O.k. - You have a customer order 2 calls from you in the thick of the callmaking season with a value of $100. You promise a turn around time of about a week and he says he is sending a money order. The calls are finished and sit in a shipping box, ready to go for 2 weeks. No payment, no email, no anything... Another 2 weeks later, a month after his last contact with you, he wants to know if the calls are ready... 3 weeks after they were promised and a month after payment was to be sent...
Sorry to say, but those calls have other owners already. Working a full time job, a part time job and making calls in all of my "spare time" I just can't sit on calls for a month. I love to build calls for folks that want to use them, but I do it to pay the bills too. I may have to re-think my mindset of money orders... possibly make the calls up AFTER the money orders arrive...
Input?
You've answered your own question Wendell.
Been there, went through that...I only accept checks or postal money orders, money first make calls after, no communication no problem, ...NO CALL.
I like you and the rest do our best to be as efficient and on time as we can be.
And like you I love to make calls, but also depend on the call sales to a point.
I would have them pay before, but I just dont know how long after the payment I could have a call made. I dont like to keep them waiting and waiting. So I make the call first and then have them pay. WHen I get more established i'll have them pay first.
Quote from: MarkJM on April 12, 2011, 11:11:49 AM
I would have them pay before, but I just dont know how long after the payment I could have a call made. I dont like to keep them waiting and waiting. So I make the call first and then have them pay. WHen I get more established i'll have them pay first.
Same here!
As a consumer, there is nothing wrong with how you handled the situation and it was really great you held them as long as you did. Unfortunately, this hurts those of us that live by our word and when we say the money is on its way, its on it way.
The gentleman responded to my email about the calls. He is sending payment with the understanding that it may take a few weeks to get the calls turned around and out the door.
I do like to get orders out as quickly as possible and have been known to finish a striker late at night or before I get ready for work just to get an order out in a timely manner.
Wendell, I am in agreement with you and Andy...I wait until the check or postal money order arrives and clears and then I send the call--the customer knows this when they order. I also tell them they have 2 weeks after the date they say the check has been mailed, if it isn't received for typical reasons excluding something odd within that time, then the call is up for sale to anyone else--I know I can always sell it elsewhere. I don't sign the call until the check arrives, this way it is available to others if need be. My word that the call will be made stands and I expect the customer to uphold their end as well.
Even though Paypal cuts into profits with the fees, it's so much cleaner. There's no "he said, she said" with payment and the delivery confirmation is automatic when you print the shipping label.
I would insist that all money orders be sent with a delivery confirmation number.
Wendell, I beleive you handled the situation very professional. You more than held up your end of the deal & cant blame you for finding some new owners for the calls. Jason
Wendell,
Just wanted to say thanks for getting my calls turned in less than 2 weeks. I posted a shout out for you on the turkey calls forum. Keep up the good work and those who appreciate you and the time it takes to get the job done will let you know.
Yelper
Huntsville, Alabama
Quote from: a-j calls on April 12, 2011, 11:03:04 AM
Been there, went through that...I only accept checks or postal money orders, money first make calls after, no communication no problem, ...NO CALL.
I like you and the rest do our best to be as efficient and on time as we can be.
And like you I love to make calls, but also depend on the call sales to a point.
money first is what i do to.. .
Wendell, I have been where you are in this situation, I too, felt like I had to try to please everyone, but I found a lot of folks do not appreciatet the time or work involved with this callmaking, especially if it is not a full time thing. Therefore they tended to be late on payment, or just not send any at all...and no contact was or would be made on the call. It is HARD to sit on a couple of calls, especially during this time. Now I openly communicate with each customer and request they use Paypal, it is a hastle with the charges, but it is clean. If they are not willing or can't do paypal then I request the money order or cash up front and the call will go into production after it is recieved. It may sound harsh, but it is getting harder to keep up with calls headed out much less those that are sitting in the shop.
To all you guy using Paypal,get your customers to send the funds as a Paypal Gift,this does not cut into your funds......just some helpful insight.
Ricky
I've been there too. I only accept paypal or cash up front. I have never had a problem since I started doing that.
I make calls on request but do not sign or engrave personal requests until payment arrives. If the money doesn't show the ordered call gets sold after I contact buyer to see what's up. I've had customers that simply forgot to drop the payment. If I contact and get no response for 3-4 days its up for grabs.
Quote from: sugarray on April 12, 2011, 12:11:05 PM
As a consumer, there is nothing wrong with how you handled the situation and it was really great you held them as long as you did. Unfortunately, this hurts those of us that live by our word and when we say the money is on its way, its on it way.
The exact reason I would like to see a itrader type system here on OG, It would eliminate any wonder. For those selling ,trading calls and also those of us that trade,buy,sell choke tubes or any goods for that matter.
Quote from: sugarray on April 12, 2011, 12:11:05 PM
As a consumer, there is nothing wrong with how you handled the situation and it was really great you held them as long as you did. Unfortunately, this hurts those of us that live by our word and when we say the money is on its way, its on it way.
So true! If it was me Wendell I would want payment first before starting on any special order calls.
Just noticed this-
Although a buyer ranking system may be worth looking into , I take it one step further here on OG-, non - payers are one issue , at least you still have your call , the folks that take the call first then never pay.....they get banned right away ,that way you don't have to worry about them here ever again
I go to allot of trouble to help out call makers , the last thing I want to hear in these hard times is some con artist scamming good folks out of their work-
In the past the forum had one con -artist on it {now banned} , he would prey on unknowing and trusting call makers , he would place orders hoping the call maker would send the item first then skip out once he had the item - At first verified conformation of a scammer like this - immediate ban - He is a real good story teller too - he would place big orders then pull the mother goose story on you when you enquired where your payment went , it was all a big scam
The policy on the OG forum stands as is...... money first to the call maker , then the customer gets the call - its common sense -
As a word of caution to those not as experienced with some of the shady types on the internet ..people are not always who they make themselves out to be - most people you can trust but there are some real criminals bouncing out there -
Tom Hanks said it best...80/20..80% of the people are ok,,the other 20% look out..
It's all in who you are dealing with is what I would say. If I buy a call from a callmaker on here and I tell them money order goes out first thing tomorrow, then you can take it to the bank that money order will be there in 3 to 4 days tops. The callmakers I have dealt with on here like Pappy and Ryan Bongour know how I do business. But when your dealing with someone you don't know I can understand how you feel Wendell. You can't just make up calls and wait whenever the buyer wants to send the money.
Not wanting to high-jack but take this to another perspective , not people who take a little time to pay up , but rather the folks that from the onset are targeting folks for free calls , there is many ways they do this - I will point out a few so you guys know what to look for when approached by con-artist
Call making guys always make good on a call sale here, the future of their business operation depends on a good reputation .So there is no issue with the call makers end of the deal here , I would also recommend the call maker play the item over the phone first to the customer before shipping , that way they don't get fancy on you , this is yet another method a internet crook will threaten to shake you down for a free item, the last thing any call maker needs is some guy threatening to spreading rumors about the quality of your calls so he can slip out on paying you - There is a fine line between good customer service and abuse , we all know when we have run into a scam artist - If you have played the call first to the customer and somebody tries some crook moves on you , contact me privately :policeman:
Turkey hunters have purchased with confidence thousands of turkey calls on OG .Like previously mentioned please do not send calls until you receive full payment , in fact if it is a pricey, or time consuming one of a kind item, you may want to require a deposit before even picking up a block of wood for them .
You guys are all running your operations and it is my pleasure to help , many of you don't know this but my father and I made calls together with our 2 man operation years and years ago .... I know how tuff it is to sell calls , booths and magazine adds don't come cheap .The best I can do is to offer OldGobbler.com forum and classifieds for free for you to utilize , I don't want your money , you keep that to pay your bills ,I do very well for myself and this is my way of appreciating your art . I don't want your calls, you don't not have to grease anyones palm or send me calls the staff here . I respect you guys too much to use you like that , Besides if I want something I can go make it in my shop.
While we are on the subject of troublesome people on the world wide web I want to point out a few things Be very wary of folks looking for for free items , you are operating a business not a charity. What you do with you call company is your business ,but some of these guys are real good at smooching free calls. Often times they will claim to be some guy with allot of friends and will offer to "help" you sell your calls by posting favorably all over the world wide web .......warning !!!!! There is a good group of them floating out there , they like free or deeply discounted turkey calls , It is a well known gimmick . They will often not beat around the bush and start enquiring about "pro staff" position's - make sure you know who you are dealing with , not just some stranger you met on the world wide web -In the end all they have "helped" you do is liberate your custom call into their collection - We have heard it all and seen it all .... they are friends with you until you dry them up on free calls , they will even get nasty too - know how to spot a freeloader before you are tricked out of your calls
Best regards--Shannon
im still trying to figure out how scott hook trusted me by sending the calls with the bill then i send him the check without knowing me?thanks scott!
I have worked with 3 call makers in the last two months (one being Wendell) and all 3 were great. All offered to play it over the phone and one said he would send me a call and if I liked it, I could pay him if not send it back. I know these makers put hours into their trade and because of that I get excited about getting a call from them. I cannot not see how someone could not get excited about a new call and pay for it up front. Keep up the great work guys.