Dealing with difficult customers

[especht]

I had my first disgruntled customer last evening and found myself continuously biting my tongue.

I have taken over 1,000 individual photos for football/cheerleading in the past two months, but this individual was unsatisfied with her photos.

I was wondering how others handle this type of situation?

Thanks for your time

[floydianslip6]

Sounds to me like you're doing a great job at handeling it. If the transaction is already done with the parent I'd say let it go. If you still have to retake the images tell her she's going to have to pay for the retakes since more than half of the old images are missing (return them to her of course). To me it sounds like someone that isn't going to be happy no matter what you do, you could print it on gold leaf paper with a diamond border for free and she'd complain it was too shiney....

[Seefutlung]

Man you have more patience than I.

I would have told her to take her business elsewhere ... and that her child is puffy ... that her refund will be held in trust with your attorney, when all photo are returned, undamaged, then she will be entitled to a full refund ... that your hourly rate is $250 an hour and if she continues to take up more of your time ... you're on the clock (a glance at your watch) ... the hourly rate will be subtracted from the refund ... case is closed if you have anything else to say I think it would be best through intermediaries say your attorney with my attorney ... or I can speak directly with your therapist, but I'm not dealing with, in my opinion, a stupid, rude, cranky spinster of a woman like you and your puffy child who is not capable of seeing a difference between an Ansel Adams photograph and a hole in the ground.

If you evey encounter her and "Puffy" again ... just wave and smile.

Gary

[especht]

Thanks for the responses. I try my best to keep a good name and at the same time welcome criticism. You are all right, she definitely would not been happy no matter what I did. I'll add her to my "blacklist". Until now, this list has consisted of users who have bounced checks. Thanks again!

[Gary_Evans]

You've more patience than me! And a better complaints rate if only one in a thousand complain.

IMO you have stopped the problem at source by talking to the event organiser. Offering a unconditional re-shoot is also good customer relations.
Although she may have caused a scene, people are not usually impressed. They will admire your self-control and efforts to rectify any problems.

Well done You :lol:

FWIW here is my customer relations from recent black tie event, where the images were appearing on a large screen as they were shot.

"Lady" comes over, puts down her beer and shouts "take me photo mister"

I take it, and it appears on the screen, to shouts of "I dont like it, it makes me look fat"

Only reply i could think of "Yes Sweetheart, theres a mirror there and it does exactly the same thing"

No Sale :confused: :confused: :confused:

[rhys]

I'd ask for the photos back -in the condition they were submitted to her- and then when she did so, hand back her money and tell her to take her business elsewhere. Of course, it might be that she's running a scam in which she copies your photos then complains their bad and expects her money back. The chance of that is slim but again the best course would be to blacklist her as already suggested.

[ErikAnderson]

When I have a customer who is not satisfied my experience is that being quick to respond, being fair, being informative, and being firm all work in my favor.

You handled the situation well. You've addressed the problem, offered a solution, and hopefully placated her. It might turn around on you and her big yapper flapping on how you 'screwed up' but FIXED the problem might get you some more business. :) Good luck!

[especht]

Of course, it might be that she's running a scam in which she copies your photos then complains their bad and expects her money back. The chance of that is slim but again the best course would be to blacklist her as already suggested.

I never thought of that angle, but it is always a possibility. I've had quite a few instances over the years where customers have said I missed items in their package (i.e. A parent calls and states that they ordered 2 team photos, but I only put one in their package). Although it could have happened, I go over the order three times before I place the order and my assistant (my wife :) ) catches any mistakes when she is packaging items). It is usually a case of somebody trying to get someething for nothing. Thanks for the different insight.

[especht]

"Lady" comes over, puts down her beer and shouts "take me photo mister"

I take it, and it appears on the screen, to shouts of "I dont like it, it makes me look fat"

Only reply i could think of "Yes Sweetheart, theres a mirror there and it does exactly the same thing"

No Sale :confused: :confused: :confused:

Too funny! I've had so many comments like this on the tip of my tongue, but restrain from saying them. It is getting harder and harder to restrain myself, but the thought of future business depending on it is enough to shut me up.

[xandria]

The customer is always right?
I think you handled the situation and yourself very well. Offering a free shoot for one problem client out of several good clients won't hurt your business. As someone else said - if you fix the problem, she'll likely blab about it to everyone instead of blabbing that she's upset and nothing was done to fix it. I say, make the loud, obnoxious ones your friends! They tend to talk you up the most when they like you.

Having said that there are just some people you will never please despite your best efforts, but the clever, rude and dismisive remarks are better left to share with a close friend who you can vent to rather than the client.

After a recent photo shoot one of my clients said that they were "surprised" at how they looked. They asked for some pp to slim them down in a couple of pictures and said that they didn't have a complaint with my work, simply with themselves. I offered to re-shoot for free (they could keep all original work). They opted not to have the free re-shoot and with some digital magic they were happy.

If the % of unsatisified clients is low - do what you can to, 1st avoid that type of client; 2nd do ANYthing you can to make them happy and satisfied. If the % of unsatisfied clients is higher than you would like, look at your work and make improvements. You can learn something from every criticism - - even from the psycho's. In this case, which images did she keep? She must have liked them - - if she comes back for the freebie, try to duplicate them.

[especht]

In this case, which images did she keep? She must have liked them - - if she comes back for the freebie, try to duplicate them.

After speaking with a few parents, they stated that there was nothing wrong with their photos, they were under the impression that when they heard I was retaking a child's photos that it was like the local schools "retake" sessions. Apparently the local schools hold a "retake" day in which they will retake any childs photos, no questions asked. Some parents wanted their child to do a different pose, rather than the one on the original. I did not retake these photos.

I never ran into anything like this and can't imagine having a policy like this. This team has a lot of athletes and if I had such a policy, could not imagine the impact on my costs if all of the athletes wanted "retakes". I do want to make the customer happy, but have to draw the line somewhere? Right?

[Steve Parr]

I take it, and it appears on the screen, to shouts of "I dont like it, it makes me look fat"

I love those. My response: "Oh, I don't think it's the picture that's doing that..."

[TeeJay]

... or I can speak directly with your therapist.

Oh, that is soooo funny!:lol: :lol: :lol:

[xandria]

It seems like something you might have to do with school photos, as a lot of kids forget to tell their parents that pictures that day, so the parents don't make sure to dress the kid properly, etc. Then the photo comes and the parent says "Why didn't you tell me it was picture day?" The kid shrugs his shoulders and goes back to crayoning the wall ;)

For something like this, an extra-curicular activity that the parents show up for, I don't think you need to offer reshoots. Chances are the parents will know that photo day is coming up (assuming they pick their kids up from practice and stuff) and will have dressed and groomed the kid appropriately.

Exactly. My kids have a picture "make-up" day too - - but it's usually before they deliver the photos and only if you missed the actual picture day or as matthew said, you didn't know it was picture day. It doesn't make sense that all those parents showed up for a re-take - - of course, as a parent I can see how they would be inclined to think that way.

It's a tricky business and you'll never please everyone all of the time. You are absolutely right when you say you have to draw the line and I think that you handled the situation appropriately.

[funnypicmaker]

I prefer being blunt unless that results in unwanted consequences. ("Lady, please don't yell at me.") In this case, you have the liberty to do so. If she talks bad about you, well...she has a reputation obviously. It's not completely without consequence, as a few naive people will believe her opinions (her gossip friends). Most people won't take her seriously.

[LBaldwin]

I think Matt and some of the others have the right idea, do what you can to win her over but don't drive yourself to drink doing it.

The one thing I might say is you should avoid comparing yourself to *alMart or any other chain store. You are striving to be a cut above them in image quality and customer service.

Preprint your return and reshoot policies and make sure that it is in your customer information sheets, in bold type. The law requires that you make her "whole" as best you can. In the past I would offer a full refund with return of ALL the images within a certain time frame. Or we can do a total reshoot with the return of the prior materials. Some photographers will not do reshoots, some will not do refunds.

One of the best techniques I have been taught for customer service goes like this,

Other than all free images what can I do to make the situation right for you Mrs. Sew and So?

This puts the ball squarely in their court. Most folks will be fair some will never be satisfied.
If you shoot for cash long enough this will pop up so, best to be prepared.

Les

[freefallu]

give her her money and tell her to f off / offer a reshoot at normal rates .. In my real job i have had a few of these and you never win.

[freefallu]

no, i mean when she started barking down the phone in the first place. Is she now happy with what she got ?? , which was essentially a freebie. if her little horror didnt look great on the day whos fault is that ? Which is cheaper , a refund or a reshoot and did the reshoot solve the problem ?

[freefallu]

ok, perhaps not in the literal sense.

I mean politely tell her thats how little James looked on the day , " puffy " . Assuming you know the work is good why behave like its bad by saying youll do it again. This class of customer love to back you into a corner , once there you never get out. He arrived at the " free reshoot " and " off " she went .. Tell her if she would like to bring little James along to the studio on a day where hes not puffy you would be happy to do it again and let her know the rates.
I would be curious to know how it went in the reshoot.

The photag business is no different to another business and the customer is not always right..esp if they are off the mentality that you are always wrong.

[especht]

I would be curious to know how it went in the reshoot.

Thanks for all the feedback. It was at the reshoot that this parent went off. She vented her opinion and I eventually took her child's photo.

[freefallu]

Hi,
I feel for you. Like i said i have met these people in my main line of work. Its not fair when they behave irrationally and as such you never " win " , you solve one problem and they pick on another. i guess you have two choices, stand by your work and say she cant have the money back ( dont offer to do it again as that accepts some sort of " guilt " in the quality ) or get rid of her by giving the money back. It comes down to which will leave you feeling better once you have done it. Sometimes its hard to walk away ( well for me anyway ) and let them " win " but win is something you will rarely do..

[sswanson]

I love those. My response: "Oh, I don't think it's the picture that's doing that..."

I like this response! I hope I find a chance to use it soon so I can cement it in mind as a standard response. :-)

Of course the even better response in many cases is no response at all, but sometimes that just won't do.

[LBaldwin]

One thing you may consider is doing both, reshoot and refund. It is not my norml practice and on the face it may seem to be a hassle. BUT when she starts dragging you name all over for her ills, you can safely say that you offered to above and beyond.

So that if that B*tch ever does take you to small claims court (the first step is the registered letter) than you can safely say that you bent over backwards to try and make it "right"

Just a thought,

Les

[Jon, The Elder]

What goes around...... Don't charge her (you have already lost money) and let it be known she is no longer a customer.

[rhys]

It might be well worth sending a formal letter to her requiring that she returns all your photos and in exchange you will hand her all her money back and that after this you no longer wish to have any contact with her under any circumstances whatsoever.

[especht]

Another thing I would recommend is editing your posts.

Good point, thanks. I have taken your advice.

[especht]

and let it be known she is no longer a customer.

after this you no longer wish to have any contact with her under any circumstances whatsoever.

Definitely!

This has been quite discouraging.