customer, Any cheaper for cash?
Me, That is the cash price, (may as well get the cash if they offer it as you know this customer has the posability of bouncing the cheque),

Customer on phone, how much to supply and fit the lock?
Me, Â£65 all in,
Customer, wow we couldnt find one of these locks anywhere except someone on the internet who wanted Â£100 for supply only, how soon can you come and do it?
Once at the job, completed and on handing the invoice over and asking for payment,
Customer, the lock was only Â£25?? whats the other Â£40 for???
Me, Coming out and fitting it,
Customer, You could have said that and let us buy the lock off you and fit it ourselves!
Me, you didnt ask that, you rang me up and asked me to come out and fit the lock, i told you the price of the whole job and you were over the moon
at the price i quoted,
Customer, But you didnt say the lock was only Â£25 and that you would charge Â£40 to fit it,
Me, thats not the point really is it, if you had asked i would have said but you asked how much would it cost to supply and fit the lock which is what i quoted and you were very happy with,
Customer, well if i had realised i would have asked for supply only,
Me (getting pissed at this point so now just trying to win the argument and get my money), i dont sell locks supply only (i do and dont know why this came out but i thought it would help),
Custemer, Well i cant do anything about it now then can i but can i suggest that you tell people when they ring up how much your gogin to charge for just chiseling out a door to fit a lock,
Me, i do and did in your case, if im asked if theres a calout i tell them, if im asked if theres a labour charge i tell them, if im asked for a total price i tell them that, you asked for a total price which you were given and very happy about,
Customer, ill pay you but im not happy and im gogin to find out the prices from other people and then go to trading standards,
Me, do what you want youll find im in the right and have actually charged you at least half of what one of the nationals would have charged you, thanks for your business,
An hour or so later the couple rang me up and appolagised, they said they didnt realise the price locksmiths charge and that i was indeed correct in everything i had said and done and was sorry if they caused me any upset, i said that i understand but had quoted and that they were hapy with it to which she agreed, as a gesture of god will i said that if they were ever locked out during the day i would do the unlock at 50% price for them,

Customer, I cant get into my door,
Me, whats the problem? do you have the key and is it turning the lock?
Customer, Ive got the key but it doesnt turn the lock,
Me, Are you useing the right key?
Customer, well theres only 2 keys and the other is for the garage,
Me, before i come out and charge you for doing this can you try the other key in the lock for me please,
Customer, Thankyou so much, im in now but i cant understand why the garage key now opens the house door,
Me, i bet you any money your house key now opens your garage, have a nice day,

Customer, Got a back door that wont unlock, need you here now,
Me, I can be with you in 5 mins,
Customer, Its not quick enough, i need you here now,
Me, im sorry but im 5 mins drive away as you live in the next town along from me,
Customer, ill see you here in 5 mins then,
Get to the job on this one to find the door kicked in and the customer coming down the stairs with the toilet cistern filling up so i guess he couldnt wait afterall lol

Customer, need you to look at a jammed lock,
Me, be with you this afternoon if its not an emergency,
Customer, fine im in al day,
Get to job but the door isnt answered even though i can see their shadows hiding behind the sofa, i wrote an invoice out charging them for the calout and put it through the door with a note saying non payment will incurr 25% of the new invoice total every week and after 4 weeks i will see them in court, they rang me back before i got home and offered to pay the callout appolagiseing that they went out and forgot i was gogin round but didnt need the lock sorting out anymore, i told them to post it to me but have yet to recieve it 4 months later :roll:

Customer, ive locked my keys in the boot and am stuck at the petrol station,
Me, ill be there shortly,
Gets to the job and finds a car coned off on the forecourt with a woman franticly runn ing aroun appolagiseing to the staff etc for being a nusence,
No word of a lie i walk around the car to the drivers side and see the keys in the petrol cap that she had left on top of the petrol pump :lol:

Customer, Ive got a safe that i want opening,
Me, i only do some safes where is it,
Customer, Natwest bank,
Me, lol very funny,
Customer, What your all robbing bastards anyway whats wrong with just doing some of the rest of us a favour, il pay you,
Me putting on a funny voice, this call has been terminated and transfered to CID .....
Customer put the phone down,

Sales calls,
I tend to let them go on and on now while on speaker phone, i use the time the phone isnt ringing as a rest and let them waste their time grunting or agreeing where appropreate, my record up to now is over 45 minutes with some idiot from ufindus.com lol

Customer, My door wont lock,
Me, do you have the key and does it turn in the lock,
Customer, no i dont have the key,
Me, what type of lock is it?
Customer, One you put a key into with funny jagged bits on the edge,
Me, ill come and have a look at it, bee there son,
Get to the job to find the door doesnt have a lock in it,
Me, theres no lock in the door,
Customer, i know,
Me, well thats why you cant lock it,
Customer, will you fit one,
Me, yes but it will be more money than i quoted on the phone as im now supplying a lock,
Customer, what would you reccomend and how much will that be then,
Me, quote them the price,
Customer, ah, i wont bother then thanks,
Leaving me having just gone on a callout to get nothing back,

As ive been writing this it appears its more funny jobs ive had rather than how to deal with customers so ill stop typing now but leave this here as 1) i have typed it out and dont want to waste it and 2) some of you may find it funny,
Racc if its way out of context let me know and ill delete it,

by **bryan1656** » 7 May 2007 8:42

Good thread!

and finally one where I have something to offer.

I do more CCTV and alarms than locks, keys, and doors, but customer interaction is pretty much the same when it comes to dealing with objections.

Them: "I can't spend much. I'm on a fixed income."

Me: "Well, I used to say, 'Aren't we all?', but then I started my own business and now I never know if I'll be able to pay for my daughter's dance lessons for more than two months at a time. Sometimes I miss the financial security of knowing I'll get a check every month. Let's see what we can do to work within your budget."

Them: "You just want to make a bigger sale."

Me: "I make my recommendations based on what I believe, in my expert opinion, is needed in order to help protect your property and your family. I encourage you to get the opinions of others, as well. My first duty to you is to inform you so that you can make good decisions. It would be irresponsible of me not to mention certain options simply besause I think you may balk at the price. It is my duty to advise you and it is your duty to make decsions based upon your budget. The money I earn from this transaction only meets a very small portion of my needs. In a matter of days, or even hours, it will be gone towards my operating expenses, insurance, continuing education, or a host of other things. However, once I leave, the systems and measures I leave in place will protect your home and family for years to come. Honestly, Mr. Client, who do you will benefit the most from this transaction in the long term?"

Them: "You want me to pay that? But that only took ten minutes!"

Me: "Yes, but I've been preparing to do it for my entire life. The skills and specialized knowledge that I put to work for you have come only after countless hours of study and practice. That invoice is in line with that you approved before I began working. I charge according to what I deliver, not according to time. Otherwise, if I charged according to time only, my incentive would be to work slow, to never learn new techniques or skills."

Then: "Is that the best price you can give me?"

Me: "Technically, no. But if I lower the price, it will come out of my pocket and takes away from what I am able to provide my family. I wouldn't expect you, or anyone else, to work for free, especially at the expense of their family. You are obviously satisfied with what I've proposed, and now that you know that is the best price I can give you without working for free, may I have your order?"

Them: "I need you to come down on your price a little."

Me: "As soon as I came down in price, you'd know that my first quote was inflated. I don't work that way. I offer a fair price from the very beginning. If this is outside your budget, then let's look at some ways to reduce the size of the job, and we can come in and complete the project when your budget allows."

by **raimundo** » 7 May 2007 9:39

I worked for a locksmith in sanfrancisco long ago, customer calls were notoriously tricky, they would never fully explain the problem, sometimes they wanted the best lock, (medeco) and you would go out and find the door or door frame were kicked in, and they had failed to mention it.
every monday and tuesday were calls about fixing the weekend burglaries, One large building called three mondays in a row, the thieves were trying to break into a steel door, and damaging the lock each time with more force, the third time the door was bent and peeled back, all in all, the customer never really explained the situation on the phone and tried to get a quote, the quotes given were all much higher than the call as presented by the customer would have required, so often if the job was straight forward, the customer got a pleasant surprise when presented the bill. There was plenty of competition in the field then, but the shop I worked for had already got the big accounts, bechtel, coldwell banker the big realty managment corps, united airlines, some steamship lines etc. so it was not a problem and the work was steady.

by **Raccoon** » 7 May 2007 20:18

All very excellent posts so far! Shrub, keep on entertaining us, please!

I wish I had as much material but most of my gripes are about "Customers Who Do It Themselves and Fail", which can be found in another thread titled the same.

by **Legion303** » 8 May 2007 7:58

Raccoon wrote:Customer: "Another locksmith said he'll do it for $$."

I love this. I did customer service work (phones) for a few months, and I got this every once in awhile in the form of "company X only charges $$$ for the same programming!" My response was always "wow, that's a great deal. I'll check into it when I get off work. Thanks for the tip!"

-steve

by **UWSDWF** » 8 May 2007 8:20

my favourite line to use is "I work here cause I need money not to take your BS"

by **NKT** » 10 May 2007 16:01

My best one (and I've told this before a few times in various pubs) was a 3am call from a lady wanting a spyhole fitted to the front door. I quoted the price, and she complained it was too high. I replied that it was 3:30am, and that the rates were lower in the daytime.

Before 8am the phone goes again. Same lady, same question. I say the price. She says, "You said it would be Â£x in the morning." I said, and it will be, but it is not morning yet. She said she would call back in a few hours.

A few hours later, no call. 6 hours later, no call. 17:30, in comes the call. I was tempted to tell her it was after hours, but I didn't. I went and fitted the spyhole. :roll:

Snappy Comebacks to Customers who Give You Lip

Snappy Comebacks to Customers who Give You Lip

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