Customer service??

[JoshJP7]

I never said i EXPECTED them to drop everything... All I asked for was some pics... in 7hrs... find 10mins to get me some pics... and your gonna tell me thats inconsiderate?? I cant say Ive ran a small business but I did work 40hrs a week while taking 4- 4credit college classes AND I was caring for my snakes the whole time... I dont think you really want to argue in "family and work" bc it comes down to 10mins... thats all ... a click of the camera... lil USB action... Upload email bodda bing badda boom

[MikeC1212]

Um I never called anyone a scumbag. Sorry.

I don't know if you breed snakes and you're sensitive to this because you're the same way. But it's not how it should be. If I have a second job, that's not even MY personal business, it shouldn't mean everyone should expect less from me. If he doesn't have time.. should he be doing it?

If I don't have time for something, or can't do something right...maybe you shouldn't be doing it. That something people are taughted when they're very young. Obviously some are not taught that way.

I bet if I had a snake that I "didn't have time" to take care of, I'd be getting ripped apart because "time" w/ jobs/family etc. wouldn't be a valid excuse THEN, would it?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Why are people standing so strong for this breeder? (You don't even know who it is.)

No one is standing up for anyone people are trying to make a point that the world does not stop for one person, that people can be busy and not available right this second and as long as they handle it in a professional manner this is not bad customer service and this cannot be called being a scumbag.

The customers that want everything now and show no respect or understanding are in my opinion as bad as people who lack customer skills.

Since when being a customer or potential customer means you cannot be considerate and understanding?

[MikeC1212]

OH MY! Yes, I think the world should stop when you're trying to sell something.. and someone is trying to buy it. It's that simple. I really don't care about 2 sides of the story. But here they are anyway:

Side 1(josh): I'd like some pictures

Side 2(breeder): I don't have time for you.

That's in a nutshell, and that's about all that needs to be looked at.

[Brimstone111888]

Consideration, manners, respect, being understanding and patient work both ways.

Expecting people to drop everything they are doing for YOU is very inconsiderate in my opinion if you cannot wait 24-48 hours for the breeder to make time to take a picture and email it too you I guess you can take your money somewhere else if that is the case however claiming it is bad customer service or as you said a "scumbag" is just plain wrong.

I wonder have you ever run a small business on the top of having a regular job and juggling with your family obligations?

I agree with all of the pleasantries, but dropping what you are doing, for the customer, is part of business. Saying "Wait until after the show if I still have it" is the complete wrong way to deal with it.

Business is Business, even if you are selling snakes, running a store, or an online business. Customer comes before packing for a show.

As to running a small business, I have more experience than anyone I know my age. I am 19 and I am currently involved with a lot of online sales(around 200-300 auctions a week), where customer service is 10x harder than in person imo. I sell antiques for my grandfather. I run everything pretty much. Emails, listing items, answering questions, shipping items, long hours. I also go to college (business major)for 4-5 classes a semester, and I have my own house to run and pay for. I do not deal with snakes on a business level, but business is business. I still stand by what I said earlier. You make time. Customers don't want excuses.

[JoshJP7]

breeder :I just reposted the ad for the two clown females on kingsnake, so youcan check it out right now. I have the big two-day Chantilly, VA show this weekend and those twogirls will be going with me. If you're seriously interested in one orboth of them, you might want to contact me before tomorrow noon as Iwill be leaving then to set up for the show

josho you happen to have more pics of the top female in your kingsnake as? Im liking hermore and more but would like some other pics to get a better look... Let me know if you can get me some more pics before you take off ... could save you from having to bring her on your trip. Thank you

breeder:I don’t have any more photos and don’t have time to take more before the show. That photo is very representative of her appearance. They are both killer looking clowns.

josh:I am very interested in the first female but am not will to drop that kind of money going off of 1 picture... I hope you can get a few more pics of her today before you take off so I can get a better look... As long as am happy with the other pics ill most likely take her. Let me know if you can make this happen.

breeder:If I still have her after the show, I’ll take some more shots for you

[frankykeno]

Um I never called anyone a scumbag. Sorry.

I don't know if you breed snakes and you're sensitive to this because you're the same way. But it's not how it should be. If I have a second job, that's not even MY personal business, it shouldn't mean everyone should expect less from me. If he doesn't have time.. should he be doing it?

If I don't have time for something, or can't do something right...maybe you shouldn't be doing it. That something people are taughted when they're very young. Obviously some are not taught that way.

I bet if I had a snake that I "didn't have time" to take care of, I'd be getting ripped apart because "time" w/ jobs/family etc. wouldn't be a valid excuse THEN, would it?

No one said you did.

I'm not "sensitive" to this issue since I don't current breed snakes (our adults will be introduced next month and until I produce a living hatchling I don't presume to call myself a breeder).

I am simply presenting another viewpoint, which we encourage at BPNet and no you would not be "ripped apart". We would hopefully help you see other options.....much as I'm doing on this particular subject.

[kc261]

I can say he HAS 5 mins bc he does... so do you and so does everyone... Whether or not you choose to MAKE that 5-10 mins available is your call... My analogy was waking up early...Jeff said spend an extra 10 mins at night... Either way he didnt say "im leaving in 3 mins dont have time"... it was "im leaving at 2pm".... well my email was at 7 this morning.... you cant find 5-10 mins in 7hrs?

You know he has 5 mins, because he has 7 hrs before he leaves for the show. But you don't know how many things he needs to fit into those 7 hrs, and how many other things he wants to fit into those 7 hrs, but can't. You don't know how many emails he got today asking for him to send pics. Of course if it was tons of people all asking about the same snake that is easy, but you said he has lots of ads on kingsnake so that probably means lots of different snakes. Maybe answering all the emails with the level of customer service he would like to provide on any other day would have taken him the entire 7 hours and then his snakes wouldn't be packed for the show. You are right he is the one that chooses whether or not to make the time to take those pics and send them to you. But I'm not sure you have figured out that probably isn't the only thing he is choosing from. It isn't just sleep or this one pic. In fact, if he only got your email this morning and he's leaving this afternoon, it was probably too late for him to decide to get a little less sleep. So I think you are being a little harsh on him and not seeing the whole picture.

Now, I'm not taking the breeder's side. From your account, it doesn't sound like he handled it well. People who are in business should figure out a way to get good at customer service even if they aren't good at it naturally or don't have a business background or whatever. If he doesn't have time to deal with customer service today because he is leaving for the show, then he could have set up his email account to reply to all incoming messages with an auto message that says something like "We are at the show this weekend, our online store reopens 8 am Monday." And it would have been even better if he had the foresight to put a similar note in his ads warning people he'd be at the show and therefore unavailable online this weekend. Businesses aren't required to be open 24/7 after all. Of course it'd be best if he could mange to do both somehow (hire someone for the weekend maybe?), but that is probably unrealistic for most reptile breeders.

Since he did take the time to reply to your email, he should have figured out a way to do something other than say "I don't have time so you are prolly gonna lose out on the chance to buy this snake cuz I'll sell it to someone else at the show". He could have offered you a way to put a hold on the snake. With some creativity there are hundreds of things that could be done. Even if it was something like a big non-refundable deposit that most people wouldn't do until they'd seen more pics, it at least puts the ball back in your court. Or maybe he gets your phone number and calls you so you get first right of refusal if someone gets interested in the snake at the show. Of course that particular one would prolly get the other customer upset, but I'm just pointing out the wide variety of things that could have been done.

[MikeC1212]

There are the 2 complete sides I guess.

Everyone's looking deeper though, saying personal things might have popped up, need to be considerate.. and so on

I think it was brimstone was 100% right when he said time and time again, business is business. When you go to the store, whether it's walmart or mcdonalds, or whatever... do you expect to wait? because someone might be doing something else? NO! You want you pictures in 1 hour. You want your cheeseburger hot and fresh.

When you try to buy a snake off someones "business" you expect the same prompt/courteous service that you'd expect anywhere else. You(the customer) are always right. There's a simple business lesson.. and i didn't go to college for it. I picked it up sometime in Jr High.

[SatanicIntention]

Josh, I think it's time to find a different breeder. I've had snakes sold out from under me, and it SUCKS. If that breeder can't give you the common decency to let you know he's going to a show, will be back in two days, and you can discuss things, then find another breeder.

I'm working with a breeder right now who let me know up front that someone else was interested in the snake too and was willing to plop down money the next day. I put a deposit on the snake that night, and told the breeder my circumstances and how I needed to pay(this is only a $500 snake, but still). This breeder went out of his way to find baby/yearling/adult pictures of this snake as well as take a few extras, just so I'd have them. It likely didn't even take him 5 minutes, but just doing that showed me that he's serious about his business and taking care of his customers. Two more payments and I'll have my adult hypo

Find a different breeder, you'll have a much better buying and after-the-sale experience. You'll find another clown that "clicks", no worries.