Poll for the professional breeders/sellers/distributers..

[Ophiuchus]

I'm currently looking to buy some house snakes from a certain individual, so I took advantage of the B.O.I. over at FaunaClassifieds. It seems that a lot of the difficulties some people seem to run into is with sellers not responding promptly to emails or phonecalls (mostly the former). Some of these sellers simply claim that they just rely more on one form of communication than the other.

My personal opinion is that it only takes a few minutes to check your email inbox and respond to messages (or maybe 30 if you're really popular!), and not doing so is simply poor customer service. But I understand that for those who have been doing this for years (perhaps decades) probably have a system that works and don't feel the need to change. Not to mention you can use your hands to get things done while on the phone.

So I'm curious....how many of you big-timers primarily rely on the phone and don't check your emails everyday......or visa-versa, sitting in front of the computer for hours on end and avoid the phone when possible. And how many feel they utilize a equal blend of the two?

[LadyOhh]

I may not be a "Big" guy, but I primarily rely on E-mail.

I always ask the customer to call me when the animal arrives, but most corrispondance that I have is thru e-mail, as it leaves a record of what was said, and is easier for me.

[stangs13]

I forgot what the title said, and I voted in the wrong box..lol. Sorry.

[Ophiuchus]

Yeah I agree with the record-keeping aspect of email. Easy to misunderstand someone on a phone.

And if this is the same LadyOhh who was ReptileRadio a while back, I really appreciated hearing what you had to say on there. Fantastic.

[LadyOhh]

The one and only!!

Thank you very much for that... I really appreciate it.

[WestExHerps]

I wouldn't really consider us "big" either. But I always rely on email......just so I can have a record of the transaction. I have actually taken my phone number off of the business cards because I was getting too many random calls...."I have seen your website, do you sell iguanas?"

[jkobylka]

I like the email record of the transaction too....

But usually I get a feel for the customer and whatever their preference is, I'll try to rely on that form of communication the most.

Justin

[josh@outbackreps]

Not a big breeder/dealer, but it depends on the type of sale.

Most smaller sales are via email as most people want to buy the animal and be done.
Larger groups of animals, or specialties we prefer phone as it is easier to get a feel as to what the customer is looking for, and we can answer questions easier, and put together a breeding group/package for them based on the direction they want to go.

No matter what way we deal with sales, we always try to get the phone or at least return the call within a hour, and reply to all emails the day we get them. I think a lot of people loose business by not offering the customer service that should be expected by a breeder/dealer.

Just our thought.

[Pythonman]

With my beardies, when it comes to actually doing business...the serious ones will call...I find the email often contain questions from those not really serious about buying...but sometimes I'll get someone who will buy after a couple of emails back and forth...hope this helped


In other words, a little of both, but I definitely check my emails and my voicemails regularly and agree, it's not difficult o answer either one when you get a couple of minutes free.