How Not to Treat a Prospective Customer

Here’s a quick lesson on one way NOT to treat a prospective customer:

One of the services we provide is event planning. It’s a service we list on our website; however, I don’t list wedding planner because I don’t want our main focus to be on weddings; our main focus is on corporate events.

That being said, we are planning a wedding next June, and we’re very excited. It’s an outdoor wedding which is fun and yet scary, because a lot depends upon the weather. We’re planning for torrential downpours and hoping for a beautiful day.

As I go about our planning, I’m gathering names of area wedding photographers, searching them out on the internet, reading their websites, their reviews, their blogs, looking at wedding review sites, etc., etc. And of course eliciting word of mouth referrals as well. My plan is to provide the bride’s family with 3 top choices so they can make an informed decision.

So, I come across this photographer – Bellofiore Photography – which has absolutely gorgeous photos on her website, but the latest testimonials go back to 2012, the last blog is January of 2013, and when I fill out the contact form, it doesn’t say that it was sent or provides any acknowledgement of any kind. So I don’t think much about it and continue on with the search.

When I return to my inbox, there is an autoresponder in there as follows:

“I’d like to thank you very much for your inquiry. You have taken the first step towards pampering yourself with a wonderful photography experience! At Bellofiore Photography, we believe in providing personal attention and excellent customer service, so please expect a phone call from me soon. Or, if you prefer, feel free to phone 215-262-1173 so I can answer your questions right away. I am excited to speak with you about your own unique photography needs and to schedule your personal consultation!

Vicki Bellofiore
Bellofiore Photography
view most current news and completed albums at:
www.greatweddingimages.com/blog”

Great! The form did go through. So I email her back with:

“Really glad to hear back, Vicki. Your website is out of date and no new blogs since 1/13, so I wasn’t sure if you were still in business.

I’m the event planner for this event – can you tell me what sets you apart (if you’re available that date) so I can make a recommendation to the bride’s family?

Thank you,
Nickey”

Wasn’t the most eloquent email, I do admit, but I’m working 100 mph and there you have it.

What I wasn’t expecting was this response:

“So happy to hear from you Nickey. Your facebook photo is terrible and there is nothing to be found online about you being an event planner, so I’m sure you’re not in that business at all. In fact, I’m certain you just want to sell me website and SEO services, which I might have been interested in if you had taken an honest and straight forward approach instead of posing as an event planner. That’s what sets me apart in my industry… honesty. And I don’t email people and insult them right out of the gate with “your website is out of date”.

Vicki Bellofiore
Bellofiore Photography”

So by now we’re going back and forth, as you can well imagine. Not sure what my FB photo has to do with anything (and she’s right, it isn’t a good one, but I like it and it’s not my biz page). But “posing” as an event planner?? I respond with:

“Wow, Vicki. You couldn’t be more wrong. I am an event planner and I am planning a wedding on June XX, 2015. If you had looked at my website correctly – which is up-to-date – you would have seen the event planning information: https://ptconciergeservice.com/services/event-planning I don’t promote weddings because I don’t want them to be my main focus.

And yes, I am looking for a photographer to give names to the bride’s mother. As a matter of fact, I’m going to make sure I post your email response locally so people can see how you treat perspective clients.

And if you think this sentence, “Your website is out of date and no new blogs since 1/13, so I wasn’t sure if you were still in business” was an insult instead of something you should have taken seriously, you are sorely mistaken.

Oh, and I of course will not be giving your name as a photographer to the bride’s mother, nor will I be keeping your information for any future weddings or corporate events. Hopefully you will have learned to do better research and not take a statement about your website so personally that it clouds your judgment and loses you more business.

Have a nice day.

Nickey”

“Perspective” was a mistake, but an interesting choice of words when you think about it.

And the final comment from the ever-so-nice photographer:

“I didn’t like your approach and I said so. Now you are threatening me? Really? You’re going to post my email response locally so people can see how I treat perspective clients?? I think you are the one whose judgement is quite clouded. I strongly suggest you re-think starting a defamation of character battle with me. Two can play that game and you really don’t want to go there. How downright unprofessional that is, threatening me like that and assuming that you’re teaching me some kind of lesson. Ha. What I’ve learned after 14 years and over 400 weddings is that there’s a reason I never, ever do weddings with event planners. Do not contact me again.

Vicki Bellofiore
Bellofiore Photography”

Interesting, huh? I’ll bet you’re just jumping at the bit to hire a photographer that talks to someone looking to hire her like that. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, don’t take things personally when given criticism about an aspect of your business. If someone is pointing out something to you, take a step back and learn from it. If you’re not able to step back, ask a friend/outside party if the criticism is valid, and then work on fixing the issue. If you’re telling people to check out your blog and it’s over a year and a half old, you probably should update it or stop trying to send people there.

One thing I haven’t learned yet is to keep my mouth shut and not to engage crazy people (my friends all know this). I didn’t think anything was wrong with my initial email; and when I got the nastygram from her, I should have let it ride. The thought that anyone would think I would be so deceitful to contact someone like that to sell them a website or SEO services is what did it. Now that’s crazy! Never have, never will. Some people are just nasty, and there’s nothing you’ll ever say that will change their minds or attitudes.

So … takeaways:

1. If someone makes a comment about your website or any other part of your business, listen to them and learn from it. If one person notices it, you’re lucky they tell you, because 100 may have seen it and just ignored you without making a comment.

2. It’s probably best not to insult a prospective client. Word of mouth is important to your business; and social media has made it too easy to spread the word other ways.

3. My lesson: Don’t engage nasty people; they don’t understand reason and only want to be themselves.