Almost half my career was spent in customer service. The main focus of that line of work is to make sure that the customer is happy so that they'll keep on coming back. You will have to be very careful though because pleasing them too much may make you lose income. It's a tricky business being a customer service representative. It's even trickier if it's your own business you're trying to take care of.
I worked as a chat support agent for a couple of years and I went through a bit of training on how to make your chats sound as polite as possible. It's called controlling the tone of your chats. It is especially more difficult when you need to deliver an unfavorable statement like declining a request for credit extension or breaking the news about them getting scammed by a bogus seller. You'll never know how the customer will take the news.
One of the lessons I learned on one of my trainings is to make sure to keep your statements as professional as possible. This way, you'll be able to deliver the message clearly without sounding emotionless but not coming across as too attached to the situation.
I joined groups of crocheters on the internet. I look for inspirations on designs through these groups. I also learn about the latest trends in the crocheting world through them. More importantly, I have these groups as reference for pricing my items. Inadvertently, I also see lots of unpleasant experiences with customers and potential clients that other crocheters share with the group. I learn a lot from those conversations.
I haven't personally experienced most of the situations that they shared but I'd like to be prepared for when it comes. So I listed some of the situations they shared and I challenged myself to come up with statements/rebuttals. So I asked myself *How do you professionally say the following statements?
If you think this is too expensive, then go look for another crocheter who is willing to fulfill your ridiculous requests.
I understand that the price may be above your budget range, but I assure you that my pricing is well within the market range. Experienced crocheters set their pricing based on the materials used, the time it's going to take for the project to be completed, and the skillset of the crocheter.
No, we don't accept rush orders.
*We have a 3-4 week lead time for our crochet projects. It is important that the order be made ahead of time to ensure the quality of our crochet projects.
If you found another crocheter that has a cheaper offer, then why don't you have them do it for you?
I'm glad that you found a crocheter that fits within your budget. You are free to choose any crocheters you think would be able to create the crochet projects you wish to purchase.
I know keeping it cool between everything that's going on in our everyday life is almost impossible to do. What with all the deadlines and the target completion dates of all the orders that come in, plus the stress of all the payables that we have to manage, it would take a lot of energy to rise above. But keeping good rapport with your clients, and potential clients, is essential in making sure that your business will be a success.
My personal technique is to take a few breaths before hitting the reply button. Once a reply has been sent, even if it can be deleted or unsent, being undecisive is not an image you would want your clients to see from you. You need to have the confidence on your craft so that your clients will feel confident that you'll be able to deliver whatever project they would be purchasing from you. So the next time you are in the face of a client testing your patience and professionalism, ask yourself before you hit reply: How do I professionally say this?
