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Thread: Customer ratings (for the trade sector)

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    Customer ratings (for the trade sector)

    How do you rate your customers.

    Do you rate your customer by the amount of work they give you ... size of the projects or monthly turnover?

    Do you rate them on how fast or slow they pay the bill?

    Do you offer a better service to the ones who pay quicker?

    DO you move a customer up the waiting list if they pay in advance and do they get better attention?

    What do you do with the slow payers ... increase their hourly rate to compensate for the losses due to interest and bank account fees ... or do you just dump them and focus on the good paying customers?
    Comments are based on opinion...not always facts....that's why people use an alias.

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    We put a stop service on clients who are behind on their terms of payment and do not respond to our enquiries about when we can expect payment. It's a pretty hard and fast rule regardless of who the client is.

    There is no policy that we respond quicker to clients who pay quicker, or are more pleasant to deal with. While I would love to say that "better clients get better service", I wouldn't be surprised if there is a subtle prioritisation at scheduling and servicing level for known "prickly" clients - the ones that are known to have little tolerance for delays and hiccups in servicing.

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    Diamond Member Justloadit's Avatar
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    I have noticed (myself included as a customer and hence use it), he who does not complain too much about a quote when the price is fair, and he who pays when promised, is the one who I usually rate as a first priority.

    I have noticed suppliers who prioritize me as their client due to this action, so I in turn do so with my suppliers.

    After all we are in the business of making money, and capital is a high requirement in making the business work, be it stock, wages or other running expenses.

    As I tell my customers on many occasions, if you squeeze me too hard, you will not have a supplier in the end. It may be that you think there are many suppliers, but effectively in a short period of time you do loose your suppliers.
    The next time they come round I push the price up and demand an 80% deposit before starting, where they have already paid the full price upfront before we continue. If they don't pay the balance for what ever petty reason they come up with, it does not matter, but the door is now shut. The next time they come it is 100% deposit before commencement. There have been a few over the years who became like this. I have noticed that they disappear in time as no one then supplies them due to the track record.
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    Diamond Member Blurock's Avatar
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    A reliable and loyal supplier is a diamond and should be nurtured, just as much as a loyal customer who pays on time.

    Difficult customers are often the ones who know what they want and do not tolerate inefficiency. There is always a correlation to what they demand and how they run their business. If the business is successful and efficient, they will demand the same. However, you sometimes get the bully who makes demands, although its is not applied in his own sloppy business. Those I caqn stay without.
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    I have no problem with difficult customers ... its the ones who have a big mouth short arms and deep pockets.

    Something I have been taking note of in the past few months ... the running costs associated with customer who want things done right ... what people dont see is all the behind the scene preparation and the clean up afterwards.

    the cost of the rubber mats used to put on surfaces ... the dustless chasing equipment ... the cleaning up of the machines at the end of the day ... why we pack up at 3 pm and not 4.30 ... or arrive at 10 am in the morning ... there is a lot of work involved in operating a jacked up system.

    The disposal of rubbish from site ... it may seem like it just suddenly disappears ... but in reality it is packed and removed from site ... the the site is cleared and cleaned ... swept and walls washed everyday.

    Then you get some knob ... who sits at braai and tells people you are expensive ... what they dont tell everyone is about the last company they had working on site ... who they threw off site because they caused so many problems and left the site in a mess ... and how you wasted have the time spent on site fixing the mess the clowns left ... if you want to throw coins in a hat ... get a clown ...

    Thats why sometimes its better to just go to site put your blinkers on and do what you are tasked to do ... there is a catch ... once you have worked on site .. .you will always be labelled the electrician ... the cusotmer will hold you responsible for everything to do with the electrical regardless of who did the work ... you screwed any way you look t it.

    Hence the new company policy from 1 Jan 2022 ... if you dont have an Initial COC for the property ... or your COC's looks suspicious ... a "test report" is required ... a list of the issues will be done at a fee and it is up to the customer to do the repairs or at least understand that the property is not up to standard and remedial work is required ... if any dangerous issues are identified ... they will require immediate attention and the other stuff can be done over a scheduled period of time period of time.

    I am going to have to find a new testing guy ... the one I have been using seems to experiencing a few medical issue lately.
    Comments are based on opinion...not always facts....that's why people use an alias.

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