koletsb

Customer doesn't know how to measure

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A customer emailed me asking for widow lettering. He told me that he wanted a decal to fit in a 41in x 41in area so I designed the letters and sent him an image of what it will look like. He paid in full and then I shipped it out. He then responds with "your decal is so much bigger then I wanted. It doesn't even fit on the window." When the lettering all fit within the specified range.

He asked for a full refund and I offered to redo it for free because I know that even by remaking it, I would still be making money. My question is what do you normally do when people mess up like that.

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I would ask for a picture of the decal by the window.... or just taped over the window, just to be sure, he is not playing with you...and just wants his money back.. Just to see how far off it is.. You know the size you made, Let him show you compared to the window. And have him put a yard stick or tape measure by it.

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Incredibly common, actually, to see customers make all sorts of errors in their requests for work.

Spelling, colors, sizing, etc.

Your offer to replace is perfectly fair under the circumstances.

Custom decals are sold to order specifications, and a proof, once approved, indicates an acknowledgement of the accuracy of the job. Don't you have any wording on the proof itself or billing invoice indicating orders are NON-REFUNDABLE?

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You made a very fair , generous offer . I would not budge ! . I make an outline ( the size of the window in this case ) around the decal so they can get some sort of reference .

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And always be sure to ask for the original decal back so they don't end up with two for the price of one. Maybe he has a bigger window somewhere else he plans to use it on?

If they don't want to pay to ship the whole thing back, send them a self-addressed, stamped envelope with the second decal and ask them to use scissors and cut out a #10 envelope size chunk of the first decal and mail that back to you to prevent the use of the original, or bill them for the second decal. That is standard practice in most businesses (i.e., if you order a computer component and it is DOA, many vendors will ship a second one before you return the original, but if you *don't* return the original, you get charged for both). If all you get back is a rectangle of application tape and release liner with no vinyl in between, you'll know not to do business with them again.

If you let someone get away with this one time, you risk setting a precedent with them, or worse yet, having them tell all their friends that they can get two-for-one deals from you just by lying.

It's fantastic to be customer service oriented and to agree to do a second decal at your cost, but you have to set limits or you'll either go broke, or have to raise your pricing to account for IRL - Idiot Related Losses.

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And always be sure to ask for the original decal back so they don't end up with two for the price of one. Maybe he has a bigger window somewhere else he plans to use it on?

If they don't want to pay to ship the whole thing back, send them a self-addressed, stamped envelope with the second decal and ask them to use scissors and cut out a #10 envelope size chunk of the first decal and mail that back to you to prevent the use of the original, or bill them for the second decal. That is standard practice in most businesses (i.e., if you order a computer component and it is DOA, many vendors will ship a second one before you return the original, but if you *don't* return the original, you get charged for both). If all you get back is a rectangle of application tape and release liner with no vinyl in between, you'll know not to do business with them again.

If you let someone get away with this one time, you risk setting a precedent with them, or worse yet, having them tell all their friends that they can get two-for-one deals from you just by lying.

It's fantastic to be customer service oriented and to agree to do a second decal at your cost, but you have to set limits or you'll either go broke, or have to raise your pricing to account for IRL - Idiot Related Losses.

I like this idea, and I think I will do this.

You made a very fair , generous offer . I would not budge ! . I make an outline ( the size of the window in this case ) around the decal so they can get some sort of reference .

I did this exact thing when I sent them the sample.

Incredibly common, actually, to see customers make all sorts of errors in their requests for work.

Spelling, colors, sizing, etc.

Your offer to replace is perfectly fair under the circumstances.

Custom decals are sold to order specifications, and a proof, once approved, indicates an acknowledgement of the accuracy of the job. Don't you have any wording on the proof itself or billing invoice indicating orders are NON-REFUNDABLE?

I never thought of this and will make sure to add this to all future invoices and proofs

Thanks again for all the help

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Wow that sucks , his fault , you made it how HE wanted it hmm havent done any online orders so idk lol good luck

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Ended up remaking it and the actual size that he wanted was much, much smaller so it was a very simple job. He also paid for the shipping the second time.

Next time I will handle it a little differently but for now, I still made money and kept a customer happy so hopefully he will keep coming back

Brandon

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Good customer relationship and if you still made money even better. On special orders for signs or the handyman service I require a confirmation fax or e-mail just to make sure the layout and size are confirmed and approved I have done this for years .

Dan

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So Koletsb, do you charge similar prices for 41x41 and 14x14? One is almost 16 square feet and the other is just over 1. Wouldn't they have had sticker shock from the first price? If not, good for you!

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The way i read it was he made a 41" x 41 " ( which is 12.25 square feet if rounded out to 42" X 42 " ) & he made a replacment much smaller to satisfy the customer . The dilexia comment ( 14' X 14' ) was from another member :) . I didn't see any price reference .

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Yah im honestly confused because for how much I charged him, it was over the price it should have been. He told me he had a 41" x 41" window and he told me the writing he wanted on it. I charged him per letter for that size and he was perfectly fine for the price.

Either way I didn't lose money and I didn't budge on a return so I think I came out okay on this one.

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