I just 'told off' a potential customer...I couldnt help it....

[thefed]

So I got a lead from a lead company for an air duct cleaning job. I call the guy up and introduce myself. I notice a thick New jewsey accent while he tells me to slow down and not try to fast-talk him... first clue he was an ass.

I started by asking him if he has a particular problem, or if he is just interested in a cleaning as general maintenance. "yeah, I gotta problem. Some asshole showed up to my old house in Jewsey and I grabbed that muddfugga by the neck and trew him on da street. He started off at $69 and was up to $300 with a high pressure sales pitch. So be warned...you do it to me, and you're getting tossed to" Warning #2

SO, being the nice guy I am, I figured I'd entertain this guy...because his money will spend as good as anyone else. I said "yeah, youve gotta watch those kinds of operations. We have upfront pricing yada yadda yaddda"

He replies "Yeah, I dont care what you say...this place sucks"

ME: "huh?"

him: "This sh!thole you call home has the worst economy Ive ever seen...highest foreclosure rate in the nation. The worse the economy, the more shady you contractors get. I'm in the security business man....I sell systems to people that have 2 million dollar homes, and I still price them fairly"

me: "thats nice"

hime "so yeah, i charge em 200 for a security analysis, and sell em a 2000 dollar system for 1500 and let them keep the equipment when they are done...that's fair enough, eh? so i want someone thats about what im about"

me (confused as hell) " Yeah..soooo.... back to your townhome....how many square feet ya got there?"

him" what the F%$# is it to you? I asked you to clean my ducts not lay carpet...it aint relevant. Ducts are ducts...you'll be workin in my basment"

ME: "obviously sir, you have some serious issues you need to address. We have a company policy that states we do no not conduct business with pain in the ass people like yourself...so have a nice day , this conversation is over"

CLICK


some people... this was probably the wierdest call ive ever been on

[yakers]

Ah, the rewards of financial independence. I call it 'jerk proofing my work life', it has actually slowed down my progress to retirement as I just like work so much more since I became retirement eligible.

[Texas Proud]

One of the biggest problems with most managers is not knowing which customers to 'fire'... many are a pain in the A$$ and cost way to much to keep... it is best to get rid of them and find a good one...

[tryan]

yeah, I'ld say you just saved yourself a collections problem ... he'ld nit-pick his way into a reason not to pay the balance.

[audreyh1]

Yeah - customers like that should have to pay 10x the rates of regular folks! It should cost them to be so nasty.

Audrey

[Alex]

Some people are just jerks. Sounds like you avoided one. Good job!

[bssc]

This what we do in risk management. Try to weed out the unprofitable potential customers before we let them into our credit card francise. I think that you did the same thing. You just managed your receivables exposure.

[Sandy]

I would agree with what has been said. Some customers are not worth the hassle - they take your time, raise your blood pressure and then take more of your time while you try to chase them for the $$ owed.

Successful business owners know who their profitable customers are and strive to increase their business and their referrals.

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thefed I notice a thick New jewsey accent while he tells me to slow down and not try to fast-talk him... Some asshole showed up to my old house in Jewsey and I grabbed that muddfugga by the neck and trew him on da street.

sometimes a thick new jersey accent will make the state sound like joisey. so i'm going to assume simply that jewsey is just a mispelling (twice) and not meant as a slam against some older confused jewish guy from joisey.

the next time you find someone consumed in anger, perhaps you might find some way to handle it other than feeding the fire.

[RedHawk]

I remember reading a story about Southwest airlines in a magazine how this one lady would complain about something every time she flew on Southwest. She must have been a frequent flier because people in the HR office took turns writing the response letters. Finally, it became the CEO's turn to write the response letter. He simply wrote:
Dear Mrs. X,

We will miss you.

Sincerely,
Southwest CEO (forget his name)

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjpatt Southwest CEO (forget his name)

Herb Kelleher

[thefed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazygood4nothinbum sometimes a thick new jersey accent will make the state sound like joisey. so i'm going to assume simply that jewsey is just a mispelling (twice) and not meant as a slam against some older confused jewish guy from joisey. the next time you find someone consumed in anger, perhaps you might find some way to handle it other than feeding the fire.

nope, i was intentionally slamming jews with my anti-semetic post (sarcasm).

i think i did really well not feeding the fire (in the back of my head, within 15 seconds,i KNEW I wouldnt be doing any work for this guy )...but by then end, i really didnt care.